tamarack

Same here. My dad handloaded both pistol and rifle cartridges, and from some of his leftovers my friend and I learned how differently black powder and smokeless burned. A foot-long stripe of black flashed instantly while the same with smokeless took 3-4 seconds, burning like a sparkler. Of course, encased in the chamber of my .30-06, that smokeless powder accelerates a 0.4 oz chunk of metal from zero to 1700 mph in less than a thousandth of a second. Who would risk jail today by giving their kids stuff like that. (Of course, my friend and I had been handling/shooting firearms for years, with gun safety driven into our brains over and over.)

Agreed, and the ice went out without needing the CG icebreaker this year. I mentioned 2/2/76 because southerly winds that day gusted 100+ in Penobscot Bay, pushing water north such that it rose 15' in 15 minutes at BGR, with water 10-12' deep in the Kenduskeag Plaza parking lots. I've never read how far above MHW that was, but surely more than 10'. Kennebec's geography would limit such a surge. Edit: 59/19 yesterday, only dropped the depth 1" (to 11") thanks to the low start and glacial pack. This AM was slightly cooler than yesterday's, with a >40° climb upcoming. Today will make 15 sunny days this month, most ever for March and only one day from the most for any month here. Let the sap gush.

Maybe a repeat of 12/25/20 with its 2-3" of 50° RA would wreck things, as the snow might be eroded by overland flow as well as being melted from above. Ain't happening, and if it did the blown out bridges and roads would keep the skiers away anyway.

Pit 2 is way up the estuary. Maybe a repeat of 2/2/76 but centered on the Kennebec rather than the Penobscot would be troublesome, but the Kennebec estuary is narrow and full of closely spaced islands, unlike the massive funnel of Penobscot Bay. And if his yard there stayed above the flow in April 1987, he's probably safe from creek rises.

Still 11" in the garden. Need to have that go away so I can dig the overwintered carrots. (Best done within 1-2 days after snow is gone, before the biennial plants send out rootlets, preparing for the seed year.)

Might have some issues digging the holes, until the frost is out of the ground. Plant where the biggest snow piles had been?

And with mud season coming soon (like, Friday?) it's not getting better soon. Hope for a dry spring so folks can resume significant harvesting in May rather than June. Unfortunately, the boost in prices hasn't been trickling down to those providing the raw material. Needle has barely moved for loggers and landowners.

Had that yesterday, 51/16. About 20 this AM so we do it again.

Have not been to VT but suspect their COVID regs are similar to Maine's, while the Live Free Or Die state goes its own way. That said, there's been quarantine-free travel among the NNE states since the first relaxing last June.

18-19 had twice as much here and about 3x the SDDs. It included the most recent "snow month" (DJFM) that Feb. Nine straight BN snow months since then. Did have AN snow in Nov-Apr-May last winter but that's a much lower bar than for DJFM. Gorgeous day on the ice (17-18") at Flying Pond though the fishing was less wonderful. Light airplane made a pass about 50 yards above the ice early in the afternoon and I saw a pair of eagles cavorting above the treetops as I was packing the truck to leave - obviously a mated couple.

42° range Wednesday (49/7) and may be about the same tomorrow.

Check on whether the snowfields are open (only happens with big natural snow) and the Loaf offers an experience unique in lift-service skiing in the Northeast.

"Dud" is too kind by far. Cold w/o snow is a plus in December - good for frozen ground timber harvests and making safe ice. Cold w/o snow in March is a big negative, and match that with historic lack of snow and it's the worst March I've had anywhere, with only 2010 within shouting distance. October snow curse strikes again for New England Zero OCT snow here (and at the long-term co-op in Farmington it's been a neutral - 32 Octobers with 1" = 1" AN for season total but 1" BN for NOV-on.)

12z GFS says nothing thru 4/4. Couple of RA events late net week so at least something might happen.

Agreed on all counts. And while this month is running slightly BN for temps (though soon to be AN), it's going to be the sunniest March by far of my 23 here. For 1999-2020 March has averaged 8.6 sunny days. Today is #12 this month and the most so far (14 in 2015) should be passed early next week. Hope this doesn't presage a pattern switch to cold mank for April-May.

SR is rarely bashful about firing up the guns in the early season. Their relatively low base elevation (for a major NNE ski area) sometimes limits natural snow in bad seasons.

That last is surprising, given how much snow that April brought, even at low elevations. The storms of 4-5, 12-13 and 16-18 racked up 32-35" total at my place and the 2 nearest co-ops, though the last one also had a pile of cold rain. (And an estimated 4-5 feet at Sugarloaf summit where it was all snow.)

Agreed. I give twice weight for my snow/pack grade than for temps. And after choosing grades and looking at the results, there's usually some subjective tweaking - big snowstorm, up. Grinch storm, down. Unless we get some serious white surprise, this season is in D-level at best. If March finishes with the current 0.1" snow, I'm not sure if "F" fully describes it - maybe an "R". At present, total snowfall is 22nd of 23, between 15-16 and 05-06.

My only duckpin experience (one laughable frame) was when I worked at Curtiss-Wright's NNJ resort, which had an outdoor alley. First ball hit square on the head pin, taking it and #5. 2nd was a bit left and cleaned out 2 and 8. 3rd ball was centered on the path cleared by the first 2.

Just far enough to rain out my plans to look at the recent timber harvest at Dodge Point (midcoast), while continuing the snowless March.

Maybe the same reason many folks hate TB12.

2/16 here. The 6-10 forecast dropped to 5-8 just before precip began, and it verified as 2" of sleet. Only 4 warned events so far, only 15-16 had fewer in 23 winters. Looked like a good start with 12-18 forecast on 12/5 but we got 6" of ultra-paste from 1.38" LE. Jan 2 had 6-9" forecast and verified right at 6.0, then Feb 2 had 9.5" after a 8-14 forecast. If one adds the low and high ranges, it comes to 31-49" from the 4 storms and verified with 23.5. Sad.

Exciting month.

So far this snow season I've yet to be fooled by the north cutoff - disappointed, frustrated. But it's been the story since snows began. And anything less than 12" in SNE would likely be torched off driveways by Saturday noon.

Not that bad for NNE while CT/MA/RI all recorded their driest year in 1965. Also DE/NJ/PA. NY only missed because the record was set in its western counties where climate is significantly drier. NYC in 1965 had 6"+ less precip than the 2nd driest, which came the year before. I can't say how bad the municipal water supplies were in SNE, but Gotham's reservoirs were down to about 3 weeks' supply when the 9/21/66 downpour effectively ended the drought (though that termination only became apparent in the succeeding months.) Met summer 1966 remains NYC's driest, and also hottest until eclipsed by 2010.