January 10th. Winter. BAH! Humbug!

*sigh*

Almost a month since my last post. Christmas has come and gone. New Year's, too. We've had one--count it, ONE--snowfall that required shoveling. But we have had many, many days where the high temperature was under 20 degrees F and the low was below 0 degrees.

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I continue to feed three outdoor cats as well as the six indoor kitties. I've built two insulated shelters for the outdoor girls and on the real cold nights at least two of them make use of those shelters. Where the third goes, I have only have a few ideas--under the shed, under the hunting camp 150 yards down hill, or, perhaps, there's a hidden den on the hill somewhere among the branches and grape vines I've piled up.

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I've also been feeding the fireplace during the cold weather. I may actually burn all the firewood I've had stacked behind the garage--some of which has been there for three years. That's a good thing as some of it is starting to get a little punky. Mostly the softer poplar. It's also okay because I've some wood left from the crew that cleaned the powerline right of way to harvest as well as several birch, ash and maple trees I want to fell. As soon as the wind drops and the weather warms a bit.

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We didn't go into New Jersey on Christmas Eve because of weather forecasts of several inches of snow that we would have had to drive through on the way home. (That "storm" turned into a dud producing only an inch of snow at the Aerie.) We DID manage to get into NJ on January 7th for my grandniece's first birthday. NJ, of course, had a heck of a lot more snow than we did having just suffered the snowmagedon of the year.

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Tiadaghton Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count took place on January 1st. While the temperature was hovering between 5 and 6 degrees most of the morning, we did have very little wind and mostly sunny skies. We also got to see quite a few more birds than last year. Las year we may have spotted 15 BIRDS. This year we spotted 15 species and 270 birds. We did our birding from the car and covered 78 miles of back roads in central Tioga County--the southern edge of our club's circle. The club had a total of 52 species and 3670 birds within our circle.

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Terry and I have decided upon--and booked--a cruise of the lower Mississippi for May. We'll be on the Mississippi Queen, a paddlewheeler of the American Cruise Lines. The boat leaves New Orleans on April 28 sailing up the Mississippi to Vicksburg and then returns to New Orleans on May 5th so we'll be on the water for Terry's birthday (May 3rd). We've also decided to drive down and back so as to add a possible side trip to either Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri (to see Doug and Lucille) or to Columbia, SC (to see Jim and Pat). At almost $900 per person round trip for a flight out of Philly to New Orleans, we may actually save money driving!

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Terry will be getting a partial knee replacement tomorrow at the Corning Hospital. She's bone on bone and in significant pain that shots have not helped alleviate. She has the same doctor doing her knee as I had replace both my knees. This time, however, he'll be supervising a robot that will do the surgery. Maybe she'll have less leg bruising than I did. Both my legs were balck and blue after surgery.

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Well, I guess that pretty much sums up the last month or so.

And So IT Begins.

We got our second snowfall of the year on Thursday night. Like the first, it didn't amount to much. I guess it was just a half inch or so. Unlike the first--which melted the next day--overcast clouds and small flurries have allowed this one to stay around. Add the fact that the temperatures were down to 17 degrees this morning and not likely to get above the freezing mark today, plus the snow showers predicted for Sunday evening into Monday and we're probably going to have some white for a long time to come. Go down the hill a few hundred feet and the snow disappears.

Interesting Week

And, yes, "May you live in interesting times," is a curse.

*sigh*

Went to the Post Office Friday morning to get the mail. As I got in the Tundra and turned the key, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. Check engine, ABS, 4HI/4LO, Brake...all were lit up and/or flashing. Still, the truck turned over and rolled freely (no brakes or 4-wheel drive).

As I drove down to get the mail, I noticed the odometer wasn't working and neither was the speedometer or the computer that calculated the mpg and range.

Called the mechanic and took the Tundra to get looked at. The ABS Actuator (the computer brain that runs just about everything) needs to be replaced...next Thursday. This is a $2K headache I didn't really need.

I carefully made sure the gas tank was full and discovered the gas gauge DOES work. Thank goodness!

Still, I'll be parking the Tundra in the driveway until next Thursday morning.

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The latest winter storm may turn out to be a bit of a dud as far as we're concerned. As the storm approaches and the forecasters fine tune the track of the storm, it seems to be shifting to the south. We've gone from the "foot or more" area to the "3-6 inches" and now to the "1 inch" zone. I'll take it! AccuHunch will become my new Bestest Friend--for now--if this holds true.

Those in the central and southern portions of the state remain in the "oh my God" zones, however. 

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It's been wicked cold here...again. We've seen a couple of mornings this week where it got below minus 5 degrees. But, aside from a few snow squalls that briefly produced white-out conditions, we've been relatively snow free. I don't believe we've seen so many sub-zero readings since we moved here in the winter of '06. And we're not done yet. Forecasters are saying we'll get another blast of super cold air once this storm moves off to the east. I saw a minus 10 prediction for Wednesday.

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The Iditarod ("The Last Great Race!") kicks off this weekend with the ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage scheduled for Saturday and the official start out of Willow on Sunday. The route has been plagued by comparatively warm temps and low snow fall all winter. Wish we could send them some of ours!

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They finally closed on the sale of Mom's house in NJ. The money, however, will be held in escrow until the state signs off on the remediation of tiny oil leak that was discovered when the empty oil tank was removed from the front yard. That could take months to years according to the realtor. Even though there was an inspection done on site as the work from a licensed contractor scooped out the little soil that was contaminated (tests showed that nothing got into the ground water), the paper work must make its way through the halls of bureaucracy.

The closing almost got cancelled as the buyers and their attorney, kept bringing up niggling little items at the last minute. As first time buyers, they kept expecting a 60+ year-old house to be perfect. If either Terry or I were there, the sale probably would have been cancelled, but the estate's attorney has a little more patience than we do. Even so, even he is reported to have stood up at one point and said he was going to put the house back on the market.

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On a positive note, yesterday was the first day of official spring training baseball games. Between now and Opening Day there will be stories of prospects and veterans who look good/poor; injuries; hopes; and dreams. Few will write about the teams that "haven't got a chance in Hell" of making the playoffs and few fans will admit that their team is out of the running. Hope springs eternal.

Week 26: Cold. Very cold. Oh. And snowy.

Yesterday marked the 26th week since I had my knees replace. That's the six month mark and things are progressing swimmingly. The twins are performing well in all facets of life but one: I can't kneel down worth a damn! Putting the knees onto a hard surface like the floor is very, very painful. I'll have to invest in some serious knee pads soon. Or, at the very least, remember to roll up a thick coat, throw rug, or cat before I attempt to kneel even to fetch a bowl from the back of the cabinet.

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Terry got home around 5 PM Sunday, swapped out her clothes in her suitcase, grabbed a few hours sleep, and hit the road south at 6 AM Monday morning. She made it to Columbia, SC by 5 PM with only a few short stops along the way. The road was clear and she reported plenty of sunlight along the way. When she called to let me know she had made it, it was nearly 60 degrees (it was just 25 at the Aerie). This morning it was just 5 degrees here in the Northern Tier of PA and snowing again. (It's been lightly snowing since 11 AM on Monday.) At least there's no wind...yet. There IS a high wind warning for later today. She may not want to come home.

She and her cousins were taking all too much pleasure in mentioning the new palm tree they have in the yard...and the 60 degree temperatures. Wait until hurricane season!

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The light snow has accumulated only about an inch maybe two since yesterday which is fine by me. This particular storm, dubbed Juno by the folks at weather.com, is dumping much more snow to the east and south according to the forecast maps. Southeast PA and northern NJ may see up to a foot. Like I said, Terry may not want to come home.

The snow plow has been up and down our hill already this morning. It seemed to have trouble just on the lower edge of our property. Whether there was a patch of ice or the driver just had trouble getting the right gear, or setting up the cinder spreader correctly he had to back up several times to get a running start that carried him the rest of the way up the hill. I'll know more about his troubles when I go out in a bit to fetch the mail. Should be quite a bit between the post office being closed on Monday and my being occupied shoveling snow on Saturday.

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I spent the better part of Monday turning a bunch of semifrozen butternut squash into mash and then freezing the results for use in pies and soups. The garage turns out to be a poor choice for long term storage when the temperatures get down to single digits--or lower--for extended periods. That or the squash need some insulated protection if they are to reside there. Perhaps I should have put them in one of the styrofoam coolers. In any event, I got four containers of two cups each put into the freezer.

I'll be enjoying the small amount that was left over with a little brown sugar and butter as a side dish for my dinner today.

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While digging out the containers for freezing, I discovered the shelf in the cabinet was cock-eyed. I had to pull everything out, cut a couple of "legs" and put them in to support the shelf and then put everything back in. (Hence the complaint about kneeling above.) Conclusion: We have way too much stuff in there unless we are prepared to open a bakery. Why have five or six pie pans (metal, glass, ceramic), five or six muffin/cupcake pans, five bread loaf pans (again, metal, glass and ceramic), two bundt pans, a couple of specialty baking pans (heart shaped? Really?) and scadie-eight gazillion plastic Tupperware containers and their lids, not to mention at least eight different configurations on a frying pan?

I'm sure Terry has some justification for all of the above. If not she'll just point to my fishing/hunting/wood working gear and say, "Well?"

Certainties: Snow, Death, and Taxes

A series of winter lows are moving along the edge of the cold air that's bulged southward. Again. Friday's low dumped between 2 and 3 inches of light, white powder on the Aerie while the cold air moved in afterward. Two or three inches isn't enough to fire the tractor up nor is it enough to run the thrower, so I spent three hours in 18 degree temperatures shoveling the driveway. Luckily, there was no wind to blow the snow back in my face and my flannel-lined jeans, wool coat and fleece-lined gloves kept me warm when standing still. Once I was swinging the shovel, I even broke a sweat.

Three hours walking back and forth pushing the snow shovel. (I try not to lift and throw too much. Even the light stuff can get to you after a while.) As someone said on Facebook, I really gave the knees a workout. This morning I was still a bit achy. One thing I can be sure of, this won't be the last snow of the season.

Last night's little zephyr passed south and east of us and left only a tiny dusting of powder on the ground. (They say the next couple will do the same.) And the temperatures fell even further reaching a low of 8 degrees at dawn this morning. Yeah, it did shoot up to 22 degrees this afternoon under a cloudless, sunny sky, but it's going down tonight and tomorrow we may not see the teens.

This afternoon, I refilled the firewood rack in the garage from the woodpile behind the garage.  The job would be easier if not for the hump left from the ditch the well drillers had dug and filled. That and the amount of stuff in the garage form Mom's house. The dirt hump means I have to walk about 10 feet from pile to wheel barrow while all the stuff in the garage means I have to do the same at the opposite end. Four trips back and forth to fill the rack but at least I'll be toasty the next couple of days.

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Terry returns form her stitching weekend tonight. She won't be home long. She was going to go to New Jersey to see how things are progressing there, but then we got a phone call from South Carolina. Her cousin Lorraine, who has been battling cancer, has had her brain cancer stop responding to treatment. The prognosis is not good with the doctors saying she could survive for "up to three months" but it's really day-to-day. So, after a change of clothes and a night's sleep, Terry will be rolling down to Columbia and Sumter.

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All the tax info is starting to arrive in the mail. I just pile them up for Terry to deal with. She speaks better bureaucratitis than I do. She can read through the forms without screaming...much. But this year, with Mom's death and all, even she is throwing in the cards and we'll be seeking professional help. As usual, I'll still be writing the checks.

Week 18 The Knees and More

I spent many hours behind the wheel of the Tundra this week driving back and forth between the Aerie and Mom's house in Linden, NJ. It's 250 miles one way and I made three trips in eight days. Add the trip to and fro for Mom's funeral and since October 28th I tallied 2000 miles. With each one-way trip taking approximately 4.5 hours, that's some 36 hours. That didn't leave a lot of time for exercises but, once I was at Mom's, climbing up and down stairs, toting boxes and bags and furniture more than made up for my lack of routine. Back at the Aerie, unloading much of that stuff and hauling the rest to the dump also had me doing what I call "occupational therapy."

That said, I've got to report that there are days when I (almost) don't notice any pain in either knee. The left is still complaining more than the right, however, so there is still some room for improvement.

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We got our first really cold weather of the season yesterday as the low temperature was 8.8 degrees at 6:45 in the morning. That day it got all the way up to 22 degrees. Today was slightly warmer with a low of 11.5 degrees and a high 30.9 degrees. The thermometer making these readings is on the porch just eight feet from the house and on the sunny side to boot so there may be some heat island effect going on.

We're forecast to get a bit of serious snow starting Tuesday night and all day on Wednesday. It's supposed to be warming late in the day on Tuesday causing the snow to switch to mixed precipitation which will affect the amount of snow. Maps currently show us in the 3-6 inch zone but that 6+ area is less than 75 miles to the west so a slight shift in either the temperature or the storm system could bring us more.

Our nephew, Brian, is supposed to fly into NJ Wednesday morning to pick up the car Mom left to him and then drive out here for Thanksgiving. The weather's likely to affect his flight and decision to drive northwest. Vicki, his wife, will be flying into Corning/Elmira on Saturday, renting a SUV and coming for a second Thanksgiving dinner before they both drive home to Milwaukee hauling several large pieces of furniture (hence the SUV).

Once again, the best plans aft gang astray.

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Terry and I made one more trip to the dump today with ten or so bags of trash from Mom's house as well as some of our own. There's still a good deal of sorting and decision making to be made as well as some old paints that need to be made safe for disposal, so there will be more trips to the dump in the future.

Terry also took care of some banking stuff in connection with her role as executrix. After I shifted stuff around in the garage, I turned the tractor around to prepare for "The Snow" they say is coming. Some of the stuff I had to move included folding chairs--lots of folding chairs--we didn't need. Terry took them and a couple bags of clothes to My Neighbors' Closet in Mansfield and they were very happy to receive them.

Just a reminder: Cold Kills

As a reminder of the devastating effects cold can have on humans, we have this report about the latest cold spell in Europe:

Toll from Europe freeze tops 220

Temperatures plunged to new lows in Europe where a week-long cold snap has now claimed more than 220 lives and forecasters warned Friday that the big freeze would tighten its grip over the weekend.

A total of 223 people have died from the cold weather in the last seven days according to an AFP tally, with Ukraine suffering the heaviest toll.

In addition to the deaths, some...shall we say...interesting weather has occurred. For instance ice skates might become more useful than a gondola in Venice. And you might want to leave the toga home when you go to Rome.

In Italy, Venice's canals started freezing over and even Rome was dusted in snow.
...
Temperatures plunged to minus 35 Celsius in some areas of Poland.

In Bulgaria parts of the River Danube froze over

Snow Falls in Rome as Italy Is Hit by Cold Snap

A rare snowfall blanketed Rome on Friday, forcing the closure of the Colosseum over fears tourists would slip on the icy ruins, and leaving buses struggling to climb the city's slushy hills. Other parts of the country experienced frigid temperatures unseen in years.

Authorities stopped visitors from entering the Colosseum, the adjacent Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, the former home of Rome's ancient emperors, although those already inside the ruins before thick flakes began coming down in late morning were allowed to finish their visits. The director of the ancient arena, Rossella Rea, said there was concern visitors could fall on ice.

The last substantial snowfall in Rome occurred in 1986, though lighter snowfalls have occasionally and briefly blanketed the city since, including in 2010.

Then there's the heating problem in the city...

Since the capital infrequently sees freezing temperatures, heating in homes is only allowed by law for about 10 hours a day, to cut down on pollution. The cold snap, with temperatures hovering at or just below the freezing point, meant Romans shivered in their homes, many with tile and marble floors.

The cold in Poland has halted the annual swim, too.

Deep freeze hits Poland's hardy lake swimmers

"In the interests of our participants' security, we've decided to call off this year's Bath of the Brave," Ireneusz Dzienisiewicz told Poland's PAP news agency.
...
But temperatures in northern Poland have plunged to minus 30 Celsius (minus 22 Fahrenheit), far below the minus 15 Celsius experienced by swimmers in 2010 during the coldest ever edition of the event.

On top of the risks to the swimmers, there were also practical reasons for cancelling the event.

"The water freezes so fast that we wouldn't be able to keep a large enough hole in the ice," said Dzienisiewicz.

About that cold....

It has begun...

BRITAIN COLDER THAN ICELAND: NEW ALERT AS TEMPERATURES PLUNGE TO -11C

Okay, it's not 80 F below zero, but for those in the British Isles, it's pretty cold. And snowy!

I wonder what the temps are in East Anglia?

So close!

More about cold from Watt's Up With That

Bitter cold records broken in Alaska - all time coldest record nearly broken, but Murphy’s Law intervenes

Jim River, AK closed in on the all time record coldest temperature of -80°F set in 1971, which is not only the Alaska all-time record, but the record for the entire United States. Unfortunately, it seems the battery died in the weather station just at the critical moment.

Yep. When the temperature reached -79 degrees F at 18:34 on January 28th. Surely it got below -80 degrees F. No?

According to Anthony, the electronic weather station used at Jim River is built to operate at temperatures from -40 to 150 degrees F. The lithium batteries used to backup the solar power used during the day also is built to operate from -40 to 150 degrees F. Not sure if we can blame Murphy for this or not. Seems more like a SNAFU.

Uh-oh!

Fro those in the lower 48 who are bemoaning the mild winter we have been enjoying (so far!), there is this cautionary tale from the UK Daily Mail :

Forget global warming - it's Cycle 25 we need to worry about (and if NASA scientists are right the Thames will be freezing over again)

The supposed ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming is facing an inconvenient challenge after the release of new temperature data showing the planet has not warmed for the past 15 years.

The figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century.

***

According to a paper issued last week by the Met Office, there is a 92 per cent chance that both Cycle 25 and those taking place in the following decades will be as weak as, or weaker than, the ‘Dalton minimum’ of 1790 to 1830. In this period, named after the meteorologist John Dalton, average temperatures in parts of Europe fell by 2C.

However, it is also possible that the new solar energy slump could be as deep as the ‘Maunder minimum’ (after astronomer Edward Maunder), between 1645 and 1715 in the coldest part of the ‘Little Ice Age’ when, as well as the Thames frost fairs, the canals of Holland froze solid.

Can you say "Hans Brinker"?

This is NOT the Climate Change we were looking for.

Go on and read the whole thing, as they say, but have a warm drink handy while you do.

Cold! Cold! Cold!

It's clear, calm and minus 6 here at the Aerie this morning. Our first foray into the negative numbers and by far the coldest yet this season at the homestead. And it's colder in the valley. It's supposed to get into the upper teens later today and I see AccuHunch has 1.5 inches of snow on its agenda for late in the day into tonight.

And they are still wondering what will happen Tuesday through Wednesday. While they haven't made an official prediction for it, all their blogs, maps and discussions behind the main page, seem to indicate we're in for a doozy.

But, even should we get a foot of snow, at least it will be warming up! That snow will be fueled by warm moist air from the Gulf.

Oh, baby, it's cold outside...

Just 1.5 degrees this morning at 6:30 AM at the Aerie. Of course our hillside location usually provides us with slightly warmer temps than those done in the valley. (Cold air sinks, don't cha know.) Elmira reports MINUS 8. By far this is the coldest to date this season.

We--and the eastern seaboard--are staring down the barrel at another HUGE snow storm for the middle of next week. Could be as big as the Christmas storm. Could reach further inland so as to impact the Aerie. We shall see.

Terry says a guy on the Today Show puts thins in perspective: We still have 60% of the snow season to go. *sigh*

Now don't get me wrong. I like snow. I enjoy the clean, crisp cold air. I am immersed in the soft silence that descends upon the world as the flakes fall. The blanket of white looks so pristine and soft as it lays upon the landscape. I thrill to the squeak as the icy snow is crunched beneath the soles of my boots. I marvel at the beautifully sculpted curves of the wind blown drifts. i enjoy attempting to read the night moves of the local fauna in the tracks they leave behind on the fresh slate each night.

It's the having to move the stuff out of the way so we can get out that troubles me. That and the monotony that eventually comes into play. When the white on the ground, the white of the birch bark, the gray of the other tree trunks, and, on days when the clouds roll in, the leaden sky fuses land and sky into shades of gray. When the lack of real color save from the green of the pines and firs and the occasional red of a male cardinal makes you wonder if you've lost part of your ability to see. That's what begins to bug me about winter.

On the road again....

Off on a quick trip to the Bolt Hole tomorrow. This cold weather has me worried that the unheated cabin might get too cold for the water I left in the pipes. So...It'll be 225 miles up, drain the pipes, and 225 miles back home. What fun!

I'd rather not go since I'll have to do it again in a couple days once they get the part to fix the AC on the trailer, but, I'd like to keep the plumbing intact, thank you!

Just as we were getting out of the cars to start our bird walk this morning I got a call from Mark telling me it was a mere 24 degrees at the Bolt Hole this morning. He wanted to know if he should start a fire in the cabin before he left today. Hell yeah! I should have told him to drain the pipes too, but that might have taken longer to explain where all the low valves were than it was worth.

I would have left to go up this afternoon and slept over, but all that fresh air and sunshine this morning at Hills Creek SP had me feeling a bit sleepy as it was. With Mark's fire and the abundant afternoon sunshine (and the lack of leaves on the trees) the cabin should have been able to store enough heat to make it through the night. It's the next four nights of lows in the 20s and days when the highs will only be in the 40s and 50s that worry me.

So, I'll b setting the alarm for 4 AM and hope to be out and on my way by 4:30. I'll be taking the Jeep this time since A) it was gassed up and nearly full and B) it gets better mpgs than the Tundra and C) I'll not be hauling anything either way.

Bolt Hole Brrrr!

Sheesh! My prognosticater is as busted as those at weather.com. The high pressure system pushed those clouds that began to appear late yesterday back south and funneled cold, cold Canadian air into the region. As a result, the temperature this morning is a mere 0.6 degrees. The bubbly weather girl on the Utica station was speaking yesterday of how "warm" the weekend was going to be. I believe she mentioned 40 degrees. (Bill Cosby voice from an early comedy routine/album) R-i-g-h-t!

All right, Utica is 25 or so miles south of here. It's along the Mohawk River,Erie Canal, and the NYS Thruway; and it's several hundred feet lower in elevation than the Bolt Hole so it typically reads a few degrees different (usually warmer) than the cabin, but still.... Checking some Weather Underground stations round and about, I find we are a good 5 degrees colder than those near Utica but almost a full degree warmer than the one just a couple miles away from here. (It's minus 0.9 degrees at that farm which is 3 to 5 miles west of and 300 feet lower than the Bolt Hole.)

Brrr!

Just 3.4 degrees at the Aerie this morning at 7 AM under clear skies and with rime ice coating all surfaces. Virtually no wind--thank goodness! (Weather.com agrees on the temp. AccuWeather says it's minus 4.)

That is all.

ps. Oh, that Blue Blob still hovers over Armenia Mountain on the weather.com radar despite not a cloud in the sky.

pps. I just checked the AccuWeather radar and the Blue Blob is there as well! This has got to be cause dby the northerly winds being pushed up the Armenia Mountain slopes. The ridge runs on a line that would be from the ENE to the WSW and the Blob stretches from one end to the other. BUT ONLY ALONG ARMENIA MOUNTAIN. There are half a dozen ridges in the area called The Endless Mountains and the Northern Tier. Why us? Will the Blob disappear when/if the wind shifts?

Winter

My cousin sent me this this morning.

I found this beautiful winter poem and thought it might be a comfort to you... It was to me, and it's very well written.

I felt it really captured my own feelings about winter.

'WINTER'

a poem by

Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre

SHIT, It's Cold!

The End

My cousin lives near Tampa, Florida.
Prior to that she lived in northwestern New Jersey. I think living in Florida has thinned her blood.

Hey! Who turned off the heat?

It was down to 11 degrees when we came down to the kitchen this morning at 7 AM. And it went down from there. Not much, thank goodness. Just down to 10 degrees at 9 AM. The winds are a pretty steady 20 mph coming out of the north-northwest making it feel closer to zero. The temps did go up to 13-14 degrees when the sun got up over the mountain, but still....

Must be those rascals from Canada cleaning out the fridge again.

At least were (almost) out of range of the lake effect snow. Just a 50% chance of snow showers here today and tomorrow. That should make our second outing for the Christmas Bird Count tomorrow morning interesting to say the least.

Where in the world is Al Gore?

Make that "Where in the space-time continuum is Al Gore?" I mean the man does seem to have trouble with time. The latest Climategate email is ten years old? First time I knew one month could equal 10 years.

Anyway....Just 8 degrees at 6:30 AM at the Aerie. Thankfully the winds have died down considerably so the wind chill is "only" -3 or -4 degrees.

Back later as I've a fire to build and a hot breakfast to eat before I can function.

Ice on the Great Lakes

I was watching the football games yesterday and switching channels during the commercials. I happened to land on the Weather Channel (or maybe it was the local news) between games and heard someone say that Lake Erie was essentially frozen over.

Well, I wanted to see what they meant by essentially frozen over so I did a quick Google search of ”Great Lakes ice cover” and found this NOAA site.

By clicking on either Lakes Erie, Ontario or Huron you get access to recent maps of the eastern Great Lakes. Lakes Superior or Michigan will get you to the western Lakes. There are even maps of Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. (Although the Bays haven’t much ice and Delaware hasn’t had any, apparently, since February of 2007.)

The maps are huge in size but load quickly. You’ll have to scroll around to see the different parts of the lakes.

Lake Erie on January 16, 2009:

The red areas are 9/10 ice. Blue areas are 1/10 ice.

Grey areas are fast ice (100% rock hard).

Lake Ontario on January 16, 2009:

Blue is only 1/10 ice. White is open water.

A couple of thoughts come to mind after looking at the ice coverage on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario:

1- Folks on the shores of Lake Erie are undoubtedly hoping the ice remains in place so as to stop the lake effect snows that have plagued them in the recent past.

2- Folks living on the eastern end of Lake Ontario (Helloooo, Watertown, Mannsville, Polaski, Oswego, etc.) are probably praying that the damn lake will freeze! Steady winds out of the west will be settling in for this week and that means snow, snow, snow!


One more item...

Does anyone else find it ironic that, up on the northern edge of Lake Huron, this place is frozen solid?

Gore Bay is "fast ice" = 100% solid.

Extreme Cold

If you'll excuse me, I've got to go tend to the huskies. They need their ration of seal meat if I expect them to pull the sled tomorrow.

Accu-Hunch:

Extremely cold weather will persist across the Northeast through Saturday. From the Virginias to New England, another very harsh night lies ahead with widespread below-zero temperatures. The northern tier of Pennsylvania will experience 20-below-zero readings overnight, and central and northern New England will have pockets close to 40 below.

The Aerie is in the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania. They say it is currently (9:30 PM) minus 2 degrees outside--which is what I have on the thermometer, too.

Perhaps the most incredible temperature during the past 24 hours was the 14 below zero recorded at Westhampton Beach, Long Island early Friday morning. That just shows you what clear skies and fresh snow cover can do when there is frigid arctic air in place.

I always thought the shore was warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer because the water acted as a heat reservoir and heat sink. Fourteen below at Westhampton Beach is unheard of. At least I have never heard of it before.

Oh, and they're saying we should get another 3-6 inch snowfall Saturday night.

Hey, Sisyphus! Grab the shovel. We got work to do.