We survived the Thaw!
Rainfall Wednesday afternoon and night was generally in the 1.00-1.50 inch range, which was not as bad as some of the dire predictions. But the rain, combined with temperatures reaching 50*F did its fair share of damage. The typical low lying swampy and wet areas are a mess now. Lakes had large areas of standing water on them. Strong winds have knocked down trees and branches.
Thankfully, the cold air rushed in today and firmed up our remnant 6-12 inch snow pack. Then the lake-effect snows kicked in, accumulating around 2 inches at Indian Lake and upwards of 9 inches in Inlet by early Thursday night. The lake effect band has shifted south and will nail the Route 8 corridor overnight.
9AM Friday Update: Speculator area picked up 3-5 inches of snow Thursday night!
Weekend Outlook:
The seasonal roads like Perkins Clearing, Moose River Plains and Powley Road will be your safest bets for any “good” riding this weekend. The narrow woods trails around Indian Lake and Speculator should be considered “at your own risk” riding. Riding the lakes will be risky, especially near inlets and outlets. Cold weather and minor snows will firm things up as the weekend progresses, but we need a home run to get things anywhere near mid-winter prime. Be extra careful out there!
Note: 5th Annual Purple Ribbon Cancer Ride will be held at Indian Lake Saturday February 2nd. The Indian Lake Snowarriors might be working extra hard Friday night to make S84/Blue Mountain trail a decent ride for the event. Just a little tip from Darrin@ilsnow.com
NOON Friday Update: Just got notice the Purple Ribbon Cancer Ride has been cancelled. All other activities will continue at the Boar’s Nest.
Bottom line:
The conditions we have now are extremely marginal late winter/early spring with a fresh covering of snow and cold temperatures. Whether you come up this weekend or save your coin for a better ride is up to you. As for me, I’ll keep my sled inside and play the high odds that the remainder of February and March will offer better riding at some point.
