Snowstorm Wednesday 1/28

BoulderBronco · 01-27-2009, 11:35 AM

Seems this is a great thing for snowmobiling but could be a bad thing for fishing conditions. From what I have heard it's already a bit slushy in areas. Another foot+ on top of that and it will be a mess. We don't want a repeat of last year. Any chance all this slush/snow will just freeze and the conditions become perfect?

Lakegeezer · 01-27-2009, 12:23 PM

Bring it on! I can't wait to do some snowmobiling in the storm tomorrow afternoon, with my GPS to keep from getting lost. BoulderBronco has a good point. There is already some serious slush spots on the lake. With another foot on top, things are going to get sloppy, but new snow is needed. The main part of the lake has frozen white-caps - very bumpy. In spots, there are ice-shards sicking up out of the snow, which make for an interesting ride.

With any luck, the snowmobilers will pack down plenty of space, which will make a good platform for the fishing derby.

hilltopper · 01-27-2009, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoulderBronco

Seems this is a great thing for snowmobiling but could be a bad thing for fishing conditions. From what I have heard it's already a bit slushy in areas. Another foot+ on top of that and it will be a mess. We don't want a repeat of last year. Any chance all this slush/snow will just freeze and the conditions become perfect?

If I remember correctly last year, there were two events the week before the derby. One was heavy snow and the other was heavy snow with some mixing. I think total accumulation from the two was around 15". This will be a lighter snow event in regards to water content. I can't imagine it will be like last year. Last year it wasn't slush where I was...just plain stading water on top of the ice. It was a miserable mess!

CanisLupusArctos · 01-27-2009, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoulderBronco

Seems this is a great thing for snowmobiling but could be a bad thing for fishing conditions. From what I have heard it's already a bit slushy in areas. Another foot+ on top of that and it will be a mess. We don't want a repeat of last year. Any chance all this slush/snow will just freeze and the conditions become perfect?

If a bunch of people get out there with snow machines and pack it all down during the storm it should be fine!

What's out there right now in front of Black Cat is very hard wind-pack like you find on the mountain summits. It is not like last year at all. It looks fluffy in the WeatherCam but it has in the high winds and extreme cold it has formed very solid drifts that you can walk on top of, without snowshoes.

Rose, I'm with you... I'd like to see the same ECMWF as you are looking for. I did read in Taunton's discussion (and agree) that the dense cold air mass plus the healthy snowcover all over New England will likely play a role in keeping the storm track south of the Mass Pike. I see a repeat or a near-repeat of what happened on Sunday the 18th.

My forecast for the Lakes Region is based on a local phenomenon I have observed for 3 years now... the lake itself acts as a funnel for wind coming off the ocean. For example, during some past winter storms where snow has changed to sleet and freezing rain along the coast, on the island we've gotten the coastal changeover (with strong SE winds) even while Moultonborough and Laconia were both still snowing and wind from the NE...

My hypothesis is the tongue of ocean influence comes farther inland than it otherwise would, because of the lake acting as a resistance-free channel for it. I've based a few forecasts on it, with success.

On Sunday the 18th I noticed the snowfall amounts were greatest along the coast and also along a corridor from Rochester to Center Harbor. The wind had been bringing ocean moisture into the cold air mass, and it was reaching "only so far" inland except around this lake southeastward to the seacoast.

The SE end of the lake is relatively open to the seacoast, so all an easterly air current has to do is catch the hills & mountains to the west of Rochester and Alton which steer it into the tip of Alton Bay, and then it gets a free ride between the Belknaps on the southern shore and the Ossipees on the northern shore, until it hits the Squam Mountains at the Center Harbor end and stops.

BoulderBronco · 01-27-2009, 02:29 PM

Well thats good. But it sounds like the lake is not generating any more ice. My brother had 10" halfway down Meredith bay two weeks ago. He went out again this past weekend and had about the same, maybe 11" in some spots. What gives? Is the lake maxed already? Is the snow pack insulating the lake to the point it will not freeze any more? I was hoping for 20" of ice this year. Either way I can't wait. I just moved my flight up a week so I am heading out there Thursday and will be there for 10 days. Here fishy fishy.

01-27-2009, 12:23 PM	#2
Lakegeezer Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Moultonboro, NH Posts: 1,680 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 355 Thanked 640 Times in 291 Posts	Yeeeeehaaa Bring it on! I can't wait to do some snowmobiling in the storm tomorrow afternoon, with my GPS to keep from getting lost. BoulderBronco has a good point. There is already some serious slush spots on the lake. With another foot on top, things are going to get sloppy, but new snow is needed. The main part of the lake has frozen white-caps - very bumpy. In spots, there are ice-shards sicking up out of the snow, which make for an interesting ride. With any luck, the snowmobilers will pack down plenty of space, which will make a good platform for the fishing derby. __________________ -lg

01-27-2009, 11:35 AM	#1
BoulderBronco Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 121 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Seems this is a great thing for snowmobiling but could be a bad thing for fishing conditions. From what I have heard it's already a bit slushy in areas. Another foot+ on top of that and it will be a mess. We don't want a repeat of last year. Any chance all this slush/snow will just freeze and the conditions become perfect?

01-27-2009, 02:29 PM	#5
BoulderBronco Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 121 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Well thats good. But it sounds like the lake is not generating any more ice. My brother had 10" halfway down Meredith bay two weeks ago. He went out again this past weekend and had about the same, maybe 11" in some spots. What gives? Is the lake maxed already? Is the snow pack insulating the lake to the point it will not freeze any more? I was hoping for 20" of ice this year. Either way I can't wait. I just moved my flight up a week so I am heading out there Thursday and will be there for 10 days. Here fishy fishy.