Clock is Ticking, Snow is Falling

Yesterday, Diane Rossi let me know that the clock is now hooked up and running in preparation for the block sinking, signaling the end of the 2023 Ice-Out Contest. Not only is the clock running, but Larry Rossi made a nice "hat" over it to protect it from snow and ice falling from the roof. Diane is also hoping it may help protect it from the wind that sometimes threatens it. Now all we need to do is to get past this presently irritating and unrelenting snowstorm and have some real spring weather to begin melting all of this mess away. You still have until 11:59 p.m. on April 1st to get your guess in as to when the clock will stop. Go to joespondvermont.com for details and tickets.

This storm has dropped about 8.5 inches of snow on us so far. It began soon after the sun went down last night and was snowing heavily when I was out shoveling this morning. Jamie came to do my driveway and I cleared the snow from in front of my garage so Jamie can grab it with his plow. After he left, I took some time to eat breakfast and check the weather report. About all I learned is that it's snowing throughout the area and is going to continue most of today and into tomorrow. 

After breakfast, I shoveled the deck and took measurements for CoCoRaHS. I measured 8.5 inches of snow. It has tapered off a bit now, but that's only temporary. I may take measurements and shovel again around noon, depending on how hard it snows. Yesterday I received a map from the regional coordinator of CoCoRaHS, showing the predicted snowfall. I think that may have changed a bit this morning. It's pretty hard to predict how much snow is likely to fall and when. It's also hard to get a precise depth measurement and the water content. I've often found that what is caught in the tube is far from what the core sample is when I melt it all down. Also, when there is a lot of wind, there may be drifts in one location and nearly bare ground in another, so then I take several measurements and report the average. It isn't very precise, but it does give scientists at NOAA and some other weather institutions a better idea of patterns, and will hopefully aid in flood predictions and control.

Friday I went to Cabot Village to do some errands and took these pictures by

the Plains Cemetery. The wind is always blowing up there and it drifts across the road. The solution is to push the banks well back so the drifts form a little before the road, keeping the roadway open longer. Years ago there was only snow fence to stop the drifting, and because there were pastures and hayfields across from the cemetery, the plow had no place to put the snow, so the banks built up and the wind blew the snow over the tops of the banks and dropped it into the road. I remember shoveling with my Uncle Bob Bolton, one drift at a time, moving his car one car length (or one snowdrift) at a time up the hill, and watching the snow drift in behind us so quickly, we had no choice but to keep shoveling and moving ahead, a few feet at a time. Once we were around the corner and headed east towards the farm, drifting was not a big problem. Now, the plow is a much more powerful machine, and we don't often have the severe storms we used to have, but that stretch of road can still be a problem. I expect this storm will change the look over there considerably. That view off towards Camel's Hump,  the Worcester Range, and Jay Peak is spectacular, in spite of the snowbanks! It's worth a trip, any time of the year. 

I received notice this morning that VPR (Vermont Public Radio) is hosting a program on the Wake Boat controversy at noon today. I know this is short notice, but I only got the email this morning. It may be interesting to hear what the latest news is. Here are details:

Our guests are:

• Oliver Pierson, Lakes and Ponds project manager with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation
• Jack Widness, member of Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes who lives on Lake Raponda in Wilmington
• Bruce Epstein, president of Green Mountain Water Skiers
• Candy Moot, member of Pristine Lakes Group and Seymour Lake Association

Broadcast live on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.