8:00 am temp: 8
Yesterday: 29/8
Normal: 29/15
Plenty of snow out there, and the most ice we’ve seen yet this year on the lake.
We got 8 inches of new, fluffy snow in about an hour on Friday evening. It’s made for great skiing.
Today is going to be sunny, cold, and beautiful. Forecast high of 11 with wind chill of minus 10. We’re headed out for a day of cross country skiing.
8:00 am temp: 14
Yesterday: 32/17
Normal: 29/14
Corn spilled along the train tracks
This morning I saw a young doe get hit by the train. It was the Amtrak train that hit her, but she was on the tracks feeding on corn spilled from a freight train.
We went down and dragged her body off the tracks and called the food bank to see if they could come harvest the meat.
Rest in peace girl, you just didn’t understand about trains.
14 ° Continue reading
8:00 am temp: 12
Yesterday: 11/3
Normal: 30/17
Ice has started forming along the edges of the lake.
Looking out toward the street this morning.
The ice grows mostly at night. It started three days ago, and each day it extends farther out into the lake. Already more of the lake is covered with ice than at any point last winter.
It warmed up to 12 at our house yesterday, so Tess and I resumed our mid-day walks. A couple weeks ago that would have seemed cold.
This morning we woke up to 7 or 8 inches of fluffy snow and big flakes coming down.
8:00 am temp: 6
Yesterday: 8/-14
Normal: 31/17
Well, I didn’t hibernate yesterday after all. The sun came out and we were lured outside to try skating on the Whitefish River.
There was good, thick ice on the river. Steve chopped a couple holes with his hatchet and at about 4 inches down there was still no sign of water. The surface was pretty good, slightly bumpy, and there was a thin layer of snow on top.
We skated for miles, the only ones on the river, except for…the person who had planted the idea, Don Scharfe, and his wife. I forgot my camera, so above is a video Steve shot.
I enjoyed the changing views and the quiet of cruising down the river. There’s snow in the forecast, which may mean the end of ice skating, but there could be some good skiing on the river ahead this winter.
8:00 am temp: -5
Yesterday: 4/-13
Normal: 31/17
Thin sheets of ice collect along the shore
I came home last night around 11:30. It was -10 at our house. It took a while to warm up my toes. I’m hunkered down at home today.
We saw the first signs of ice forming on the lake yesterday, thin sheets that the wind had pushed up against the shore.
A friend who lives south of town told me she saw what looked like a big cloud yesterday morning, which was the plume of steam coming off the lake. It’s amazing how long it takes, even in this severe cold, for the water temperature in the lake to drop to freezing.
Forecast for tonight, Dec. 6
Tonight’s forecast contains some numbers we don’t see very often. Minus 46 F, wonder what that feels like. Should I venture outside in the night to find out?
8:00 am temp: 1
Yesterday: 18/-4
Normal: 32/18
Steam rising off the lake this morning. It was 2 degrees F according to our thermometer.
It’s been cold here this week, and will get even colder. A second Arctic front is expected to arrive tomorrow, bringing wind and lows of -16 and -19 F the next couple nights. That’s serious winter the likes of which we haven’t seen in several years.
I’m thinking it looks good for the lake to freeze this year. That usually means some good skiing.
8:00 am temp: 30
Yesterday: 29/26
Normal: 20/27
Just a typical winter day at State Park. Tess and I decided to forego the swimming.
There was a fine, light snow falling today. More in the forecast the next few days, along with a cold front. Calling for a low of -3 Fahrenheit Wednesday. Last year we didn’t have any subzero weather.
We’re headed to the town of Hot Springs, where even if we don’t see the sun we can sit outdoors and soak in hot mineral water. It’s a good winter coping technique.
8:00 AM temp: 21
Yesterday: 28/23
Normal: 34/21
Four-legged icicle.
There were some interesting ice formations along the edge of Whitefish Lake yesterday.
What a beautiful planet we live on.
8:00 AM temp: 7
Yesterday: 38/11
Normal: 37/23
Winter evening on Big Mountain
I took the dog and the showshoes and headed up to the mountain after work. It’s a good start to the winter for the mountain. There’s 50 inches of snow at the summit, and a week of cold weather ahead. The snow making machines were running full blast today. Opening day is Dec. 7, so we locals can tromp all over the mountain until then.
Somebody loves the snow
8:00 AM temp: 25
Yesterday: 39/27
Normal: 48/27
There are a couple dozen swans on the lake this morning. I’ve been watching them through the telescope, white bodies floating on the gray water with snow lightly falling. It’s beautiful in a Japanese, wintry sort of way.
Tundra or trumpeter swans? I can’t tell from this distance.
8:00 AM temp: 31
Yesterday: 50/29
Normal: 47/27
Mountain reflection
Yesterday evening we walked down by the lake after a rainy afternoon. Water had pooled on top of the small amount of ice that is left, creating a still surface for reflections.
It wasn’t so still along the edge of the ice, however. There the waves were causing the ice to fracture and were pushing smaller pieces of ice on top of the larger slabs. You could hear a tinkling sound, like ice cubes in a glass, as the waves jostled the ice fragments against each other.
Ice breakup
8:00 AM temp: 30
Yesterday: 44/16
Normal: 47/26
A February morning on the mountain
Despite the mild winter, the local ski hill has had a pretty good snow year. As of today, Whitefish Mountain Resort, formerly known as The Big Mountain, has a snowpack of 112 inches (285 cm) at the summit (elevation 6817 ft or 2078 m), and 30 inches (77 cm) at the village area (elevation 4464 ft or 1361 m). That’s a little less at the bottom of the hill than in recent years, but very respectable at the summit.
Most of the lifts and ski runs are on south-facing slopes, which may make the area particularly vulnerable to warming temperatures in coming years. Fingers crossed that we have many more winters of skiing there.
8:00 AM temp: 26
Yesterday: 43/27
Normal: 46/26
Morning sun hits a ribbon of cloud
There was a conclave of goldeneyes on the lake most of the morning, a large number of them rafted together. I also saw a handful of snow geese in flight, and the neighbor pheasants were squawking and walking down the road. Several eagles were gathered on the edge of the ice over by City Beach.
After seeing deer in the yard daily during the summer and fall, they have disappeared for the winter. These days, it’s all about the birds.
Backyard Climate Report 