It’s always a bummer to get a warm-up and rain. But we didn’t fare that badly.
Although the temperature shot up to 43*F Monday night at Indian Lake, we got very little rain…in the order of a quarter-inch.
Temperatures then fell through the 30s on Tuesday, which stopped the bleeding. The winds also got really strong, which certainly caused some blow down.
The net result is that the existing snow cover was able to absorb most of the melt. You can see that I still had about 6 inches of snow on my lawn when the temperature dipped back to 32*F Tuesday afternoon:
The exposed areas hold less snow cover with some bald spots here and there. The protected spots hold somewhat more snow.
The point being: we did not get wiped out by any means. I saw about 7 or 8 snowmobiles rolling into town late Tuesday afternoon to get gas at the Route 30 One-Stop. So I can testify that the snowmobile trails remain passable.
Midweek Outlook:
Our next step is to put fresh snow on top of the remnant base. That will likely come with a developing storm system for Thursday. Although the main “umph” from the nor’easter should be well east of ilsnow land, we should be able to squeeze out some decent snow back here as well.
The NAM clown model shows some respectable snows when you combine the synoptic snows Thursday into early Thursday night and the orographic snows from Thursday night into Friday:
Literally taken, it’s showing 6 inches for Indian Lake, 8 inches for Speculator thence increasing to a foot-plus in parts of the western Adirondacks. Hey, even if snow amounts only end up being half of what is being shown here, it would put us on decent footing for the upcoming weekend.
Certainly, places like Perkins Clearing and Speculator Tree Farm (where not logged), Powley Road and Moose River Plains would be good if Thursday delivers the goods. The narrow woods trails would be in play as well.
Long range:
Another system will bring some more snows Saturday afternoon into the night, which should add to the pile this weekend. Unfortunately, due to the up-and-down pattern we’re in, I’m fearful of another warm up around Tuesday, January 3rd. I do see signs of settling into a consistently cold and perhaps stormy pattern sometime in mid-January…fodder for a future weather video.
Let’s watch the snows add up later this week and get ready for another snowmobile riding weekend in ilsnow land! I think we could say this winter has already been better than last winter. 😉
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
This report is brought to you by Pilot Knob Marina in Lake George. Just get off Northway I-87 Exit 20, then follow NY Route 149 East until you hit the junction of NY Route 149 and Bay Road. Pilot Knob Marina features a wide selection of new and pre-owned Arctic Cat snowmobiles & ATVs. If you see Nick Barber, tell him that Darrin @ ilsnow.com sent ya!
