Greetings and welcome!
Last week I had a little problem on this web site. I ended up rolling it back a couple of days until I had time to solve the problems. Below the horizontal line are the missing updates.
Late last week when I went to Wabeno Waubee Lake was frozen all of the way across. Townsend Flowage was frozen across except for one spot in the middle. I couldn’t tell if it was open water or if it had just frozen since it snowed.
More recently we have been having temperatures a little closer to normal, at least in the mid to upper 30s. I don’t think that we have gone backward any as far as frozen ground or ice on the lakes, but we are not progressing either. Today and tomorrow we are looking at a high of 37 and a low of 25. Wednesday could go into the low 40s.
There is still snow on the ground where it is sheltered from the sun, but it is less than an inch, and it is a little sloppy from the above 32 days. Sunny spots are bare.
There is a storm for Wednesday night and Thursday that will affect the area. It is most likely going to be rain, but one forecast model has us close to the snow line. That is a wait n see. Right now I am expecting rain.
The GFS is showing storms for the 27th and 12-1 that could bring meaningful snow. At over a week out it is just a guess.
The cold snap was brutal for my fall chores. I didn’t get as much done outside as I wanted to, and it literally put me weeks behind. The cold snap put a dent in my wood shed too, I estimate that I burned over 1/2 of a cord of wood. Considering that I only had about 1.5 cords stacked it was a hard hit. I will be back on that this week.
I have started the process of getting the snowmobiles registered and trail passes going. I have my club membership card for the AWSC trail passes and one sled needed registration. I am not sure about the other one, it is still in storage. I haven’t actually touched the sleds yet, but I am getting a head start on the paperwork.
Well it is over 30 degrees and daylight outside so I am off to tackle some chores. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!
RJB
Previous updates..
Greetings and welcome!
We are at 19 degrees at 11:45pm Wednesday night. That was also our high temperature for the day after getting into the low single digits last night.
We have about an inch of new snow on the ground after a day of off and on light snow. It is covering the grass, but just barely. At 18 degrees for a high temperature road salt is not very effective. As a result the roads are quite icy. We are expecting some sun and a high of 32 Thursday and that should help the roads.
We are expecting mid-30s for high temperatures from Thursday through the weekend. We might get back into the 40s next week. Our next chance for snow is Sunday. That looks like a 1-3 or 2-4″ storm.
There was a full moon last night. With the moisture in the atmosphere ahead of today’s snow it had a bit of a halo around it.
The new Oconto County snowmobile trail maps have been published. You can find them on the Paul Bunyan Riders and Red Arrow Townsend websites.
I will be back as soon as there is more news or snow to report.
Have a good week and thank you for visiting!
RJB
Greetings and welcome!
Morning update- We had another dusting of snow overnight. Wabeno hit zero last night. At noon the TV says that Wabeno is at 10 degrees with a 3 degree wind chill. Athelstane weather says that we are up to 18 degrees with an 11 degree wind chill.
9:45pm Monday night
It is the heart of the cold that is chilling my bones tonight. Looking at the TV weather channel 2-2 out of Green Bay they show Wabeno down to 4 degrees. Other area stations are a little better with readings or 7,9,10, and farther south 15 degrees. Our morning low is expected to be 2, with a -15 or -18 wind chill.
On the other end of it we probably saw low 20s for a high temperature, and there was some wind. Several stations on TV never made it to 20 today.
Tomorrow looks like a reprint of today.. lucky if we hit 20 for a high temperature and low temperatures overnight close to zero (2F).
Our normal high today should be in the low to mid-40s and our typical low temp is about 25. That puts us solidly 20 degrees below normal, and for some people 25 degrees.
Ray’s law of variability says that a 15 degree divergence from normal temperatures is common, 20 degrees abnormal but not all that unusual, 25 unusual, and 30 degrees very unusual.
Winter is here, and it is here to stay. I expect to see a little break in the arctic flow next week, but that also comes with a couple of possible big storms (11-22 and 11-27).
This Wednesday a little snow (1-3”) will mark an end of high temperatures of about 20 and bring some low to mid-30s. Saturday and Sunday we could get close to 40 with a little snow. Next week we could get into the mid-40s briefly.
Here is a picture of the ice lilies and ice chunks coming down the Peshtigo River By Rapids Resort Monday at about noon.
This one is a picture of Caldron Falls Flowage from Echo Point about ½ mile upstream of Landing 11. It was frozen across as far as I could see and up the river too.
This one is at Boat Landing 11. I would have liked to walk out a little with a spud bar and ropes, but I was alone with no equipment and on the way to work. I could have easily walked more than a few feet off of the landing.
On the way to Crooked Lake Boundary Lake on the Oconto/Marinette Co line at Hwy W was frozen across except for a very small open area in the middle.
The ground is well frozen. I don’t mind that for the snowmobiling season as long as we don’t get too much of a good thing. A couple of feet helps firm up swamps and hold the snow. Too much isn’t good though. One year we had 6-8 feet of frost that froze septic tanks and incoming well pipes. That was a bitter cold snowless winter.
Looking at the TV I see that the central UP is getting some lake effect snow.
Apparently the dusting of snow that we had a couple of mornings ago stuck to the roads a little. I found a snow and ice covered spot in the forest that was heavily shaded by the pines. Yes it was pretty slippery there. I also saw where they salted Hwy A between Crivitz and Athelstane. There is another sign that winter is here.`
A lot of people really got caught unprepared for winter to start in late October. I am one of them. I Have stuff that is frozen that shouldn’t be, my cars are not ready, I am about ¼ of the way done with firewood, my Reddy heater, snowmobiles, and snowblower are in need of repair, and the list continues on for a while. Normally I would have 2-3 more weeks to wrap that stuff up.
I am not alone. People are finding out about cars that won’t start, vulnerable plumbing, and winterizing that needs to be done. It is an unusual fall and a lot of us got caught by it. The official start to winter is still almost 40 days away.
Gun deer season is a little late this year, running from Saturday 11-23 until Sunday December 1st.
There is a deer hunter’s bake sale Thursday Nov 21 at Firelane Bar from 3-6:30pm. The one at Jungle Jim’s is Friday Nov 22 from 9am-3pm.
That’s news for today. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!
RJB