Is it?

Is this storm going to be the one that gives us a chance to get some riding in?  It looks like it's going to be wet snow.  So if we get enough to do something with and then the below zero temps right after it.  It could freeze down into something to ride on.  But only time will tell.

I looked back over my records today and this was the worst Feb. I've had in 26 years.  The next worst was 1998 and that year I rented five more room nights.  As for the season, if things keep going the way they have been.  This will also turn out to be the worst season in 26 years.  But that I won't know till the end of March.  Because anything is possible when it comes to weather and the north country.

Today's Video.............

It's not..............

Walked to the store this afternoon and you sure could of fooled me.  I know it's not, but it sure felt like spring today.  These weather swings sure have been of the chart this year. By mid week we'll be below zero again.

Today's Video.........

I called it...........

During the night we had clouds move in and with it came a dusting of snow.  But before the clouds got here we dropped down to one below.  So I called it on the temp, now if I could only call it like that for snow, we'd be all set.

Today's video.............

Going to be..............

Looks like it's going to be a cold one tonight.  Calling for a low of three, but I'm guessing we'll get below zero, with the clear skies we have.  Besides the cold temps moving in there hasn't been much else going on today.  The shots of on and off snow never amounted to anything this morning and we saw clear skies most of the day.

Today's Video..........

Got some...........

We woke up this morning to a fresh coating of snow.  I'd give it two maybe three inches at best here in Old Forge.  It looks like Stillwater may have gotten more than us. But not enough to say come ride.  However everyone has different thoughts.  Because there's sled tracks on the trail cam. We are still seeing shots of snow on and off this morning.    I'll fill you in later on what it amounts to. 

Another one.........

Around noon the R changed over to a wet snow and by mid afternoon it was snowing pretty good.  Hard enough that it gave me a slight hope, that we may get enough snow to see some riding over the weekend.  But by 8:30 we have only gotten about an inch of the white stuff so far.  Who knows we may still get a good shot over night  But it looks like another weekend is going to come and go without any riding in the area. 

Today's Video.............

Same thing tonight...........

As I'm doing this post there's another round of  weather just to our south, just like last night.  But I don't think we'll see any frozen stuff coming from this one.  The R and the instant freeze down we had last week has helped things out.  Because we do have a solid layer of ice out there and that is sticking around a lot longer than a snow pack base would.  If only the .95 inch of R we had today could of been all snow. 

Today's Video...........

Almost here..........

At 8:30 pm the radar is showing that there's something between us and Utica.  What will it be when it hits the ground?  I'm hoping it's all white stuff, but the odds of that happening are slime at best, with the way this winter has been going.  Did you see next Thursday?  Calling for 8-12, who wants to guess on when that will change.  We better get some snow pretty soon!  I'm even starting to sound negative.

Today's Video..........

Even worse.....

By the way things are looking, it's going to get even worse, before we may see anything to get excited about.  So what's everyone been doing, since you haven't been getting in any seat time?  If it's something interesting, how about sharing and giving the rest of us some thoughts on what to do during these boring winter days.

Today's Video................

Well ! !

So much for the forecast looking interesting for the upcoming week.  It now looks down right depressing.  We did have light snow in the air most of the day.  But all it did was give us a light coating to make things look pretty.  Remember those people that rode on the so so conditions we had a few weeks ago.  Well maybe we are the fools after all, because at least they got some seat time in.

Today's Video.............

Pretty Quiet............

It's been pretty quiet today.   So all I have for you is a video.  But keep an eye on the cams, as it looks like it may get interesting over the next few days.

Today's Video............

Still lots.............

We may not have enough snow to ride this weekend.  But there's still a few things going on in the area.  At the Rec. Center is the Pink Ribbon Riders event and in Big Moose is the shot out.  Enough things to fill in your day, if you can't get some seat time in.  Next weekend in Inlet there is Frozen Fire & Lights.  Not this weekend, like I had listed before.  Thanks Chris for pointing out my mistake in the dates.

Today's Video........

Coming to............

The snow that we've had coming from the sky all day, seems to be coming to an end at 8pm.  It gave us a few inches, not really enough to ride on.  But enough that it covered the ice that you can walk on it without breaking your neck.  Today we have two videos and I'll explain why in the second one.

Today's Video #1..............


#2

Wasn't it..........

Now that the days all over, all I can say is, well wasn't that just so special!   We didn't see anything near the snow totals they called for.  We say about 3" before the R moved in, but we sure did see the R.  The weather station at the info center measured 1.39 inches.  So we are back to square one with just the hard pack left on the ground.  All the fresh snow we got over the last few days is all gone.  The standing water in the driveway is starting to freeze back up.  I don't know if it will freeze over tonight, but tomorrow night it should freeze back up. 

Today's Video...........

Guess who's.............

Well guess who's on the wrong side of the storm.  We are and at 8am it's 41 degrees with light R coming out of the sky. The northeast sure hasn't seen winter stick around for more than a few days this year.  Even Bangor Maine is going to see R and high temps today.  More later..............

4:10 update:  Temp has dropped to 33 and the R has changed back to snow.  Question is will we get enough to get any riding in.

4:14 update:  Now it's back to R again.....give me a break.  I'm going to the rec Center and fix the cam. 

Well that..........

The snow that started this morning turned out to be nothing to get excited about.  All we saw was a dusting at best.  But the winter warning is still in place.  So all we can hope for is we stay on the right side of this and we see very little or no R at all.  The wind has started to pick up and the lights have blinked a few times.  I'm hoping we don't loose power again.  But at least it's not 30 below like the other morning.

10pm update:  The snow has started again.
3am update:  1 1/2 to 2 of wet snow.

Today's Video................

What will it be?

12:50 pm and the snow has started.  Now it's just going to be a wait and see.  As to how it all turns out.  I'll check you updated.

Pretty close........

Well they called for 28 below and I had 29 below here at the motel.  But besides the cold we didn't see any other type of winter weather over night.  We really haven't been able to get a break this winter.  We have the cold and no moisture or we get the moisture and no cold to make the snow.  But Tuesday looks like it's going to be the make or break day for us.  So cross your fingers it's cold enough for snow.

Today's Video.........

How low...........

At 8pm we are at 19 below zero.  They are calling for it to drop to 28 below.  Even if we had great riding conditions, the only ones that would be out tonight, would be die hards.  28 below is cold, but it's no where near the record set in 1979 when it went down to 52 below.  Now that's COLD!

Today's Video.........

I give up !

The forecast was calling for snow today, depending on when you looked it was 1 to 3 or 3 to 5.  But all we saw was a few flurries that amounted to nothing.  The conditions we have are limited and a few people are getting some riding in.  NC Dave did 112 miles today and he brought his sled back in one piece.    The people that are around may be the smart ones.  Because the forecast for Tuesday isn't looking very good.  If we had normal weekend traffic around, what we do have wouldn't last very long.

Today's Video............
 

It would of............

The big numbers of lake effect went to the south of us and it would of been nice to see it up here.  So who is in better shape, them or us?  It all depends on how you look at it.  Yes they got a foot or more of fresh snow southeast of the lake.  But it's my understanding they had no base and where down to grass.  On the other hand, we where still hanging onto some of our base.  But we only got 4 to 5 inches of new snow.  So who's in better shape?  Your guess is as go as anyone's.   I do know this, the snow we have isn't going anywhere this weekend.

Today's Video........

Face north........................

All day we had light snow in the air and we got 3 to 4 inches out of it.  Enough to make things look pretty and enough that you could give the inner trails a try.  The lake effect bands are starting to set up south of us.  So I need everyone to face north and blow like all heck, to get them to move north to us.  So like always, it's going to be a wait and see game again.  It's times like this that I'd rather have it do nothing at all or give us enough to turn things around.  This in between stuff drives everyone nuts.

Today's video.....

More later.....

Just wanted to post a quick update.  So far we have seen about two inches of new snow and they are calling for the lake effect to kick in later this morning.  The big question is, how much are we going to get.  I'll let you know how it's looking later today in the video.

Looking better.........

The forecast is still looking good for Wednesday and into the weekend with temps that will keep the snow around for more than a day or two.  Let's hope we see enough snow tomorrow to get things back in shape.

Today's Video...........

Cross your fingers.............

I have some guests coming in tomorrow and over the years, there have been very few times they have gotten skunked, when it comes to snow for riding.  So I'm crossing my fingers their trend will continue and we see some snow this week.  To answer a question from a few days ago.  I was told the sled at Stillwater  belonged to someone at Beaver River.

Today's Video.............

Just about............

The light snow we got yesterday is just about gone today.  The sun was out and with the temps right around the 32 mark most of the day, that new snow didn't stand a chance.  I'm crossing my fingers that we start to see some snow cover before the cold temps move in towards the end of the week.  It's no fun when things start freezing up!

Today's Video............

Almost..........

We've had snow in the air today and it was almost enough to cover things back up that at least it looks like winter again.  What we really need is one of those unpredicted blasts of lake effect to get things back into shape.  The biggest thing going on around here today, was a zone value not working right.  Besides that it's pretty quiet.

Today's Video...............

What to do...........

The switch sure flipped in just a few days this week.  It's hard to believe last Friday at this time the town was jumping like no tomorrow and this week it's a ghost town.  When things wind down at the end of a season, you have a list on what you want to do.  But when it's like this, you question what to do.  Because you really can't get into anything to big, as you don't know when it's going to snow again.

Today's Video.............

And it begins.............

Now it's the wait and see game.  The see how long it takes to get some fresh snow, so we can get back out riding again. The forecast isn't predicting any great amounts of snow in the near future, just and inch here and there.  But that doesn't mean it can't happen.  Look at last Wednesday, we got a half a foot to a foot and it wasn't even predicted.  I know there's one person confident that there's going to be more riding this year.  Because they went to the info center today and upgraded their weekly permit to a seasonal.

Today's Video..........

How can I put this?

The weather over night was the same as you do with a straw!  More later.............

It's over.........

The R is over and now it's wait for the temps to drop back down.  It's not pretty out there, but it could of been worse, we could of had a complete wash out.  I did a scan of the parking lot this morning and then late this afternoon so you can see the difference between the two.  I'm not seeing anything in the forecast to jump up and down about.  But don't ever give up hope when it comes to lake effect.  All we need is the cold temps, which are returning and for the wind to line up right.

Today's Video...........

Boy oh Boy..............

It's all Phils fault! He didn't see his shadow today and according to him spring will be early. You want to talk about quiet.  Come to the north country and you'll see it first hand.   I called one of the other motels today to ask them a question and I got their machine.  Come to find out they took off for the day and went to Utica.  It's that quiet and good for them they got a day away.  Because when the snow returns we'll all be flat out again.  So what's different in today's video?

Today's Video......

Looking worse..........

The forecast for Wednesday is looking even worse.   As they increased the amount of R for the day and it could make things really ugly fast.  With an inch of R and the melting of the snow, there could be flooding going on also.  One of the big things that hurt us over night was the wind.  Just like blowing on hot soup, a warm wind eats snow faster than a warm day.

Today's Video...........