tamarack

The New Years retro-bomb utterly destroyed 09-10 for Maine, especially northern Maine. CAR was out-snowed by BWI, which I think is a rarer event than '38 or the Octobomb, and the average temp up there for JFMA was farther above their 2nd mildest for that 1/3 year than was #2 from #25 (79 years' record.)

Farmington co-op has recorded 31 Octobers with measurable snow (all 0.5" or greater) in their 125 years of obs. Average snow total for those 31 seasons is 89.83". Average for all 125 is 89.82", so obviously October snow means good winter. Limiting the Octobers to the 26 with 1"+ jumps the average all the way to 90.13".

I still have those same nightmares. By far the ugliest 10" snowfall of my experience, and me with a disabled snowblower (that proved to be un-reparable as the required parts were no longer available.) We had 7.2" snow on Feb 25-26 from 1.81" LE, and by the time I got home from my day-long meeting (had left early for BGR when my 2WD pickup was equal to the 3" new), that snow had been compacted by nearly an inch of that 33-34° RA, resulting in a 7" layer of glop with 2.8" LE on a thawed gravel driveway, loads of fun to move with the scoop. It pushed much more readily thru the 24" dump a year earlier. That 2010 storm came shortly before the midpoint of our string of 46 consecutive days with AN temps.

15"+ on the public lands just west of Greenville. Many acres of (previously nice) young hardwood stands got torn apart by that one.

Late Feb 2010 was another 4-day storm here Feb. 25-26 brought most of our snow while pasting S.VT and the Catskills. Next 2 days brought mainly 33-34° RA/catpaws (on strong NE winds) while NYC got its 21" snowicane at low-mid 20s and the 'Skills got slammed again - some locations there got 4 ft. (There was also a station in the WVA mts that got Catskill-level snow in that event, and also the 2 earlier KU storms, and recorded something like 159" for the month.)

That tower, with 3 more lifts plus cab, used to be in New Gloucester. We took it down about 20 years ago, shipped it to Oquossoc, and had the obs platform built atop the 4 lower lifts. I think the cab may have ended up in Greenville. After the AT and Dodge Point (in Newcastle - midcoast), Bald is probably our most heavily used trail.

That event dumped 43" at the Farmington co-op, boosting the pack to 84", tallest I've found for Maine. 41 years later, to the day, we missed a repeat by 5° or so, getting 9-10" of incredibly sloppy mashed potatoes out of 4" qpf.

Not many places that offer as much gain for as little pain. Plus I have personal reasons for loving that trail/view.

Had upper 20s last evening under partly cloudy skies and still with 5-10 mph breeze. Rose into low 30s by dawn, thanks to the cloud deck - would've made a run at sub-20 if it had been clear. Another chance Sunday night. We've had October teens in 11 of 20 years, though only twice prior to 10/20.

Up close and personal, a cloudy day, even a little light fog, seems to make the brightest trees even brighter. Not good for vistas, of course. I'd give this leaf-color season a B, goodly amount of strong color, perhaps a bit shorter than average. Peaked over the holiday weekend, blew away a few days later. As usual, the sticks still include a few highlights - my favored Sand Hill maple is aglow.

Had 25 yesterday and about the same this morning, as the clouds were delayed (though it's now overcast at AUG.) Both mornings put a skim on the washtub - about time to dump/store it. Odd fog pattern on my commute, as there was a 3-4 mile stretch in Belgrade where dense fog/cloud hovered near treetop level, allowing for clear driving. Only near AUG did the fog reach the ground.

Between the wind and the frosty mornings, foliage around my place went from slightly past peak to 75% leaf drop in 3 days, though nearby places with lower ash component are closer to 50% gone. Still some very bright trees here and there.

I've witnessed just one, BWI in Jan. 1966, but it was impressive - 2"/hour powder at mid-teens during the evening, then 100-yard visibility in SN/blowing snow the next morning as 50-mph gusts played with 15-18" of new fluff. Probably 90% of the city streets were impassable at one point, and I nearly lost my chance to ride the train home to NNJ for semester break 2 days later, as the PRR was way off schedule. The downside was apparent when I returned 8-9 days post-storm, and saw that half the side streets remained impassable for anything w/o 4WD.

Looked like IP, and I was out moving firewood when it fell. Definitely not graupel, might've been some melt/refreeze thingies, but it rattled the leaves and bounced off my sleeves like sleet. However, not all that much fell, so small sample size. 46/28 yesterday with no sun, 1st sub-40 daily mean. Slightly cooler this AM than last.

Today and tomorrow will run 6-8° BN, chilly but nothing out of the ordinary.

A few pingers here about 1:40 this afternoon, temp was low 40s. Had all-liquid sprinkles at mid 30s at 9 this morning.

By 1:40 this afternoon, the profile must have changed, as we had scattered IP for about 5 minutes. Only the 5th frozen precip here during the 1st half of Oct, 1998 on. (Still 10 days until 1st measurable, and I doubt that mark changes this year.)

Cloudy here and still mid 30s - as low 30s earlier. Some echoes overhead, don't know if anything will reach the ground, but if so - maybe a few pingers? (Probably not)

Maine's State Parks (which do not include Baxter, as it's under a different state agency) set a new high for camper nights. Since some of the parks' campgrounds remain open, that record will get extended over the next few weeks.

1976-1977: This one was kind of just frigid the entire time....Jan '77 was the snowiest month, but the best event near BOS might have actually been 12/29/76....a stripe of 18" snow near Rt 128 on a late bloomer....quickly diminished to the west....even ORH only had 4 inches. It is one of Ray's favorite storms he wish he was alive for. We traveled from NNJ to Fort Kent the night of Dec. 29-30, in a 2WD standard cab pickup, 3 people (3rd was our 4-yr-old son) and 2 cats - couldn't get a pet sitter. We were young and foolish then, now no longer young - that's why we missed Jan. 27-28, 2015 (except for the shoveling), as we spent an extra day with the grandkids in SNJ rather than challenge that blizzard. The 12/76 trip encountered snowy roads soon after entering MA and falling snow just south of the Kennebunk plaza on the Maine Turnpike. Stopped briefly at BGR HoJo for some coffee about 3:30 AM in SN+, which had been our view from PWM north. That HoJo stuff blew thru my system in about an hour - blessedly, there was TP at the Medway rest stop's outhouse - using snow in the 15° dark and snow would not have been nice. Snow let up shortly after dawn as we drove thru CAR, and about 2 minutes after we arrived at home the NW gales arrived and we couldn't see Pelletier Florist across the street - another blessing, as between PQI and CAR that wind dropped visibility to a low number feet (or inches), having 12" new to play with along with the foot-plus (at CAR - Ft. Kent had 24") that had fallen on 12/26-27. Those 2 storms turned our blue Beetle into a white lump. Would comment on Will's other mentions, but the above is enough weenie for one post.

Storm total here 0.79", now up to 13.25" since July 1, about 1" below my average and dwarfed by points south. Yesterday's temps 50/44, classic mid-fall.

Brady started slowly, then tossed 5 TDs in the 2nd Q.

Lots of gain for not much pain. Oquossoc Bald Mountain is even better that way, but foliage is past peak there by now, probably 50%+ leaf drop by the time this rain ends.

Same in AUG, but nothing but light rain, perhaps 1/2" since I got here at 7:30. Gorgeous day in Aroostook, with upper 30s RA (3/4" in 6 hr at FVE) - moose hunters must love it.

I'd suggest Belgrade Lakes, will be at peak (many trails in Kennebec Highlands, also a drive-to at Blueberry Hill off the Watson Pond Road), or perhaps the hills around Winni in your state, or Bridgton in Maine. My area 10-15 miles north of Belgrade has been at peak this week, but today's rain will push it a bit past.