Typically when we get a meaningful amount of snow before Thanksgiving, I don’t really count on it all sticking around. That’s not to be taken to mean it all melts either, it’s just that there usually is some kind of a warm up that occurs and the ground also usually contains enough heat in it to melt from below, that there will be come kind of a loss before it really starts to accumulate for good. Well, this was one of those years where we had a loss. Not only did we lose some, but we lost all of our snow. Some of the areas hit hardest managed to hang onto a bit here and there, but nothing that could be considered useable. A big reason why it all went so quickly is that nearly all of it was the lake effect fluff. Had the double digit snows on the ground been from a system and been more dense, then much of it would have survived.
I can’t remember when we lost all of our snow, but I know that by the day before Thanksgiving, the ground was bare. There was a tiny bit of ice on the waterway down by the White City boat launch, but our snow was cooked like a turkey.
It is snowing in the high country as I type, but here in Jacobsville by the sea, it is just plain old rain. A cold rain. It will be changing to snow here as well and we look to get at least enough to cover the ground by around midday tomorrow. The western UP could end up with some double digit accumulations and this time around all the snow that falls in the western 1/2 to 2/3rds of the UP will be the wet and heavy type. There is also some more snow seen for this Saturday and again by the middle of next week. Obviously things can change in the forecast, especially the further out you go in time, but I do like what I am seeing in the models.
Despite the fact that we lost all of our snow, I did take advantage of the near 60 degree temps on Saturday to get the very last of my outdoor chores done. Most of them could have gone the winter without being done, but the one that was fairly important to do was to take the loader off of Big Red and put the snowblower on. Honestly, living down here, I could probably get by with just the loader and bucket, but it takes much less time with the blower. Next year I will have even more driveway to clear, so the blower will be even more of a necessity. Next year I will not have to be too concerned about the weather for the switch over either. This year, Big Red got the boot out of her stall and into the cold to make room for storing things from the house. Next year not only will she be getting her stall back, but I will have a nice big garage to make the switch!
Our Thanksgiving was good. My brother as well as Nora’s brother and his wife joined us and filled the apartment to the max! It actually worked out pretty well, with the island playing the role of a buffet table. It is somewhat of a tradition to put our Christmas tree up in the day or two following Christmas. Back when we lived in Mohawk, we actually put it up a few days before Thanksgiving and I hope we can return to that tradition next year in the new home. The girls did manage to get the tree up and decorated on Sunday, although it was getting a little shaky for time as Grace was doing the lights and doing a great job, but also still doing it at 6:30 in the evening! She got them finished up by around a quarter to 7 and then mostly Nora got busy putting up all the ornaments.
I nearly forgot to mention that on Saturday, we were invited to our new neighbors down the street for dinner. They bought the Lighthouse in Jacobsville this past spring and spent a ton of the summer cleaning things up and making it suitable for living in. They plan to do quite a bit of remodeling in the years to come and it will be exciting to see the transformation take place. We were invited to go to the top of the lighthouse, something I have wanted to do for quite some time. Nora opted out due to her dislike of heights and I must say that once we made it to the top and stepped out onto the platform, I had to take a couple of deep breaths. It is 50 feet from the platform to the ground and the tower sits right on the cliffs of the big lake. So you can add another 30 feet or so to the distance on the lake side and it’s quite the look down! The better view is to look out over the lake though!
I guess that about covers it for this one. I will be starting up the forecasts on Thursday. I hope to get a Snow Church video done too, but there is the possibility I could run into some technical difficulties which would delay it a bit. So hang in there, it will all be good eventually! Oh, and if you are wondering where would be your best bet to ride this weekend? I would have to say the western UP from Gogebic to Ironwood/Hurley. I will obviously be talking about this in the forecasts and Snow Church, but thought I would give you an early heads up!
Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD
