tamarack

Not quite as weird as the middle of my first December in Maine - 1973 - when we had RA and 56 in BGR while my parents in NNJ were 15 and IP. However, having a 7 AM temp that's slightly milder than the average low in late July is noteworthy.

Had 2.24" thru 7 this morning, maybe a tenth or 2 since. 1.20" came before my 9 PM obs time, bringing the November total to 4.97", AN by 0.65". OCT-NOV total is 10.27", which is 1/4" AN - the swamps are full. Still 4" BN for the year, but at 91% it's above the drought threshold (I think.) November numbers: Avg. Temp: 35.23 +1.92 Avg. Max: 45.40 +3.21 Avg. min: 25.07 +0.65 Warmest was 70 on the 10th, which just missed the month's warmest - 71 on 1/2003. However, the warm week produced 2 days at 69 and one at 67, which with the 70 rank 2-3-4-5 for month's warmest. Coldest was 7 on the 19th. The 4.97" included 3 days with 1"+, all on Mondays: 1.05 on the 16th, 1.54 on the 23rd and 1.20 yesterday (about half of what this current storm will bring.) Snowfall: 2.1" 2.8" BN. The 1.4" on 11/25 meant a white Thanksgiving but was gone 2 days later. October was 1.29° BN, and autumns with BN Oct and AN Nov lead to BN snow seasons on average, though the signal isn't strong. I am walking the Stowe Rec Path to pick up my SUV from the mechanic... in shorts and a hoodie on December 1st. I don't do shorts even in summer, but walked the dog at 7 with my usual jeans but only a T-shirt above the waist. Temp was 56 and my average morning on 12/1 is 19. The average minimum here peaks at 55° in July.

2.24" thru 7 this morning. Sandy River's right at flood stage (14k cfs at the Mercer gauge) and the Carrabassett was nearly 40% above flood flow. Minor flooding forecast at Skowhegan - flood threshold is 35k cfs and 40k is progged. Stein is soaking in the grave.

That storm had a 15-30 minute blast (different times at different locales) that caused almost all the damage, even though the (lesser) wind and rain lasted many times longer. I can't recall another synoptic event that had such a short and intense peak.

That October 2017 gale actually had thousands more CMP customers in the dark than peak 1998 (2008 was a Mass event), but duration of outages and damage to infrastructure was many times greater in the ice storm.

And points north. We had 24" of 14:1 pow with huge drifting, one of only 4 events reaching all blizzard criteria at my place. 2004 was my driest January though '13 and '14 had less snow thanks to cutters. On Jan. 14-15, 2004, Farmington co-op recorded highs of -8 and -6, tied for 3rd and 5th lowest maxima since 1893. (And it was windy enough to keep temps from dropping much in the overnights.)

Receivers don't drop too many (other than Edelman) but don't get much separation and Cam's accuracy isn't consistent enough to hit small windows. Jacobi has stepped up but he's a cromulent WR, not an all-pro. Pats are frustratingly inconsistent - last 3 weeks they beat 2 good teams and lose to a bad one. ESPN noted that yesterday's 179 yards total offense was 3rd lowest by the BB Pats. (In 331 games, if I've done the arithmetic right. And that doesn't include the PS.)

For Quebecois, 1998 was "Worst since the Flood."

Another half inch of 33° RA here, with some ZR a the start.

Light ZR at 7 AM with temp about 30 but very light accretion - cold layer must be thin.

2nd batch of SN noon-2 added 0.6" for a total of 1.4". Very pretty in the woods, though no tracks were seen - the critters will probably be moving around tonight. About 3:40 I heard stuff rattling thru the trees - sounded like IP but looked like heavily rimed flakes. Some had not completely refrozen so our steps have some gritty ice, less than 0.05". With temps still about 24, the incomplete refreeze suggests that the warmer air isn't too far above.

My preference would be Nov 2018, Dec 1976 (in Ft Kent, 61.5"), Jan 2015, Feb 2017, Mar 2001 and April 2007. Comes to a bit over 250", a modest request. Maybe add Oct 2000 and this past May to boost it past 260.

Snow has resumed. The 7:20 to 10:00 spell dropped 0.8" with 0.06" LE.

Maybe say they've stayed at home, along with the 17 guests from Newark, NJ.

Short burst of moderate SN, now 1/2" but back to very light rate. Radar says "Th' th' th' that's all, folks."

And maybe farther north to the Route 2 corridor. That 0.6" of 30:1 fluff back on the 3rd didn't quite qualify as plowable, though it brought out the sand trucks. First flakes at 7:20 this morning as I was entering my 0.00 in cocorahs, now 2-3 tenths OG, so it should bring the season total to over one inch.

Have never tried raw oysters - I'd probably like them but would prefer them cooked, same as my mussel preference. (And smoked mussels are incredibly tasty.) Had cherrystones on the half shell many years ago - circa 1970. Ate the 1st one plain - mild fish/sea-aroma taste. Then my boss (4th of July picnic was at his home) suggested adding Tabasco, nearly enough to float the meat - tongue was numb for about 3 weeks. Though my wife is 2nd gen Norwegian-American we've not tried lutefisk (which I've read is eaten more often in the upper Midwest than in Norge) and I'd guess I'd like the taste but not be a fan of the texture.

Probably just my bias, but I lean toward the stuff sold by Parks and Lands at State Parks - it's tapped on the BPL tract we manage at Oquossoc Bald Mountain, a tract that holds some wonderful personal memories, including a trip to the summit with 6 grandkids and their dad 11 days ago. As for seafood, I like all that I've tried. Sushi is fine but for me, cooked is better. Pickled herring on crackers is great. Octopus is okay but mainly as a chewing exercise. Among freshwater critters, catfish, landlocked salmon and lake whitefish top my menu.

My favorite lobster-eating instructional came in 1995 when PWM was the site of the Society of American Foresters national convention. Humorist Tim Sample was cracking up the 500+ at the supper as he explained how to crack the crustacean. "Then there's the tomally - nasssty green stuff!" (While planning the convention with reps from the New England chapter, there was concern that folks wouldn't have enough time to clean up for dinner as that was field trip day. One Maine rep replied, saying that when one eats lobster, one showers after the meal.)

Truth. The bugs get a major gain in flavor as they crawl north across the order. It's just the opposite for ones that leave Cobscook Bay for Canadian waters. For me, though, it's different for crab. I've enjoyed crabmeat in Maine and on Fisherman's Wharf, but Chesapeake blues are my favorite. Had them many times while at Hopkins in the 60s (50 cents for a small but tasty one between saltines at the old Memorial Stadium on a $1 student admission) but none since some beautiful crabcakes in Hagerstown coming back from helping the kids when grandkid #1 was born in 2006 - even that far from the bay it was the real thing.

Had ours Saturday the 14th while all the grandkids were here. Four adults and 7 kids put a major dent in the 22-lb bird. I've had tofu twice in my life. It was horrendous each time....including the 2nd time when a vegetarian friend insisted "this one is really good". The concept of a "Tofurkey" sounds nightmarish. I've had tofu twice in my life. It was horrendous each time....including the 2nd time when a vegetarian friend insisted "this one is really good". The concept of a "Tofurkey" sounds nightmarish. Maybe there's some good tofu out there but I'm not actively going to search for it. Had tofu numerous times during our Japan tip in 2016. At best, it was like a near-tasteless custard. Even deep-fried it was no better than meh. I've had some veggie burgers in years past - with the proper spices, almost anything with a near-proper texture will taste good. I've no interest in trying the newer "Beyond" and "Impossible" products, especially after reading about them in Consumer Reports. The article showed that those things had similar fat (though much less saturated fat) and considerably more sodium than the real thing. The testers reported something like 4-5 ingredients in a classic veggie burger and 16 to 20+ for the newer entries. A chemical feast!

That article reminded me of one I read long ago (between classes, at the U. Maine library) in Appalachia. It's far enough back in time that the 2 stories might've been by the same author, with the more recent one based on the 1973 or 74 account.

Or when Nate Z took the teaching job in Rindge, NH, in fall 2011. Not only was the job a bummer (no support from admin) but he had less snow than he'd been getting in Dobbs Ferry.

Harris Station is indeed at the dam on the Kennebec. That's where the rafters put in to float down to The Forks. Long Falls Dam measured 56" from that storm, and I've seen that reported as Maine's biggest single snowstorm. Here is the data I have for Pinkham: 2/25/1969 27 18 2.11 21 113 2/26/1969 22 18 2.5 24.5 137 2/27/1969 26 15 1.61 27 164 2/28/1969 22 9 0.25 4.5 158 They had 130" for the month, with a 16" event during the 1st week and 30" from the "Mayor Lindsey" storm, reported on the 10th. MWN reported 97.8" from almost 15" LE. All that snow raised the pack on the summit from 22" to 26" - probably added 8-10 feet to Tucks. And I forgot to note with my "trivia" that it was for March 1993.

Had 24.6" here, which thanks to the thaws could only raise the pack from 4" to 11 - winter's "peak" as Feb 1 onward yielded only 7.8" compared to my 45" average for that half of winter. That's my only snow season since NNJ (1967-68) that never had even a 6" event.