tamarack

Changed to IP/RA about 7 AM, 1.8" with 0.41" LE, nice 4.4-to-1 ratio. Couldn't top Feb's biggest, 2.1" from 0.07", ratio 30:1. Lowest snow total from a warned storm since V-Day 2015.

That was Dec 18 here, with the temp in the low 50s.

The winter when BWI had 7" more snow than CAR, probably a rarer phenomenon than 1938.

One map (GYX) has my locale sneaking into the 6-8 color while the next one we're 3-4". Both are upped from the morning map from GYX, and having seen only 4.3" in the past 6 weeks (average for the period: 30"), it's optimistic.

Agreed. Can't do much about current disaster cost estimates, but at least the older events' costs should be indexed to the present. And maybe add 10% for each decade prior to, say, 1970, as the compilations are far more thorough nowadays. (probably won't happen, though)

That (the bolded) is very generous; it was awful. Thru Jan 13 we'd had only 11" snow and 2 months of +8 temps. After that, temps ran 5° BN thru mid-April, including our 2nd coldest Feb, plus 84.3" snow, capped by 37.2" in April, including 18.5" on 4-5. Over the past 25 winters, snowfall has split almost exactly on the 1/31-2/1 divide, 49.9%/50.1%. 2005-06 is by far the most front-loaded (85/15) and 06-07 just the opposite (20/80).

Jeff only wants to see you try, as he has mechanized snow removal tools. This winter seems to be following the 2005-06 pattern. That winter we had 45.0" thru Jan 31 and only 7.8" after that. So far this winter, we had 52.1" thru Jan 31 and only 3.7" since then and the weekend mess getting messier plus continued 10-15° AN temps in the following few days at least.

My old Craftsman died at the end of 2006-07; engine ran fine but moved only in reverse due to badly worn - with no replacements - parts. Next winter included the 24.5" dump atop the 27" pack in late Feb, and we (son was at home and this event helped to convince him to move back to southern Japan) spent 6 hours scooping just the main part of the driveway, creating slanted piles 8+ feet high. 2009-10, the winter destroyed by the early Jan retro-bomb, featured the late Feb slop-fest that, after 10.7" of 4:1 mashed potatoes and 1.1" cold RA, left 8" of 3:1 cement atop thawed driveway, and was a harder push with the scoop than the 2-foot powder dump the year before. Bought a new machine early Jan 2011.

When I was young and foolish (I'm no longer young) I shoveled, and then in Fort Kent graduated to the snow scoop, at least for the driveway (and roof). Still shoveled the walk and porch. It wasn't until my dad passed in Dec 1993 that I claimed his Craftsman Trac-26 as part of my one-third of the estate - one brother lived in VA, the other in SoCal so no conflicts. (I also used an all-metal single-stage machine dad bought after 1960-61 [storms of 18, 20 and 24"] when it was my turn for the driveway. It was 3 years before we had a storm bigger than 6" but kids like noisy, clunky things.)

IMO, April 1982 ranks in the top 5 for anomalous wx events in the Northeast, a step behind March 1888 and Sept 1938 but up with Sandy and the Octobomb. Other contenders are Feb 1978, April 1997, May 1977, Jan 1998, Dec 1992, etc. It was the most powerful blizzard of my experience, with only Feb 1961 even close. It takes some special winds to have a day with 15" snow, temps in the teens while losing an inch of pack: 4/6/82 24 0 0 0 27" 4/7/82 17 10 1.10" 15.0" 26" 4/8/82 23 13 0.14" 2.0" 25"

It's sad that NYC, having its own crummy winter, had more snow in February than most Maine sites.

Mid 30s here. Might've seen catpaws during the heaviest if I'd been awake and in the pickup. 1.36" 7P-7A plus an inch or more as pack went from 6" to 3". Sandy River may get above flood stage but probably not even half the 42,700 cfs reached last December. I remember when our seasonal snowfall used to correlate with the amount of precipitation we got. Worked just fine here in January, nasomuch in Dec and not at all this month.

About 12" on Flying Pond, usually 18-20" by early March and >2 feet in colder winters. About 20 years ago I encountered 32" on North Pond (Belgrades) - had to chop away some of the surface ice to get clearance for the crook in my hand auger. Drove thru Belgrade Village today, and the visible part of Long Pond is about half open.

Hundreds of geese in the fields, Farmington/New Sharon yesterday. They may know something, since they wager hundreds of flying miles that the ground will be open enough to feed them. If they're wrong, they're in trouble. Monday at Flying Pond I saw one lone goose heading north - scouting?

Temps thru 3/5 Season 22-23 23-24 NOV +3.6 -2.4 DEC +4.8 +4.9 JAN +9.0 +4.5 Mildest of 26 Januarys FEB +1.2 +6.4 MAR 1-5 +4.3 +10.2 Snow 87.1" 55.8" SN since 2/1 32.6" 3.7" Pack 3/5 32" 6"

Nothing taller than 2700' north of Baxter, but there's probably halfway decent snow at 1k+ west of Rt 11 and north of the Realty Road. Pack is down to 7" and dropping. Earliest that it's gone to zero/trace is 3/14 in 2006; we may challenge that date this month. The adventure I had on Flying Pond yesterday (noted in the banter thread) was due to the pond's rise and resulting bathtub ring around the shore. That will only get worse this week, eliminating access on most ponds south of Moosehead. The Sandy River from Farmington and downstream is essentially clear of ice, also the earliest I've seen ice out there.

Ice fishing is cooked, at least on Flying Pond, unless we get several near-zero mornings (Unlikely). Only about 1/2" RA but perhaps the same in snowmelt, raising the pond level 9-10", resulting in 5" water on the ice by the landing and a bathtub ring of water 1/4 mile away where I usually fish. The big rock adjacent to the island, where I like to sit and wait, seemed okay until my first "dismount", when a 2' by 4' chunk broke away. Took off one boot and stuck that leg into the 18" water on the narrowest gap rock-to-island, got my other boot on the edge of the steep bank, but something went wrong when I attempted to pivot on the wet leg, and I fell off to the side, once again proving that a 12" boot is inadequate in 18" water. Drained what I could and stock it out another 2 hours (ice away from shore 11-12") with zero action, but the sunny 50 instead of the forecast 40-45 and cloudy made me antsy about getting off the ice without further drama.

It's sad, perhaps, but I agree. Last Dec 18 was indeed awesome, even as I was thoroughly drenched (felt like beyond skin deep) as I was chainsawing trees off our road, all having fallen from our woodlot. Each time I heard the roar, I stopped cutting and looked to see if anything was falling toward me. I've not seen the east half of our 80 acres except next to the road, but on the west half at least half the big fir were destroyed - makes me wish I'd painted those for the 2013 harvest.

A non-cold comment on the cold season thread - We had 3 days, Dec 6-8, with temps 10°+ BN. In the 85 days since then there's been exactly one - Jan 19 - and 30 days of 10°+ AN.

It would have to be a long-duration event like late Feb 1969 or what hit NS earlier this year. Pinkham Notch had 77" from that '69 dump and Long Falls Dam (Flagstaff Lake) had 56".

Up here it was whiff-boom-boom-whiff, with the 2 booms totaling 36.4". Still dreaming about hitting on all 4, might've threatened my record for snowiest month anywhere, 61.5" in Fort Kent, Dec 1976.

In late November of 1996 we tried to drive up to Paradise but were turned around at about 4,000' (Going to the Sky Bridge) as we had neither 4WD nor chains. At Longmire (~2700') there was mix and 3-6" OG. We found a turnout maybe 100' elev below the bridge and there was nearly 4 feet OG, with great snowball-fight texture. Paradise, at ~5500', probably had 6 ft+.

Found ~12" (3" gray, 9" black) on Flying Pond, about 10 miles south of my place, but almost no action last Tuesday. Maybe try again Monday. In an average winter there would be 18-20" this time of year. It’s actually pretty amazing. Summers are dry and beautiful with long days and light until close to 9:30-10pm in high summer. You’re within 90 minutes of epic snows in winter with the occasional snower into the city. I've only been there (actually near Olympia) twice, both times for Thanksgiving week, and there was rain every day both times. Only about 4 of the 14 days were stormy all day; the others had occasional showers - every cloud seemed to spill a little. Some say that it only rains once in November, from the 1st thru the 30th.

The forecast posted above has 25-31 then 48-54 for today-tonight. The 24-hour record (76" IIRC) might be in danger. Good news for those concerned about peaches and pears and what not. Unless an early spring includes another mid-May freeze.

I've seen 0.3" ice in early April - once, on Mile Hill 400' higher than my location - but 3/4" that late is amazing. The vast majority of Northeast ice storms I can recall were much earlier in the cold season: Nov 1921: mostly in New England Jan 8-9, 1953: The hilly country N and W from NYC (>1" ice at our NNJ home) Dec 11-12, 1970: NNJ, 3/4" ice Dec 17-18, 1973: Major damage W CT/MA Dec 13-14, 1983: 3/4-1" N. Maine Jan 8-9, 1998: 1.5-2.5" ice, terrible (also Jan 6-7 in PQ) Dec 11-12, 2008: 2" ice? Centered in ORH area Jan 1994? Maybe the 18th as that cold (in Gardiner, the light tower event) storm had a strong warm tongue - 5° at home, 40s with SE gales at RKD. I'm sure there are others.