All Over Albany

Snowpocalypse in Westerlo

We understand that there's a car under there -- somewhere.

Greg sent along a gallery of photos from the "snowpocalypse" out in Westerlo. He says he spent the weekend "helping my girlfriend's family dig out from the insane amount of snow that got dumped on them."

Insane is the right word. While the central Capital Region just got slushy rain toward the end of last week, the snow just kept falling in western Albany County. An observation station to the west of Thacher Park recorded snow depths of more than 3.5 feet by the end of last week.

From Greg's description of the gallery:

There's a few pictures of us excavating her brothers car, and some shots of the abandoned barn that collapsed across the street (no cows were hurt). The first picture is of Hartford, CT the same day as I drove back from a work trip.

Other places weren't so lucky -- CBS6 reported that farm animals were killed in two separate barn collapses this past weekend in the hill towns.

(Thanks, Greg!)

Icy, Snowy Apocalypse Watch Update

The projected snowfall totals for the rest of the week are starting to increase. From the National Weather Service:

Today: mix of rain/snow

Tonight: "New snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible."

Wednesday: "New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible."

Thursday: Chance of precipitation 80 percent. But as the forecast discussion notes for Thursday and beyond, "a high degree of uncertainty remains during this period."

Friday: Chance of precipitation 70 percent.

The forecast continues to include high temps in the mid to upper 30s for the rest of this week.

We're bumping this up to a "Winter's Making an Effort" situation because, while it sounds like any one day this week might not be too bad, the string of them could add up. It seems that a lot will depend on which way temperatures break, elevation and a storm on the coast.

In other words, your wintry mileage will almost certainly vary. And it looks like the snow we're getting will be the wet, heavy kind. So, make sure you car has its snow brush. And bring a shovel.

Necessary note: You should take this all with an enormous bag of rock salt. AOA has absolutely no weather forecasting expertise. At all. We do, however, think it's funny how every winter storm is treated like the end of the world. Also: Ellsass, we're sorry.

Icy, Snowy Apocalypse Watch

Today is gorgeous -- sunny and warm (for February). The rest of this week? Uh, different story.

The paraphrased forecast from the National Weather Service:

Today: Sunny with highs near 40!

Tonight: Not really cold, but snow is expected to start around midnight.

Tuesday: Precipitation in many of its forms: snow, rain, something in between. Highs in the upper 30s. Might have about two inches of accumulation from the night before.

Wednesday: Some snow probable. But also temps in the upper 30s.

Thursday: Chance of snow/rain. Temps in mid-30s.

Friday: Snow? Still not too cold.

OK, so this week could just end up being damp and chilly. Or, if temps drop... we could be in for some real snow because there's almost certainly going to precipitation. In fact, the models are pointing to significant snowfall for the higher elevations (hello, ski slopes).

We're going to hope that this week stays warm and the precipitation stays unfrozen -- but it could be slushy out there. And if we do get snow, it'll probably be heavy. So we're going to peg this as "mildly annoying" on the icy, snowy apocalypse meter.

Necessary note: You should take this all with an enormous bag of rock salt. AOA has absolutely no weather forecasting expertise. At all. We do, however, think it's funny how every winter storm is treated like the end of the world. Also: Ellsass, we're sorry.

Icy, Snowy Apocalypse Watch

Look out the window: it's probably snowing. But it appears this is just part of winter's half-hearted effort this year. Here's the paraphrased forecast from the National Weather Service:

Today: It will snow. Accumulation of maybe three inches. High temp around freezing.

Tonight: Probably some more snow, but not much. Maybe an inch.

Wednesday: High temp in the upper 30s. Maybe a bit of snow. Very gusty.

Thursday: More highs in the upper 30s. Maybe some sun. Again, windy.

Friday: About the same.

With that in mind, we're pegging this Icy, Snowy Apocalypse at just a touch above "whatever." If this keeps ups, we're going to have re-calibrate the meter.

By the way: This season's snowfall total is just 22.4 inches (as of yesterday) -- that's more than 21 inches behind where we usually are by this point in winter. Pity the snowmen.

Necessary note: You should take this all with an enormous bag of rock salt. AOA has absolutely no weather forecasting expertise. At all. We do, however, think it's funny how every winter storm is treated like the end of the world. Also: Ellsass, we're sorry.

Icy, Snowy Apocalypse Watch

By all accounts there is a large, rather snowy winter storm headed east. And also by most accounts, that large storm is projected to just miss us. Again.

Are you feeling lucky?

Because here's the thing: this could either way. We're right on the edge of the action. The storm steams by to the south and we get 3, maybe 4 inches. But the high pressure ridge that's been keeping all the snow off us shifts a little bit -- and hello, 6-10 inches. (If you're headed to NYC or other points south, do wear your boots.)

So we're going to tentatively peg this as a "mildly annoying" icy, snowy apocalypse. But, you know, things change. Bring a shovel.

Here's the paraphrased forecast from the National Weather Service:

Tonight: Not too cold. Maybe a few flakes after midnight.

Wednesday: Not all that cold. Snow starting in the late morning. Maybe 1-3 inches.

Wednesday night: Probably more snow, but not a lot. Windy.

Thursday: Sunny. Again, not that cold -- but windy.

On to the weekend: Partly cloudy/sunny, temps in the low 30s.

Necessary note: You should take this all with an enormous bag of rock salt. AOA has absolutely no weather forecasting expertise. At all. We do, however, think it's funny how every winter storm is treated like the end of the world. Also: Ellsass, we're sorry.

Earlier on AOA: A tough year for local snowmen

A tough year for local snowmen

Even DC is beating us this year.

As cold as this winter's been at times, it has not been snowy. In fact, the Capital Region has gotten just 21.5 inches of snow this season -- that's off more than 18 inches from the usual total by this time of year.

But while we've been relatively snow-free, other parts of the East Coast have been in the middle of Snowmegeddon. So, indulging in a bit of wetterschadenfreude, we thought it would be fun to see how our snowfall totals stack up (or down) to these other normally not-so-snowy climes. (Yes, DC -- that's very unfortunate. Very.)

A few select cities are compared above in the snowman graph. More totals -- with normal totals -- after the jump.

By the way: we've actually noticed lately a few people lamenting the lack of snow this year. Gotta say we didn't see that coming.

Snow is forecasted for Wednesday...

(there's more)

Icy, Snowy Apocalypse Watch

Here's the situation, straight from the NWS's "hazardous weather outlook":

THE ARCTIC FRONT WILL SWEEP THROUGH THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON. IT WILL BRING A ONE TO TWO HOUR PERIOD OF NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS...A QUICK 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW...AND WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH. THIS WILL RESULT IN WHITEOUT CONDITIONS AND DANGEROUS TRAVEL.

After that: snot-freezing cold. The forecast includes overnight temps in the single digits and sub-zero wind chills.

We've pegged this Icy, Snowy Apocalypse somewhere between "Annoying" and "Winter's Making an Effort" because this afternoon could be tough for a few hours -- but after that it's expected to just be really cold. And, as a hardy northeasterner, you can handle that.

Necessary note: You should take this all with an enormous bag of rock salt. AOA has absolutely no weather forecasting expertise. At all. We do, however, think it's funny how every winter storm is treated like the end of the world. Also: Ellsass, we're sorry.

Weird weather week

It looks like a good week for puddles.

The weather outlooks for this week is odd. Really odd. Here's the (paraphrased) forecast from the National Weather Service:

Today: Rainy, windy, high of 58 (What?)

Tomorrow: Chance of rain/snow. Breezy. High near 40.

Wednesday: Maybe some sun. Still breezy. High in the mid 30s.

Thursday: Chance of rain/snow. Highs in the upper 30s.

Friday: Back to our regularly scheduled programming -- some sun, highs in the low 20s.

Weekend: winter as you'd expect.

By the way: the middle of January is typically the coldest time of the whole year around here.

The upcoming heat wave

One of the side effects of all this cold weather is that temperatures that otherwise would be awfully chilly have ended up feeling... not so bad. It's 25 degrees? Why am I wearing a coat?

With that in mind, we're getting our shorts and sunblock ready for Thursday (or perhaps we're succumbing to paradoxical undressing). The paraphrased forecast from the National Weather Service:

Today: Sub-freezing, but not that bad

Tuesday: About the same. Could be windy.

Wednesday: Same.

Thursday: Heat wave. Sunny. High of 37.

Friday: Absolutely broiling. High of 38.

Weekend: A little cool. Temps nears 30.

Earlier on AOA: How to survive winter

What it's like to freeze to death

Not the fun kind of popsicle.

Somehow this seemed appropriate for this week: a 1997 Outside Magazine article about what it's like to freeze to death. There are a bunch of interesting facts in the piece, including the concept of "paradoxical undressing:"

At 85 degrees, those freezing to death, in a strange, anguished paroxysm, often rip off their clothes. This phenomenon, known as paradoxical undressing, is common enough that urban hypothermia victims are sometimes initially diagnosed as victims of sexual assault. Though researchers are uncertain of the cause, the most logical explanation is that shortly before loss of consciousness, the constricted blood vessels near the body's surface suddenly dilate and produce a sensation of extreme heat against the skin.

Brrrrr: Today's high is projected to be 32 degrees (the temp was 30 at around 2 pm), which is the highest forecasted temp for the next seven days. Every day high temp in the extended forecast is below freezing.

[article via @mdelfs]

Earlier on AOA: Death by icicle

photo: Flickr user peoplearestrange

How to survive winter

The sun will come out. Eventually.

We gotta admit that the recent streak of frigid weather has us a bit down. But that's OK -- we'll make it.

Here are a few small/simple items/actions that we've found help us get through the coldest parts of winter...

(there's more)

Christmas weather forecast

It looks like getting to wherever you're going for Christmas should be fine. The getting back? Maybe not so easy.

Here's the paraphrased forecast from the National Weather Service:

Thursday: Warmer, with some sun

Thursday night: Cold, but not too bad

Friday: Another (relatively) warm day -- temps in the upper 30s

Friday night: Chance of freezing rain and sleet

Saturday: Highs in the upper 30s -- but freezing rain and sleet "likely"

Saturday night: Still with the freezing rain

Sunday: Still warm, but chance of rain, freezing rain and snow.

Updated at 12:10 pm on Wednesday: Or, it could snow. As it is right now.

Record snowfall yesterday, Paterson defends Wall Street, parking ticket plan approved, new license plates still on the way, again no ice skating at ESP

We got just about 7 inches at the uptown office.

Yesterday's storm dropped 7.3 inches of snow on the Capital Region, according to the National Weather Service (forecasts on Tuesday had been predicting 2 to 5 inches). That's a record for December 9 (the previous high mark was 6.3 inches). Parts of Saratoga County reported getting as much as 10 inches. [NWS] [Saratogian]

A freight train hit a snow plow at a crossing in Northumberland yesterday morning, killing one of the the men on the plow truck and injuring the other (map). The crossing doesn't have gates or signals. [Post-Star] [CapNews9] [Saratogian]

Albany County's public works commissioner says yesterday's short, strong blast of snow made it hard to keep the roads clear during rush hour. Troy somehow found a way to clear its streets without Bob Mirch. [TU] [Troy Record]

David Paterson again vowed to hold back aid to local governments in order to keep the state solvent (his budget director compared the fiscal situation to driving in the snow). The chair of the state Senate finance committee says Paterson will be sued it he tries to do that. [NYO] [Daily Politics] [TU]

During the same speech yesterday, Paterson also defended Wall Street -- calling it the engine of New York State's economy. Said a state Senate "source" of the speech: "I half-expected to see Michael Douglas come out and reprise his role as Gordon Gekko." [NYT] [NYDN]

(there's more)

Well, it was a good day for some people

Snowmen, in particular.

We counted seven inches of snow in Albany today. And it packed well.

(Thanks, A&A!)

Icy, Snowy Apocalypse Watch

Update Wednesday morning
Obviously this storm was worse than expected. We're going to mark this down as a loss for the snowy apocalypse meter. ISAW starts the season 0-1.

Updated Tuesday 5:40 pm

Winter has finally decided to get its act together and we're looking at what might be our first serious winter storm of the season on Wednesday.

And you know what that means? Yep, that's right: the return of Icy, Snowy Apocalypse Watch.

Here's the paraphrased forecast from the National Weather Service:

Tonight: It's almost certainly going to snow, late. Probably a few inches.

Wednesday morning: Some more snow, turning into sleet.

Wednesday afternoon: Rain. Highs in the upper 30s.

Wednesday night: More rain. Lows near 30.

So we're going to peg this as a "Whatever" storm.

The NWS doesn't seem to think that we're actually going get a whole lot of snow -- it says it's holding off on issuing a winter weather advisory.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory:

Total snowfall accumulations are expected to range between 2 to 5 inches...with sleet and ice accumulations up to one tenth of an inch.

The thing to watch will be how the precipitation reacts to the rising temps tomorrow morning. If it makes a quick switch to rain -- and stays liquid on the ground -- great. But if it freezes, the commute could be tricky.

Note: You should take this all with an enormous bag of rock salt. AOA has absolutely no weather forecasting expertise. At all. We do, however, think it's funny how every winter storm is treated like the end of the world. Also: Ellsass, we're sorry.

The best November ever?

We heard someone say recently that this past November was "the best ever." And we would agree it was pretty great -- warm, sunny, snow-free. Downright autumnal.

So we were curious about the stats for this November. According to the National Weather Service...

+ The average temperature was 43.3 -- a little more than four degrees warmer than an average November.

+ The high temps were about five degrees warmer than usual.

+ There were 128 fewer heating degree days than normal.

+ It only rained on eight days (about four fewer than usual) -- and only two of the days got more than half an inch of rain.

The big difference this year was snowfall -- or, rather, the lack of snowfall. The NWS didn't record any snow last month. A typical November has about five inches.

By the way: We thought the first snowfall of the season hadn't occurred yet, but we were wrong. According to the NWS, the first flakes of the season -- just a trace -- fell on October 16.

People have been tweeting today about seeing snow. And this week's forecast includes a few days with a chance of snow.

Hello, December.

The Thanksgiving fog

Creepy and beautiful.

Not to be confused with turkey hangover. Emails Sebastien:

Something weird happened [Thursday] night. I was outside until about 10:30PM, came back home, and decided to go back out to buy something at the corner an hour later. The temperature had suddenly dropped about 5 to 8 degrees, instantly creating a dense "flash" fog in Center Square. It did last about an hour. I grabbed my camera and walked to Washington Park. It was creepy and beautiful.

Here's the slideshow on Flickr. The photos really are eerie.

photo: Sebastien B

Chalk drawings in the sky

That curved line traces one of the approach routes into ALB.

Sunday's atmospheric conditions made it a great day for contrails. We were struck by how defined and persistent they were against the deep blue sky. It was like someone drew them with a piece of chalk.

Nerd aside: Scientists used data from the three days following 9/11 (in which there was no commercial air traffic) to study the effect of contrails on climate. And an early analysis of the data suggested that the jet-produced clouds reduced the daily temperature range by as much as two degrees Fahrenheit. More recent analyses, though, have cast doubt on that conclusion.

While we're looking up at the sky: this week's paraphrased forecast:

Tuesday: still warm, but cloudy

Wednesday: colder, but sunnier

Thursday: sunny, November-cold

Friday: the same thing

The Weekend: Rain? Clouds? Not that cold.

Winter? So soon?

Not yet. We hope.

It was cold this morning -- like December cold. The temp at 7 o'clock this morning dipped to 28.9 F, according to the National Weather Service.

And the next few days aren't going to be a whole lot warmer. Here's the paraphrased forecast:

Tonight: Lows in the upper 20s. Brr.

Tomorrow: Cold -- high just short of 50.

Tomorrow night: Freezing.

Friday: A chance of... s... s... s... (ok, fine)... snow. High in the mid-40s.

The weekend: A little warmer. Still a small possibility of snow.

By the way: the average high for this time of year is in the 60s, with lows near 40.

Rainbow weather

There's a pot of gold out there. Somewhere.

Yesterday's late afternoon rain showers -- and subsequent break in the clouds -- produced a bumper crop of rainbows around the Capital Region.

The local Twitter stream yesterday was full of rainbow sightings -- over the ESP, at RPI, over the county court building in Albany, on Henry Johnson, in Delmar, at Stuyvesant Plaza (a full double arc), at Crossgates, at Colonie Center, and over Central Warehouse.

Barry took the photo above at UAlbany. You can just make out the double rainbow in the upper left corner.

(Thanks, Barry!)

photo: Barry Trachtenberg

Fall foliage maps and reports

Everybody loves some good fall foliage. So it's probably not surprising there are a bunch of fall foliage maps and reports.

Here are a few that might be useful for planning walks, hikes and drives, and weekends over the next month or so.

(there's more)

Hello, Fall

Ready. Set. Turn.

As of 5:18 pm, it's officially Fall.

It appears the trees have been paying attention.

This is the week

All this week. We hope.

Mother Nature totally cheated us this summer with the weather. In fact, some might say that we didn't even have a summer. And now it feels like Fall in the breeze.

All the more the reason to soak up the weather this week. The forecast looks fantastic. Here's the paraphrased version from the National Weather Service:

This afternoon: Sunny, cool -- high 71.

Tuesday: More sun. Still a bit cool -- high 73.

Wednesday: The sun will shine upon us, the breeze will gently caress our skin and all will seem right with the world.

Thursday: Like Wednesday, but it will feel like angels are kissing our cheeks. Also: dessert will taste sweeter and you will sense a common bond with all humanity.

Friday: Like Wednesday and Thursday, but possibly tending toward hot.

The Weekend: Too good to hope for.

So, go outside this week. Take a day off. Call in sick. We won't tell.

A historically wet July

We're now finished talking about the weather.

Update! It's not official yet, but it looks this July will end up being the second wettest month on record in the Capital Region. This past July was the rainiest on record in the Capital Region.

Friday's deluge (2.42 inches) brought the month's total to 9.91 inches. Not only does that set the mark for the rainiest July -- it's also one of the wettest months ever recorded in the Capital Region.

July's total ranks #2 all-time on the list kept by the National Weather Service, which dates back to 1874. Though as commenter Rainman points out, there are records of a handful of even rainier months before that.

Earlier on AOA: A damp decade

(Thanks to jwk and Rainman.)

Data from National Weather Service. Records start in 1874.

Where have we seen this before?

The radar picture at 11:30 on Friday.

It just won't stop. Ack.

There's a flash flood warning for Albany County, Rennselaer County and parts of Saratoga County (including Saratoga Springs and Clifton Park) and Schenectady County (including Schenectady and Rotterdam).

July just might make it into the Top 10 after all.

image: National Weather Service