tamarack

2 hours ago, BrianW said:

@tamarack Helped my wifes uncle close up their lake cabin this weekend near Morristown, NJ. Some impressive tree damage from that July 3rd storm with lots of local reports of 75 -80 mph winds.

Almost all the damage was red oaks that split around 25-50 feet up. There is a lot of old growth trees and  tons of 100+ year old giant Tulip Poplars that didnt even loose a branch. 

 

Red oaks, also white ash, are easy to split.  Therefore, when those species have V-shaped forks, they're vulnerable to ice and/or wind.

Another pure blue day after the frost.  Colors are past peak, ash nearly bare, oaks mostly still green.

2 hours ago, dendrite said:

Idk…the trees don’t seem stressed. We’ve had decent rain in Aug and Sep unlike last year. The colors are vibrant…not the sickly looking color last year that quickly browned.

I think all of those cooler max temp days and 50s for highs are having an effect. 

We had 107% of average rain April-June but only 66% for July-Sept.  However, we had frosts on 23-24 and 8 other September mornings in the 30s.  Whatever the reason, the colors have been spectacular.

Currently I'm watching sugar maple leaves raining past the window, despite nearly calm wind and 60s, so we'll soon be past peak.  The morning low of 60 here is 20° AN, and yesterday's 73 was only one degree below the warmest we had last month.  Clouds still look thick, so I don't think we'll get much past 70, if any at all.

First time I've seen the "S" word from GYX this season - Monday's strong CF may have some light snow at elevation during that night.

27 minutes ago, Layman said:

Drought monitor claims the recent rain had no impact in NH. 
My totals at home are:

May 7.37”

June 3.62”

July 2.75”

August 3.26”

September 5.87”

Total 22.87” 

Is just under two feet of rain low?

That's averaging 4.57"/month.  Projected over 12 months, it's nearly 55".  I'd guess that's a bit AN; 45-50 seems more likely.  My average here is currently 48.6".

Foggy 50 has turned to blue sky 60s.

September numbers

Avg max:    65.1   -2.7   Warmest, 74 on the 10th.  That's our lowest monthly Sept max; previous was 76 in multiple Septs.
Avg. min:    45.3  -0.5   Coolest, 30 on the 24th
Mean:         53.2  -1.6   Coolest Sept since 2019.

Precip:    3.06"   -0.61"   Wettest day, 0.99" on the 28th.  The long-duration storm on 27-29 totaled 1.75".

Other than the above storm, September was an unremarkable month.  No strong wind, no thunder, no real heat, no real drama.  The precip deficit since the end of June had brought the Sandy River down to the lowest 5% of its records for September 26th, data since 1929, and the 1.75" barely moved the flow to the 25th percentile.  That said, fall colors came about a week earlier than average and the reds are as good as it gets.  Other colors, yellows and the maroon ash, are good as well.

 

16 hours ago, CT Valley Snowman said:

Peak seems a solid week early for you?  Perhaps drought is playing a role?  

Maybe, but even after 46 years as a forester, I can't figure out the reasons for great/average/awful colors.  We had slightly AN rain in May/June then about 50% of average July thru Sept 26, and met summer was AN but nowhere near our warmest.  I've read that drought limits the colors, but it's still a 'maybe' from me.  Same opinion for excessive rain.

Our worst color year, by a lot, was 2005.  May that year was 200% of average rain with 6° BN temp, easily the coolest here.  (Ask Tip about May 2005 - he has a strong opinion of that month.  )  June thru September had AN temps (Sept '26 will finish about 1.5 BN) and slightly BN rain.  By October 7 the color was middling (next to none of reds), 7-10 days later than average.  Then 8-10 had nearly 6" rain on strong winds which brought down about 80% of the leaves.  Phooey!

7 minutes ago, Layman said:

Is there a specific reason why the swamp maples always seem to turn early and be so vibrant?  My simple guess is something to do with the moisture in their environment, but I was curious if there's some solid known reason.  Or, am I just imagining they turn early to begin with 

"Swamp maples" are almost always red maples (Acer rubrum) on a wet site.  The wetness lowers fertility and keeps the roots somewhat cooler than on well drained sites, probably causing that early turning (as you guessed).  The color is common for most red maples (excellent this year), though there's a variety of sorts that turns yellow (also good).

Finished this event with 1.75", fortunately about 3 times more than I expected.  Month up to 3.06" (average is 3.70"), almost enough to get Sandy River over the 25th percentile.

Colors here are at/near peak, with lots of red maples wonderfully bright.  Birches and sugar maples approaching peak, white ash well past, about 75% leaf drop around here on that species. 
Red oaks:  Autumn?  What's that?

Finally got some decent rain - 0.70" overnight.  Mostly very light rain since, event total including Sunday early is approaching 0.90", biggest precip since August 3.

4 hours ago, bristolri_wx said:

Didn’t the 1950 storm happen in November? Seems like an apples to oranges comparison.

 

Nov 25th, my earliest weather memory.  Dad, older brother and I watched the trees getting thrashed from our NNJ back porch.  When some tops/branches broke, Dad said it was time to go inside.  That and the howling NW gales of 12/31/62 (back side of the BGR blizzard) are the strongest winds I've experienced.  Farther west (PA, WV) snowfall records were being set in '50.

RA stopped here about 7 AM, just clouds and breezes (<20 mph) since then.

0.12" overnight, trees barely moving.  Might finish with more than 1/2".

Blue skies here.  The only rain is of ash leaves, as that species is near full color and 1/4 dropped.  Hope we get some decent rain, though I'm not optimistic.
Current flow numbers for today on the Sandy River:
Median:      154 cfs
25th percentile:  91 cfs
Lowest on record:  39 cfs, in 1939.
Current flow:  43  cfs

20 hours ago, tamarack said:

Death Valley Nat. Park July average is 117/91.  On 7/1/26, when the norm is 115/89, the 107/87 was 5° BN.

Touched 30 this morning, waiting on the weekend rain (assuming it's getting much this far north).

Yesterday's frost toasted all of the cucurbits, only minor damage to peppers and tomatoes.  They're a bit higher, especially the 'maters.

Quite the run of sun here, though it ends later today.  September here has had the most proportion of available sunshine of any month, slightly more than August.  (November and December jockey for least, with the latter currently 'winning'.)

6 hours ago, dendrite said:

Maybe at Furnace Creek.

Tough way to run an endless summer.

Death Valley Nat. Park July average is 117/91.  On 7/1/26, when the norm is 115/89, the 107/87 was 5° BN.

Touched 30 this morning, waiting on the weekend rain (assuming it's getting much this far north).

31 this morning, dew on the car roof was still frozen at 8 AM despite full sun.  Average for first frost is Sept 20, so slightly tardy this year.  Over the past 6 years, 3 of which had first frost in October, the average has become 3 days later.

59 minutes ago, Damage In Tolland said:

Gonna be a forest flattener

Sable Island has trees?

2 hours ago, mreaves said:

36° here. I’m headed to FL for the week so I haven’t paid much attention to the forecast for here. Doesn’t look too bad though. Cool with some showers?  

Same 36 here, but it's my wife going to FL, for her sister's 70th BD.  Lots of heat there (between Ocala and Gainesville) with 90/70 days for at least the first week.

Saw significant (for mid-Sept) color changes on the BGR-and-back drive, white ash 50% color, red maple 10-20% (near full in the swamps), some color on birches and aspens.  Seems a bit early as temps are only slightly BN this month, though the BN rain (50% of avg) since late June might be a factor.

1 hour ago, moneypitmike said:

 

Looks a little torchy for Pit2, though that might not really matter.  Some decent snows possible.

Worked well here in 2022-23.
       Temp(+/-)  SN22-23  SN avg
DEC      +4.0       23.3"      19.4"
JAN      +9.0*     29.9"     20.2"   *Warmest January, POR 1999-2026
FEB       +1.4       16.3"      21.7"
MAR     +3.0       27.9"      17.0"
Ironic that the month with least AN temp had the only BN snow.

1 hour ago, Damage In Tolland said:

ACATT wanted to end the relentless torch we’ve been in. So you’re now left with a week + straight of rain and mild temps starting  Sunday .  Preparing us for a whole winter of the same thing with little to no snow 

Met summer was warm, 6th warmest of 29 here, but September is running 1° BN so far and the GYX forecast doesn't show a warm-up.

Had 0.27", not a drought buster but the forecast was less than a tenth.  First time since early last month to get more than the forecast.   baby steps

29 minutes ago, codfishsnowman said:

I lived in Bristol CT at the time we r had a solid foot of pretty dense snow before 1.5 inches of sleet and then a quick but wild burst of 2.5 inches on the backside giving us 16 inches. The backside snows were not widespread, we just got lucky in central and I think western CT had it too.  But we had no snow on the ground prior.  I will never forget the wind on the backside of that thing that Sunday with gusts over 50 mph bright sunshine and mid afternoon temperatures in the low teens.

The Farmington co-op reached an incredible pack of 84" after getting 43" from the late Feb 1969 endless snowstorm.  (For 48 years that was Maine's tallest, until Chimney Pond reached 94" in 2017.)  Second place is 56", recorded in both 1971 and 1993.  In that latter winter, they had only a trace on the ground at their Jan 31 obs - 7 AM at that time.  Feb-Mar brought a total of 97", with Feb storms of 13", 14" and 17" followed by a 15" dump and 18" from the superstorm, to build all 56" in just 6 weeks.  The 12" storm early in April capped the season.

11 hours ago, WxWatcher007 said:

Floyd wasn’t a huge deal imby, but it’s my earliest tropical impact memory. I remember the wind blowing hard when we were outside during recess and power going out at school—the first and only time that happened to me.

I remember being glued to TWC as it came up the coast and overhead. The moon was out as the decaying center passed. Those were good days. 

 

5.88" here with gusts in the 40s, our most recent significant TC.  Only 0.11" from being our biggest rain event, which came in June 1998, our first full month after moving here.  

On 9/16/2026 at 2:51 AM, codfishsnowman said:

Superstorm 93 was epic on so many levels. The certainty almost a week out. It had been a decade since I had seen March snow that didn't just accumulate on grassy surfaces. The sunny but cold calm quiet day before and the craziness at the gas stations and supermarkets.  I was 19 and worked for Stop and Shop at the time.  It was the first time I had een more than a foot of snow since the Feb 83 storm.

Feb-Mar 1993 was epic, with 7 storms 7" to 14.5", totaling (with some small events) over 80".  The superstorm brought the pack to 31", tallest in our 13 winters in Gardiner.  That capping event was a bit disappointing at our place, if a double-digit snowfall can disappoint.  Listening to "1-3 feet with life-threatening conditions" had me primed for a storm of the lifetime.  Instead, we had 10.3" of heavily rimed 6:1 flakes, almost the lowest report in New England and 3rd biggest of the winter.  (BHB and Block Island had 10.0".)  Temps during the storm were upper teens to 20.  The storm did bring wind 30-45 mph.  A favorite wind report at 8 AM - BGR was calm while 50 miles to the SE, Mt. Desert Rock reported 60 knots.

5 hours ago, bristolri_wx said:

I would be hesitant to say that no one North of Philly is getting above normal snow.

It only takes three-four large storms to get to climo totals in the coastal plain. The season could still avg +8 temps but 10 days of true winter spread across 3 months can get you above average.

Not saying that will happen… just that it can if we are talking in absolutes. And it would still “feel like a ratter” if it’s rainy and 45 most of the winter outside of those 3-4 storms.

Latitude can help.  January 2023 was +8.8, warmest for that month in 28 winters, but had 29.9" snow, 9.7" AN.  The 4 months DJFM ran +4.7 with each month AN - Feb closest at +1.5 (and least snowy of the 4).  The snow season total was 101.2" (avg currently 88.4") and 96.3" came during those months, 123% of average.

That said, the only very strong Nino since moving here (2015-16) was our worse snow winter, 48.2".

12 hours ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

1.92 is not 2….. 

Looking from my 0.23" total, 1.92" seem like 'about 2'.

Except for the lack of rain, today was perfect early fall wx - sun, 70, light breezes.