Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss big snowstorm - reports

Hey it's snowing,---- what are the odds.

My office satellite dish has been covered with snow for the last 2 days. There is no access to clean it off because of the snow drifts.

No TV news of any kind has made me happier man, temporarily.

Trust me i could find away to clean it..lol

You may be on to something Dwight. I spent two weeks in northern Maine with no TV, radio, Internet, nothing. Went to bed at last light and got up at first light. After a few days I felt so good!

Just read an article by a recovered alcoholic. She says we are all addicted to something in this country whether it be news, politics, food, the Internet etc.

cecil, went to the site (thank you) but don't see a box or place to type in the town???? Re: big snowstorm - reports [Re: boyscout123]
Cecil Baird1


Registered: 08/08/02
Posts: 11517
Loc: Northeastern Indiana
Originally Posted By: boyscout123
Is Central MD supposed to get hit?


Type in your town in the box at the left side of the page at the link below:

http://www.weather.gov/alerts-beta/md.php?x=1

Bob,

Are you going the very left side of the page in the blue margin? There should be a small white box there.

You can also try this one:

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/iwx/

Thanks again, the second site if perfect. I've been very concerned about what a storm like this may cause for my small(80'x80'), shallow pond)10' max depth. Before I came down here to Fl (and NO I did not bring another cold record setting yr with me, even tho Dec was not pleasant), BC and I had several conversations about what to do about keeping an area open through the winter. Bill knows my pond very well as he has practically led me step by step on how to do it right. We-he finally figured because of a lack of vegetation, # of fish and newness of the pond that I should not worry about keeping an area open. Last Sunday I spoke with a friend I was going to take to the airport for a flight back to Ft. Wayne( a city within 60 miles of Bill, Cecil and myself) and he informed me that we were locally supposed to get 18-20" on Tuesday eve and Weds AM. OK, I kinda freaked and called my neighbor that is caring for the place when I'm gone and told him to go and turn the diffuser on in 4' of water about 11-12' from the west shore approximately in the center of that shore line. I told him to turn it on Sun around 2pm and let it run till Tues late afternoon and go see how much surface it had opened up. Told him I hoped for from of 15-25% of the surface. I was just afraid with all the reports from my friends and neighbors that it had gotten cold early Dec forming "enough ice and had snow on the ground for a good part of Dec and Jan" that if we got that much snow and it WILL stay cold all of Feb that it might just kill a bunch of my fish. After I gave him the instructions, I considered (yes it took two days) that I should have asked Bill and Cecil for their opinions before entering panic mode. This is where I actually started thinking (yes, I usually have the cart in front of the horse). Even tho I was circulating 4' water, which should not supercool the pond, I do have to wander with temps in the lower single digits and the wind blowing sooo hard and I also recalled a post from Ewest about a pretty bad fish kill that he and other brainy types attributed to an extremely wet spring snow storm lowering the ponds Oxygen that I'm real concerned that I may have made the wrong call about opening up a section of water. I will call my neighbor tomorrow as to what he did and how it looks, both open water and accumulation. For all I know he may have not even turned it on or maybe just run it for 12-24 hrs. Till I get in touch with him I will very much appreciate all of your opinions as to wether I really mucked up or may have made the correct guess. Thank you all in advance, Bob-O

There was a similar storm coming through the country in late December 1970. I was in the Navy, was on holiday leave in Northern Minnesota/Wisconsin, and needed to be back in Maryland by January 4.

I left the Duluth, MN / Superior, WI area early on December 30. About 12 hours later I stopped in a motel in South Bend, IN. The storm was about eight hours behind me. I slept a few hours and got back on the road ahead of the storm. By the time I got into Pennsylvania, the storm was catching up with me. I made it all the way to Silver Spring, MD, to the Washington DC area Capitol Beltway, before the storm overtook me. I was about 20 miles from my destination. As I entered the Beltway, tractor-trailers, trucks, and cars were scattered everywhere. I spent the next 12 hours in my 1963 Studebaker Lark waiting for the road to get re-opened.

Thankfully, growing up where winter survival was second nature, I had everything I needed to take it in stride. Being an amateur radio operator, and having a "ham rig" in my car, I even got to communicate with friends while I waited for daylight.

I guess it is a sickness to grow up on the shores of Lake Superior. I love big blizzards.

Stay safe,
Ken

Bob,

I doubt you'll open up enough water to create superchill conditions. I've been running my diffusers in my ponds 24/7 all winter and they only open up about 5 percent of the surface area. The pond we talked about where the early spring snowstorm killed some fish was wide open before the snowstorm hit and they got 21 inches of heavy wet snow in a very short amount of time.

I think you'll be O.K.

Here's a picture that was taken in Illinois today that pretty much sums things up although it has briefly stopped snowing last I looked. Must be a dry slot or something. I'll have to see what's going on on the radar.

Now I'm hearing ice pellets mixed in with the snow. Sounds like someone is throwing gravel at the house.



(From the WGN weather bog of Tom Skilling's.)

It looks a lot like a hot smoggy August day in Los Angeles.

Or volcanic ash from Mount St. Helens.

Cecil, thanks, that reduces my concerns a bunch. Bet you're bout anxious to come visit your folks. Hate sayin this cause ti will sound awfully boasting but it was 79 in Bradenton today and a low of 62. Course that don't do my pond any good. Hope all pond stewards from Texas to Canada all fare well this crazy winter. Bob-O

Nope, the "smog" is too white in the picture. It really needs to be more of a shade of brown.

Cecil, it'll be interesting to see what I wake up to in the morning. It's been snowing at the rate of 2" per hour since around 6:00 p.m. and blowing like crazy. I looked out one of the South windows on the house and there is about a foot by 8 foot long overhang of snow just hanging off of the roof. Kate's footprints are completely covered within 1/2 hr.

Most counties surrounding Chicago are closed for road travel. Expressway cam's that the news stations use reveal...nothing. Not a single headlight in what would normally be a building rush hour. It's hard to estimate the depth due to the blowing, but 16" measured at O'Hare and still building at a fast clip. We are easily into the top 5 snowstorms, historically, with a good chance of even worse as the morning goes.
I stand at the patio door, gazing into the blizzard with a cup of coffee and wonder if Dwight and Stick would call us wimps.

I don't think we got hit as hard as some of the surrounding areas, but it is hard to tell, due to the drifting. I would estimate less than 10", though, probably closer to 6-8".

I'm disappointed! We got gipped! Somebody must have been praying again!

There were periods of no precip last night and also periods of sleet. The radar shows much of the storm out of the area much sooner than reported. Local NWS station never even updated after 4 P.M. So if the weather gets bad they stop doing their job? Seems if they can't make it in they should be able to update remotely? Must be a government job.

My driveway is drifted shut. I'm debating if I should go out and blow it out now or wait... We do have snow showers right now.

Cecil, what is your guestimate on how much?

Hard to tell due to the drifting. My guess is 4 to 5 inches tops, but a lot of blowing.

We got about 8" plus whatever blew around and drifted up.

Snow day for Bski! Woohoo...snowman time!
just cracked 3rd worst storm for Chicago at 19.5" at O'Hare
23+" is the goal for #1, but the blue blob is just about gone from the radar. Here ya go, Indiana...enjoy!

ps; thundersnow was creepy last night

Today was Gail's first day back at work after back surgery. County Road 7 was blocked in 4 or 5 locations.

She starts work at 0700. I got her there by 0930.

It was -15 F this morning but the winds have subsided and it is a bright sunny day in the neighborhood.

Brettski, did you miss any days of work in '78? I just missed Monday, made it in for Tuesday.

We got around 10" on the ground here, but it's hard to tell with how the snow was blowing around. Yes, they did drop the expected snowfall totals, but lake effect is starting to kick in now. A buddy spent 4 hrs plowing with his tractor today, but he's a wuss. If he wasn't a cripple and had better equipment he could have done it in half that time. Right Mike?

The official snow fall by the local weather station is 14".

Made one pass on the driveway so far. A couple more hours with the Kubota should have it nice and clear.