Quote:
Originally Posted by hazelnut
Sorry to flood the thread here but back to the spirit of this thread. What is up with this next storm? It looks like they are calling for 6+ inches of snow Sunday into Monday? That would be awesome for the trails.
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Winter Storm Watch in effect for all of northern New England for Sunday into Monday. Initial forecasts looked like there would be a changeover this far north but now things are trending colder. We are certainly colder today than in the past few days. We have been running around 32 the last few days on the island, and the water temp even jumped up to 34 at the 2-foot depth a few days ago, (still iced over) but now we're back in the 20s during the daytime (27 now) and water temp 33 at 2 feet and 10 feet.
Looks like a repeat of what we just had -- another 8-10 inches here. This one may be a bit more because we're starting off colder. The most recent storm we started off above freezing and it took a while for it to accumulate. When it did, it compacted under its own weight. This one will have a bit more fluff to it.
Safety note about these late season snowstorms: Warmer temps = higher water content in snow. Ice and snow by themselves are not slippery -- water is (skaters don't actually skate on the ice, but on a very thin layer of water between the blades and the ice.)
So... with that in mind... remember that the warmer the temps are, the wetter the snow is, and the more slippery the roads and walkways are going to be. Cold brings dry conditions and powder snow with very little water content. It offers much better traction.
The most recent storm came after several weeks of cold, dry snow events. Nobody was ready for driving in the wet type of snow. We only had a dusting when the scanner started lighting up with reports of rollover accidents. The roads didn't even look threatening (I was out driving) but when I tested my brakes I had nothing under the tires.
The other thing to keep in mind, as we get into these spring storms, is "heart attack snow." Many, many people have died while shoveling snow.
When the water content is higher, the snow is heavier, and people don't realize how strenuous the activity is. The basic rule with heavy wet snow is: If you'd think twice about shoveling the same amount of dirt, then you should probably sit it out, use a snowblower or have someone else shovel, and get into shape before attempting.
We have been getting easy-to-shovel storms all winter long, until this past week. This upcoming storm will be "somewhere in between" heavy/wet and fluffy/dry. At least here at the lake. In southern NH it may weigh more.