View Full Version : What happened to winter?
Slo-go'en
12-15-2011, 13:54
:confused: It's 42 and raining here in the Whites today. It should be 20 and snowing! Oh well, we're only half way through December, but so far it doesn't look good for snowshoeing or skiing around here this year.
Lone Wolf
12-15-2011, 13:58
65 in damascus. gonna be a mild winter
It may come late. At least that's what I'm hoping. Last year winter was a bear until late Jan, and then it just kinda went away. I'm hoping the reverse happens this year.
Agreed. 54 degrees, rain and mud here in Michigan. Should have frozen ground and at least some snow. Miserable hiking right now.
Pedaling Fool
12-15-2011, 14:59
I'm loving it:sun This is the first normal winter (for this area) since 2008. My Hibiscus, which before 2008 was over 6 ft died during that winter and has died every winter since, only growing 3 ft at best before dying. It's now well over 4 ft and looking good and strong. Just today I was actually pondering if I should plant some of these seeds I got laying around.
Syracuse, NY was in the news. 55" snow to date last year, -0.5" this year...:)
Smooth & Wasabi
12-15-2011, 15:34
Stinks for skiing but it is good for my plow bill.
daddytwosticks
12-15-2011, 16:56
I'd love a mild-snow free winter here down south, compaired to last year. Just hope we get enough rain to keep us out of drought. :)
Perennial
12-15-2011, 17:17
Just hope we get enough rain to keep us out of drought. :)
No kidding! I'm SO tired of droughts. :eek:
Buffalo Skipper
12-15-2011, 17:28
Syracuse, NY was in the news. 55" snow to date last year, -0.5" this year...:)
I am a native Floridian, so I am not up on may things "snow." But how was one have -0.5" of snow this year or in any time period?
hikerboy57
12-15-2011, 17:37
winter has been postponed till after the mayan apocalypse.
charlieo
12-15-2011, 17:37
I had a lettuce plant that went to seed in the garden last summer, I've now got 4 brand new lettuce plants coming up. This is upstate New York, I couldn't believe my eyes. Oh well, don't have to shovel rain.
johnnybgood
12-15-2011, 17:52
It's all cyclical in nature . the last few years saw more snow and cold along the east coast.
Sarcasm the elf
12-15-2011, 18:31
:confused: It's 42 and raining here in the Whites today. It should be 20 and snowing! Oh well, we're only half way through December, but so far it doesn't look good for snowshoeing or skiing around here this year.... Yeah.... I'm takin my first ever trip to Mt. Washington this weekend, I'm starting to wonder if the guides will still let us try and summit if the weather stays the same and the temps drop.
I've been doing a lot of North Ga / NC trail running and car camping here and there - a month ago, I was into good cold, snow and full on winter in the Smokies - now, I'm back in shorts and even shirtless at times -- at times I love the way it feels but I also sense something wrong in the climate -- I really do worry about climate change and I do think that it is at least to a good extent our fault -- nevertheless, I am considering a good skinny dip in Slickrock Creek which will be a December first for me!
officially winter does not begin until Dec 22, it is still fall enjoy it!
Slo-go'en
12-15-2011, 19:22
... Yeah.... I'm takin my first ever trip to Mt. Washington this weekend, I'm starting to wonder if the guides will still let us try and summit if the weather stays the same and the temps drop.
Well, the temps are suppost to drop to more normal as this front moves out, so I'd be ready for an ice climb with a light coating of new snow to make it interesting. If you go up Saturday, it could be quite windy too. Good luck!!
DBCFlash
12-15-2011, 20:28
Wooly bear says it's going to be very mild all winter long. Coat was almost fully brown, just black at the very front and rear. I believe scientists give the wooly bear an 80% accuracy rating. Probably better than The Weather Channels predictions.
Wooly bear says it's going to be very mild all winter long. Coat was almost fully brown, just black at the very front and rear. I believe scientists give the wooly bear an 80% accuracy rating. Probably better than The Weather Channels predictions.
no scientists I know say much about wooly bears. They do recognize that we are experiencing abnormal warmth and abnormal weather patterns, which probably are related to climate change.
quilteresq
12-15-2011, 20:51
I'm hoping we get a good freezing cold snap BEFORE the snow flies - the ticks have been beyond ridiculous in NH the past few years.
Pedaling Fool
12-15-2011, 22:06
I had a lettuce plant that went to seed in the garden last summer, I've now got 4 brand new lettuce plants coming up. This is upstate New York, I couldn't believe my eyes. Oh well, don't have to shovel rain.We had a real good cold period last week and my strawberries loved it, now they're starting to pop
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m484/76gunner/Miscellaneous Yard Pics/022-1.jpg
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m484/76gunner/Miscellaneous Yard Pics/021-1.jpg
el nino, la nina, global warming, rhetoric in washington heating up2 severe winteres back to back, plenty of things to factor in. I do notice the squirrels tails are not very bushy(bushy tails mean a hard winter). also, in preparation of a bad winter, acorn harvests are usually bigger than the norm, it doesnt seem so this year. I predict a mild winter up to the point im wrong.i predict the groundhog will/will not see its shadow this year.
and i have a fairly strong feeling spring will begin march 21st
Sarcasm the elf
12-15-2011, 23:16
Well, the temps are suppost to drop to more normal as this front moves out, so I'd be ready for an ice climb with a light coating of new snow to make it interesting. If you go up Saturday, it could be quite windy too. Good luck!!
That's exactly what I'm hoping to encounter. We're getting a crash course in technical gear for most of Saturday and heading to Mt. Washington Sunday. I'm hoping for the best, but it's up to the guides to decide how far up we proceed.
I was cooking in my 20* bag last night between Hot Springs and Devil's Fork Gap.
I am a native Floridian, so I am not up on may things "snow." But how was one have -0.5" of snow this year or in any time period?
Hence the :)
It was some very small amount, that I fuzzed out on, so I threw that in as a weak attempt at humor.
Kind of like when the Summer temp drops to 92*, from a stretch of 96*, and you can call it a nice cool day.
birdygal
12-16-2011, 12:59
I want another white Christmas
songunn25
12-16-2011, 13:14
el nino, la nina, global warming, rhetoric in washington heating up2 severe winteres back to back, plenty of things to factor in. I do notice the squirrels tails are not very bushy(bushy tails mean a hard winter). also, in preparation of a bad winter, acorn harvests are usually bigger than the norm, it doesnt seem so this year. I predict a mild winter up to the point im wrong.i predict the groundhog will/will not see its shadow this year.A lot of the reason for this is oaks produced almost no acorns this year. A large die-off of squirrels and other rodents is expected over the winter. Which means come spring it is going to likely be a record year for Lyme Disease as all the ticks look for hosts to replace the missing rodent population. Read about it in an article last week: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/nyregion/boom-and-bust-in-acorns-will-affect-many-creatures-including-humans.html
Blissful
12-16-2011, 13:44
:confused: It's 42 and raining here in the Whites today. It should be 20 and snowing! Oh well, we're only half way through December, but so far it doesn't look good for snowshoeing or skiing around here this year.
That dude who was going to try and beat Jen's record should have gone for it... :)
I'm no scientist just old but seems normal to me, maybe a little warmer
Pedaling Fool
12-16-2011, 17:00
A lot of the reason for this is oaks produced almost no acorns this year. A large die-off of squirrels and other rodents is expected over the winter. Which means come spring it is going to likely be a record year for Lyme Disease as all the ticks look for hosts to replace the missing rodent population. Read about it in an article last week: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/nyregion/boom-and-bust-in-acorns-will-affect-many-creatures-including-humans.htmlThat's an interesting article. My live oak was raining down acorns last year and this year not much at all:-?
rocketsocks
12-16-2011, 18:24
It's that El Nemo
hikerboy57
12-16-2011, 18:27
It's that El Nemoyou smokin jello again?
I'm hoping we get a good freezing cold snap BEFORE the snow flies - the ticks have been beyond ridiculous in NH the past few years.
I was just thinking about that today while working at a friend's house in the country. The little buggers can thrive under leaf litter until it gets bitterly cold.....:mad:
you smokin jello again?
........................:rolleyes:
Pedaling Fool
12-16-2011, 19:11
I'm hoping we get a good freezing cold snap BEFORE the snow flies - the ticks have been beyond ridiculous in NH the past few years.I don't think a little cold snap is going to hurt them much, seeing that the past few years have been extremely cold.
BlakeGrice
12-18-2011, 23:39
Winter was present and accounted for on top of blood mountain last night. 28 degrees and windy as a mofo.
Northern Lights
12-19-2011, 01:11
It's weird weather North of 60 too this year. We've had our fair share of snow, but the temps are about 20 degrees celcius warmer than normal. If this keeps up we are going to be the new Florida.
genetic claybuilding
12-19-2011, 10:25
Any snow at all, at the higher elevations of the southern AT?
Slo-go'en
12-19-2011, 14:17
Winter's back! At least it was here for a few nights with temps around 0. I do wish it would snow some more. Can't enjoy winter with out some snow...and next storm looks like it might be rain again errr. I'm starting to feel like I live in the Pacific North West, not New England.
rocketsocks
12-19-2011, 18:35
I'ts all ready here.
johnnybgood
12-19-2011, 18:56
Snowpack will be minimal along the AT corridor this holiday season as a current weak air mass will prevail for the remainder of the week.
According to www.weatherunderground.com (http://www.weatherunderground.com) sudden stratospheric weaking will begin to allow the colder Arctic air to sink down from Canada at years end.
January should see more seasonal winter weather and likely an increased chance of snow for the northeast.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming ...:D
BlakeGrice
12-19-2011, 22:39
Toli told me there was 2" on top of Blood Mtn a few weeks back
rocketsocks
12-19-2011, 22:46
Snowpack will be minimal along the AT corridor this holiday season as a current weak air mass will prevail for the remainder of the week.
According to www.weatherunderground.com (http://www.weatherunderground.com) sudden stratospheric weaking will begin to allow the colder Arctic air to sink down from Canada at years end.
January should see more seasonal winter weather and likely an increased chance of snow for the northeast.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming ...:Dyou did that naked did'nt you
daddytwosticks
12-20-2011, 08:07
Weather Channel had the long range forecast for Jan thru March 2012 last night. Looks like it will be warmer than average at the southern end of the AT. Don't know about precipitation. :)
Slo-go'en
12-20-2011, 13:37
how come the ice age didnt last? was it due to global warming caused by the cromagnon or the neanderthals. i dont think so. the earth has always been warming but modern man has aided in the speed up of the process over the last 50 to 75 years since the industrial boom.....
Actually, the question should be why hasn't the next ice age started? We should be well into now. The answer is human activity. We started with farming in Asia and cutting down and burning trees in Europe, 5 or 6 thousand years ago. Over the last 100 years we've gotten really good at pumping out the CO2.
But we won't be able to keep doing that forever. Sooner or later the oil is going to run out and the coal too hard to get too. We'll frack all the gas out of the shale. With cheap, abundant and easy energy gone forever, populations will plumit and we'll go back to an early 1800's technology. CO2 levels will deminish, the ice age will start up again and wipe out any sign of us from North America and Europe. All will be well again.
Sarcasm the elf
12-20-2011, 14:54
Now that I've got that off of my chest, let me ask; How has the mild weather we've had so far this fall/winter affected your hiking and outdoor plans?
Pedaling Fool
12-20-2011, 16:31
How has the mild weather we've had so far this fall/winter affected your hiking and outdoor plans?I've been working in the yard more, because of this outstanding winter we've been having; I could never of done that during the last 3 winters. Some pics:sun
Butterfly Weed going to seed
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m484/76gunner/Miscellaneous Yard Pics/012-2.jpg
Transplanted the smaller Varigated Shell Ginger to a sunnier spot so it could grow as fast as the larger one
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m484/76gunner/Miscellaneous Yard Pics/001.jpg
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m484/76gunner/Miscellaneous Yard Pics/007-2.jpg
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m484/76gunner/Miscellaneous Yard Pics/008.jpg
Alligator
12-20-2011, 23:00
Please don't hijack the weather threads towards global warming/climate change. It's the usual suspects, we have had threads on the subject. They wind up closed.
Thanks.
Lemni Skate
12-21-2011, 10:51
Yeah, statistically this is not abnormal. Human brains tend to find patterns in everything. We have some years where December is warmer than usual and some where it is colder than usual. What we never get is a year where every month has average temperatures and average precipitation. Unless it hits 85 or -15 degrees in the next three months or we get 100 inches of snow then this winter will end up not sticking in my mind as particularly special.
Chaco Taco
12-21-2011, 11:31
Sleet and snow mix today. Still think it supposed to be colder up here and more snow so far. I have a feeling that Jan and Feb are going to be brutal though but at least my first winter in New England looks to be shorter than usual. Let me ease into it :)
Famous friggin' last words...
Now you've done it.:)