tamarack

Reading all those grim reports in klw's post makes me wonder if NNE has the same disease. Maine's active cases have run around 600 in recent days, with hospitalizations ~10 and ICU patients 1-3. Count your blessings...

For a good history, unfortunately w/o maps, I recommend the book "The Week Maine Burned". PWM temps during the worst of it: 10/23 70 37 10/24 83 35 Strong SW wind and very low humidity (assumed, from massive diurnal range) 10/25 59 26 Stronger NW winds, turning fire's long right flank into the head. Worst day of the fires. 10/26 65 20 Most recent measurable precip was 0.08" on Sept 30. Edit: The link is limited mostly to the Bar Harbor fire, which did its damage a couple days earlier than the above stats.

That storm dumped 10" of fluff in 4.5 hours at Augusta and was still <1/4 mile visibility when I had to leave - wife got rear-ended a couple miles from home and rode the ambulance to the hospital to make sure the clips in her sternum (double bypass the previous Oct.) White-out for the 1st 10 miles but down to SN after that. Had 8" at home, only 5" at Farmington - for hours, radar had a yellow "banana" IZG-LEW-AUG-Belfast and Franklin County was just north of the bright colors. GYX had 15" and AUG probably about the same.

Better creeping than in full sprint like last month. Up to 4.93" for October, may get the 8/10" next week to bring the month up to average.

I thought Baikal was the only freshwater lake that had seals.

Got fringed here, 3", but 9" (month's biggest) from the next one, bringing the month total to 46.5", 0.3" more than Dec 2007. (2017 is the snowiest Feb, 46.9" despite nothing during the final 12 days.) Feb 2008 had 11 days with 1"+ and 5 with 5"+, the archetypical endless snow period w/o anything really big. The 6 days 5-10 brought 4 storms of 4" to 6.4" totaling 20.9" plus a 1.8" 'dusting' on the 8th.

Same here. In the (draft) Parks and Lands newsletter for November, the director noted that Parks has set a new record for campers in a season and that's thru 9/30 so the total will be higher than what will be in that report. I don't know how that has worked out for the campers (no outbreaks reported) but to date, there have been no COVID-19 cases among Parks and Lands employees. Also, use of hiking trails on Lands Division (my agency) is way up, though exact numbers aren't documented.

2nd at Farmington too, with 154", only 10" less than 68-69. Farmington's snowiest Dec was 1970, something like 54", and PWM's coldest for any month was Jan. 1971.

One out of 2, unless 6.8" is "hammered". 8" on Boxing Day, 7" on Jan 12, fringed with 1.5" on Jan 25, lots of nice moderate snows while places within an hour's drive got pounded.

That winter was frustratingly average until the 15" dump on April Fools. That was the only event over 9" and my deepest pack was 28". Not many winters when Ginxy has a peak 10" deeper than here.

You ought to sign up for KevMA's snow table so we can see if your total competes with Alex and J.Spin.

Have not yet had to answer a health survey for my job - closest was a survey of attitudes concerning working from home or at the office, as the former has increased more than 10-fold due to the pandemic. So far, my agency (Bureau of Parks and Lands) has had no positive tests. Since that includes many who routinely work face to face with the public (mostly Parks employees, like those collecting entry fees at the gate) it's somewhat surprising.

Maybe it's because of my job site (when not working at home) or something, but Maine - for all its protest-generating restrictions - seems very low key compared to what I'm reading about here. We have a sign-in site on the state website for when we plan to be in our office building and must wear masks there unless we're in a socially distant cubicle (like mine) but there was no other restrictions and I traveled all over northern Maine last week with no problems. (Our auditor from Vermont came and went freely; the other auditor is from Sault Ste. Marie, ON and "attended" the opening and closing meetings on Teams.) Maine has had some recent outbreaks but the overall case numbers are second lowest of any state. Vermont is lowest, and maybe they're going overboard to remain #1?

That's probably true but I don't think we can quantify the difference unless/until recreational marijuana is legal in most/all states. I voted against rec-pot in the Maine referendum, and having seen the tragic results of alcoholism up close I wish rec-alcohol were not a thing, but that ship sailed long since. So, apparently, has marijuana's watercraft. One positive thing I'd say about legalization concerns its reputation as a "gateway drug". If that was ever true, IMO it was because the pot suppliers were the same people who sold heroin, crack, and other things with a greater profit margin. Getting those dudes out of the process will close that gate (if it was ever open.)

Better than that here - Farmington's 2nd and 6th snowiest winters (also #112 of 127) and the 3-winter average is right on Raindance's 130% of normal. (For what all that is worth in October, of course.)

As a NJ expat I can understand that comment, but it depends on where in the state. We have family in SNJ farm country, well back from the shore, and there's little if any "Jersey attitude" there. Also as a NJ expat I realize I'll always be a "flatlander" despite having moved to Maine in January 1973 and worked in the Maine woods for 44 years. I've had almost no pushback, but I've also never carried on like I was a native.

When you've signed in, there's usually links to all the years back thru 10-11 when he started, though I've not tried it this year - only a lot of cold rain here today. Edit: Hit the drop-down menu at "home" and click on "past years." The table actually started with 06-07 which was news to me, but only Dendrite, Ginxy and Keven himself participated before 10-11.

Hope you're hunting not rafting - would be tough paddling while in a wetsuit. In our 3 days in Aroostook (also a couple hours in Piscataquis - Telos) for our forest management audit, we probably saw more than 2 dozen birds, including one that tried crossing the road with 2 pickups bearing down at 60+ on the St. Croix Road. Not enough left to be worth picking up.

Long time since I rode 112 to Woodsville, where my parents retired from NNJ, as dad passed in 1993. For certain we haven't been there since moving to our present home in 1998. Does the Franconia road depart 112 before the notch? IMO, the final 1/2 mile climbing to Kinsman Notch from the west is steeper than anywhere on the Kanc (though much shorter sustained climb) and twisty as well - always interesting in winter.

Swamps always get filled before freeze-up.

Thanks again for this fun topic. Hope we all get to make a lot of significant entries.

Was in northern Maine from Tuesday thru early afternoon yesterday - missed all but the Wed AM drizzle in the woods there - 95% of storm #1 came overnight - but a messy drive home. Had 2.43" in the gauge at 5:30 PM when I got home, another 1.21" thru 7 this morning, probably about 0.75" in the tube as I type. Cocorahs from nearby sites (including a very recent addition from New Sharon, about 2.5 miles ENE from my place) point to twin events 2-2.3" each this week. No more here, please, until freeze-up. Advisory posted for NW Maine this morning, places we visited Wed-Thurs (Round Pond, Telos, Deboullie) - would've been a lot messier for the auditor today. Yeah 1500ft is often a magic number for snow around these parts. Here too. Accumulating SN in Rangeley, which is all above 1500.

Was not looking forward to 225 miles on wet roads, with 80% coming before sunrise. Too many moose along Rt 11 north of Patten.

Chillier here, 21° and 1/8" ice on the soon-to-be-dumped washtub. Still below 40 with clouds, though precip arrival has thankfully slowed, so my 3:30-8 drive to Ashland tomorrow may be on dry roads. Will likely be a wet day in the woods but Wed/Thurs look fine. Couple days ago models were advertising near constant RA Tues-Fri.

Weak TS 8-9 last night, no strikes closer than about 4 miles. Gust front with brief (1-2 minutes, 0.06") RA+ about 9:45. 0.16" overall. Baby steps.