2010

Paddler’s Alert!

Sunday August 8th, 2010

Greetings and welcome!

We had rain Saturday night that really added up. I still need to survey a little, but totals that people told me over the bar went from 1.3″ to around 4″. It really added up fast, and the Peshtigo River got smacked right in the watershed.

The river went from -4″ on Saturday to +2″ Sunday morning. Right now, 11:30 Sunday night,  I am guessing that it is about +5″ and heading for +6 for tomorrow. That is pretty cool stuff for August.

The graph on the net continues to go straight up, making me think that there might be even more water coming. It hasn’t even started to arch over yet to make the typical haystack shape. This is just the rise from the water that landed between here and Goodman Park or so. The majority of the water from the watershed is still a day out.

The Peshtigo has a long narrow watershed. It takes a lot of local rain to raise the river since it is a pretty narrow drainage corridor in our area. Normally a mid-week rain will peak the river for the weekend. There is a 2-3 day lag due to the long narrow watershed.  Usually when local rain raises it this much and the whole watershed got hit, golly, that is pretty epic.

We are setting records for Peshtigo River levels today. The old record from 12 years of documentation was in 2003 when the Peshtigo ran at 385CFS, and as of 10pm Sunday it was running 457CFS.

How about that.. two months ago we were shattering 96 year record lows because of the drought. Now we are setting record highs in August.

If you have ever come rafting and dragged your boat along rocks in low water, find your way to Kosir’s this week and see what it is really about. At plus 5 or 6 they might even start using the donut rafts, which are huge fun. This is one of the times where I use the old cliche, Use Your Sick Days Wisely.

If the whitewater is your cup, things are looking great for the near future. To hit the Peshtigo in August at +5 or +6 is a total treat.

But wait.. that’s not all. If you order now..

It looks like we will have a couple of decent days Monday and Tuesday, but Wednesday or so the GFS is showing a storm with a QPF of 1.75-2″ here and over 2.5″ not too far west of here. It is also showing another heavy band late week with an inch plus.

Sometimes the GFS overstates things a little (convective feedback in the model), so let’s do a wait ‘n see on the heavy rain forecast. Saturday night’s rain was not in the outlook, or you would have known about it. At that point take it for what it is. The possibility certainly exists, we have seen a lot of focused heavy rain in the region this summer.

Saturday night was interesting. The sunset was worthy of painting. There were storms to the north & south of us, but we were being spared. The distant high cloud tops added a lot of majesty to the sunset.

About sunset I walked around the cabin to the truck. I got quite poured on while I got what I needed out of the truck. I walked 100’ back to the picnic table and it was completely dry. Not a drop of rain had fallen.  I walked over and found the line, and it was like someone drew it with chalk. On one side there were plenty of drop marks, on the south side, not one. I even summoned other people to look.  Amazing.

After sunset the rain came. It was steady and plentiful, and it added up fast. Huge puddles formed in low spots, and the typical spots that erode in heavy rains did so. It went on until a few hours before dawn. By early afternoon Sunday the puddles had mostly soaked in, but there were some surprising mud lines showing how enormous the puddles had become.

Another surprise came Sunday when I saw how clear the river was. Normally the river has a deep tannin stain to it that makes it brown. The same stuff that leaves leaf marks on a patio colors the water in our rivers and lakes.

The river is actually very clean, it is just leaf stained because it’s watershed is in the great forests and swamps in the Nicolet National Forest and Marinette County forest.

Anyway, Sunday the water was surprisingly clear and white. Usually you only see that when it is really low and the only water in the river is the base flow that is fed by the spring creeks.

Bottom line, we had a lot of rain. If you are interested in whitewater rafting or paddling, go for it! The river is getting big and fun and summer is going away too fast.

Rafting costs $23.

Have a good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Thursday August 5th, 2010

Greetings and welcome!

It has been quite a week for me with working on web sites. I finally caught up a little, and I am getting a head start here today.

First up the weather. There isn’t too much exciting here. We are looking at the low 80s for temps, and clear weather until Sunday when a chance of rain crops up. (40%)

The first part of the week was pretty hot, and I went into my cheapskate AC mode. That is where I get up at 5 or 6 am and crank up the air conditioner to the ‘frost the windows’ setting for a few hours. It cools the house and contents while the cool outside air makes the ac heat exchange work the most efficiently. The thermal inertia keeps the house cool until late afternoon without running the ac at all during the day. Smart n’ frugal.

I was buried in work Tuesday and kind of had to cut the report short.  There is some stuff to catch up with.

First of all, there is a float party on the Menominee River this Saturday with the nice folks from the Bear Point Yacht Club just east of Wausaukee. They start late morning in Wausauke and float down the Menominee River to the Bear Point Yacht Club. There they have a big party with food and friends. They help with shuttles ahead of time, so go early.

Next up… The directions here from the south are no longer go to Crivitz and take a left at the stoplight. That won’t work at all. First of all, they now have TWO stop lights, qualifying them as a major metropolitan area. They put a second one in where the Citgo and the powersports dealer are.

Then there is the issue of turning west onto Hwy A. Not gonna dew it. They are in the process of tearing up the roads in Crivitz from the stoplight by Gateway Bar all of the way to the Post office on A. If you are headed this way from the south, it is best to avoid that stretch. Instead go to the next town and take X west ( very scenic), or go a few miles north of Middle Inlet and take Moonshine Hill Rd,  or continue on to C in Wausaukee.

Also new in Crivitz, the Crivitz Youth Center has added a putting green for the young’uns. They have been adding feature activities like that for the past few years, including a small bowling alley and a skateboard park. Cool beans.

Bring the Repel.. The beginning of summer was really nice with the total absence of mosquitoes. Those days are over, and we are back to normal. Bring Repel, in some spots it will be very handy.

NORTHERN LIGHTS!

We have been in deep solar minimum for the past few years, and we haven’t had much for northern lights. Some of you have even asked about it. Apparently we had a CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) yesterday and had some northern lights. They could happen again tonight, and we are expecting pretty clear skies. Get it while you can. While we are on the ramp up phase of solar cycle 24, it so far has indicated that it will be a quiet one. Here is a link.

Work has consumed most of my early week this week, so I don’t have much of a wildlife report. I did spot our fawn crossing the driveway yesterday. You might remember pictures of that one from late May. Apparently she is alive and well and cute as a button.

I have been too busy lately to pay much attention to getting the e-cig business going. I do have several kits in stock though, ranging from disposables @ $16, basic kits @ $35 and really deluxe kits @ $55. I just got my juice affiliate program approved yesterday for the pre-packaged ones. I also make my own e-cig juices. If you are interested in any of that, use the contact tab to the left.

Personally I am still happy with mine. My smoking is down on average over 1/3, and with increasing frequency, cut in half. Monday I was under a pack a day for the first time in a decade or so, and yesterday was close. If I could only claim that level of success on the treadmill, I’d have something..

Well, it is back to work for me. Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Tuesday August 3rd, 2010

Greetings and welcome!

The weekend turned out alright. I got rained on for about an hour Saturday and that is about it. Other than that we filled it up like every weekend around here.

It feels a lot like August today. It is mid-upper 80s, and a little muggy. There is a chance of a isolated shower or storm popping up in the heat of the day, and we can pretty much ditto the outlook for tomorrow too. After that we are looking at low to mid-80s to low 90s and the first chance of rain coming on Sunday. Feels like August.

Here are some weekend events..

I have some to add…

The Friends Of Mountain Ambulance Service will be having their Drive-Through Fish Fry this Friday and the Mountain Ambulance Station by Hwy 32.

The Everbreeze (Chute Pond) and the Schoolhouse in Mountain are having corn roasts Saturday.

There is a Family Fun Day and Auction at the Lake Lucerne Clubhouse in Crandon Saturday.

Friday night is the 10th annual Family Fun Night & Street Dance in Wabeno.

I did see our blue heron friend along the river again last weekend. He avoided my lens, but Mr. Osprey didn’t..

I have seen the osprey many times and have gotten a few shots of it. He is an elusive one though. This pic was taken through a gap in the tree canopy, zoomed and cropped in.

I’d love to stick around and chat, but it is time to dive into another full and unpredictable day in Silver Cliff. Have  good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Friday July 30th, 2010

Greetings and welcome!

I just wanted to check in with a last minute weather update.

The NAM and the TV are looking for some rain tonight and early Saturday morning. They have it clearing out late Saturday morning, and a lingering chance that we might see some scattered showers and storms if the afternoon heat stirs up the atmosphere enough.

The NAM weighs in with some notable rain tonight for us. The NAM total QPF for the next 72 hours is 1-1.5″ with almost all of it coming overnight tonight.

That was the scenario that I floated yesterday where the main energy of the disturbance would hit us instead of the UP as otherwise predicted. With the scattered nature of it, I could only guess if it will work out, but right now it is way north, up by International Falls.

The GFS is keeping us in the lowest color area for precip (0.01-0.1″) from Friday night until Saturday afternoon. They also subscribe to the chances of some late day rain Saturday, stepping up the total rain possible to 0.1-0.25″. They show a nice day Sunday, and a total weekend QPF <0.25″.

The HPC has us in the lowest bands except for tonight & Saturday and a total of 0.1-0.25″ of rain for the weekend. There is no precip expected after Saturday afternoon.

The NWS has a chance of showers and isolated storms tonight and a chance of showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms Saturday. Rain chances with them are 40% tonight, 30% Saturday.

The bottom line? It will be a mostly very nice summer weekend. With temps in the mid-70s to low 80s, it will be really nice for late July.

The rain expected after Saturday morning is not anything organized. Think of it more as typical summer afternoon scattered showers that pop up in the heat of the day. I wouldn’t sit this weekend out on account of weather.

Watch the cloud tops.. If they start getting really tall, pay attention. More likely they will be flattened on top (capped) or cut off (shear) and won’t be able to build up high enough to support showers or a T-storm forming.

I am also going to go out on a limb and predict a good sunset Saturday evening. With a few clouds around and some moisture in the atmosphere it should have good color and maybe some feature clouds.

Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB