2011

Wednesday June 22, 2011 Paddler’s Alert!!

Go rafting this weekend if at all possible!

The 5 gallon bucket that I put outside yesterday morning as the first raindrops fell now has 3.5″ of rain in it.

The rivers are rising really fast, and the Peshtigo River cleared the +18″ mark this morning. If we don’t see another drop of rain the Pesh should see low 20s or higher for the weekend since the watershed saw more rain than we did, and it will take a couple of days to all get here.

That assumes that it won’t rain any more. The HPC and I agree that most of the storm has passed as far as quantity of rain. They are calling for another 1/2-3/4″ for rainfall by Friday morning. That looks pretty reasonable to me. The TV weather channel 2-2 out of green Bay is still showing us seeing another 2″ of rain possible in the same time frame.

The Peshtigo is rising almost as fast as I have seen it rise. At about 11pm last night it broke the 12″ mark, and by 9am it broke through the 18″ mark. The last reading that I have is from about an hour ago, showing it up over 19″ according to the USGS/NWS readings.

Go rafting this weekend if at all possible!

The water levels are like good levels for spring rafting, and this is the kind of water that the river is world famous for. The best part is that you get spring rafting water levels without the 38 degree water and cold days, plus the price is cheap, only $25.

It is very unusual to see this much rain or this high of a river at this time of year. Pounce on it, these ARE the good old days.

We have been spreading the word on our Facebook pages and in our personal networks, call Kosir’s asap to get the best trip times and to make your reservations for the weekend.

YEEEEEE HAAAA!

Tuesday June 21st, 2011

Greetings and welcome!

We are about to get a wet start to the day today, and there is more on the way. If you are inclined to go whitewater rafting or paddling, this coming weekend should be BIG.

The river will be going up already this week from last Sunday’s rain. When I was out early afternoon Sunday the rain was falling at a steady moderate pace. It added up fast, filling the two lane rut road across except for the very middle, and it was softening up gravel roads. Local rain gauges show about 1/3 of an inch, but having been out in it and seeing how it added up I would insist that it was 1/2-3/4″ plus.

That was around here. To our northwest the Peshtigo River watershed was getting pounded. The storm was doing the railroad track thing where wave after wave of the storm hit the same spots, and it was squared off on the Peshtigo River watershed. We watched the radar showed wave after wave of the storm heading north like they were on a rail. Radar returns showed 1.5-2.5″ across the watershed.

That water started hitting the whitewater stretch yesterday, and the river is already up to almost +5 from about zero or minus one.

That is just the Hors d’œuvre.. As anyone that has been watching the weather or news recently knows, we are in for a wet week. To use my favorite line from the movie Twister, “It’s not coming, it’s already here…”. Right now (9am) it is as dark out as it would be at dawn, and it is coming down pretty good. The TV and lights flickering tell me that some lightning may be around too, oops there was a rumble.. and down went the lights.

So how much rain are we expecting this week? Right now the estimate is 2-3″ around here. Here is a HPC QPF for the next 5 days. Click it to make it bigger.

The NWS Hydrological Outlook mentions high end possibilities in the 3-4″ range in some areas.

The story is that we have a very strong storm that is expected to slowly track east along the MN/IA border and continue east across WI. It is a slow moving storm that will probably take until Thursday or Friday to clear out. In the meantime it will sit and spin off wave after wave of precipitation. It does have a Gulf of Mexico moisture tap and eventually will tap the Atlantic too.

Here is a link to the GFS 850/MSLP/6 hour QPF animation that shows how slowly the storm will be moving.

Sunday Chicago Mike asked me for a high end prediction for the Peshtigo River next weekend. I raised a few eyebrows when my guess was +14 or +15. That assumes that the rain in the forecast actually hits the ground.

With what is down now a guess of +4 to +6 is pretty reasonable, and with a couple of inches more hitting the already soggy watershed, seeing it blow through the 12″ mark running isn’t out of the question at all. My guess might be  little low, but sometimes forecasts get a little carried away on the QPF numbers, so I tempered it a little.

So, if you are inclined to go whitewater rafting, make plans to be around here this weekend. The river should be big and fun, and people will have a ball.

In spite of having a wet week in the forecast all week, the weekend looks great. Saturday is expected to be mostly sunny and in the mid-70s, and Sunday only adds a few clouds to make it partly cloudy.

Gas prices have been kicking our butts this summer and they finally are on the way down. The NYMEX RBOB price is down about a dime from last week. Locally the pump price was at $3.68 along 32 in Lakewood Townsend and Carter. I didn’t move on it, hoping for further downward movement today.

I am not happy about 3.68 gas, but I do like the direction. It beats the peak price of $4.17 earlier in the year.

Looking up on WI gas prices, they are showing a station in Kenosha selling 87 at $3.35. It is still a dollar too high, but a fine start.

Steve from Athelstane Weather sent in a few pictures of the northern lights from June 4th on Friday. Here are a couple of them.

The display that night wasn’t as strong as we had hoped for, but there should be more to come. Solar Cycle 24 is expected to be a weak one, but we are ramping up toward it’s peak and will likely see more displays. Thanks for sharing the pictures Steve!

Here are some local events for this weekend.

I want to give you a heads up that there are a lot of events coming for the 4th of July weekend ( A 3 day’er with the 4th on Monday!)

Also up front is a heads up on the Super Dave Memorial Ride, Swap Meet and Poker Run July 7-8-9. There are about 10 bars and campgrounds involved with it up here and it is a very big event. I will have more info on it directly.

The great outdoors report starts with the bugs. It has been a strange year for our pesky insect population. Last week I worked outside a couple of days and never saw a mosquito and came away with one tick. There were spots not to far away where the mosquitoes and gnats were a cloud. I am not sure why it is so hit n miss this year or why they are gathered up like that.

Apparently one of the local deer had a fawn not too far from here, and the little wobbly legged baby has been spotted a few times. So far it has eluded my lens, but both Chris and I have seen it on separate occasions.

I am going to be working on a web site this week for a guy that sells a neat little fishing gadget. It looks like a quality ball point pen, but when you click it a wire loop comes out that when released will firmly hold your hook while you put a line through it, sharpen it or twist up the line to make your knot. It is a cool gadget soon to be on sale on a new web site.

That is about it from here today. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Thursday June 16th, 2011

Greetings and welcome!

It has been another quiet week in the Northwoods. The gas prices and bad economy have really been slowing down tourism. Usually this time of year features a lot of people around during the week and it isn’t like that this year.

We finally had some meaningful rain yesterday. It started mid-day and went into the night at a slow and then moderate pace. Local rain gauges show between 1/3″ and 1/2″.

Tuesday after my report I went to town for a photo shoot. Later I took the camera out of the car before heading out to a local trail stop just after sunset. It made sense at the time.

On the way there I saw were no less than 5 huge snapping turtles up from the flowage to lay eggs. There were deer and turkeys not in any hurry, and there was a huge full moon rising to the east in the post sunset medium bule sky. Curses, foiled again.

The weather for the weekend will be a close call. There will be a storm heading this way, but it isn’t supposed to get this far northeast until later Sunday. The Green Bay forecast has them for a chance of showers/storms Saturday and later Sunday. Around here the NWS outlook only has us for a slight chance of T-storms Saturday night and Sunday and then better chances next week.

In the middle is some of my guidance that shows a chance of rain Sunday and an outside chance of a little getting here sooner.

The plan is that the storm will have trouble getting to the NE 1/4 of the state and that will delay things long enough for us to have a nice weekend. I will go with that for now, but I would submit that the similar scenario that had yesterday’s rain coming today didn’t quite work out that way.

This week Jeff D sent a message via Facebook that Father’s Day weekend is always the car show in Lakewood. A quick look around confirmed it, there will be a show on the 18th.. Link

( I am guessing that it is the Muscle Maniacs Club out of Lakewood)

11 th Annual Charity Car Truck and Bike Show Registration is $10.00 Date of Show. Awarded Trophy in All Categories for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Places.
D J Music, Food and Refreshments on the grounds.
Free Vendor spaces(space size as needed first come first server) ). Trophy Presentation at 3:00 PM.  Registration from 9:00AM til 11:00AM  For additional Information contact Les at 715-276-1810

From the Tuesday update..

Porterfield Country Music Festival (June 16-19, TR-SU).

Friday there is a Gril Scout Rummage & Bake Sale at Athelstane Town Hall Sponsored by Girl Scout Brownie Troop 4569. Proceeds to fund troop projects & outings plus a donation to the Amberg Food Pantry
If interested in donating rummage items call Harriet at 715-759-5145

Saturday at the church on A & C in Athelstane there is the Cornerstone Assembly of God’s 4th Annual Custom & Modified Antique Car Show 10am to 3pm -. Free admission and Free Car Entry
For registration or more information please call (715) 856-5537 or (715) 856-5518. Food & Refreshments available – inflatables for children.

Twin Bridge Ski Team shows Thursdays and Saturdays 6:30pm at Boat Landing #3.

That is about news for today. Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Tuesday June 14th, 2011

Greetings and welcome!

Last weekend ended up being a pretty decent weekend in the end. It was cold at night, but Saturday ended up cloudy & cool with no rain. Sunday was a bluebird day and brought shorts weather.

My tree across the driveway ended up a little bigger than I thought. I told my neighbor that volunteered to help clear it not to worry, I’d have it done in 20 minutes. As it was it ended up taking about 4 hours.

Because it was so green it was really heavy and I took it in 3 small truckloads.  The bottom pieces were about 18″ diameter.
Being soaking wet red oak they weren’t much fun to lift into the truck. Ten of them sagged it pretty good and was about my limit too.

My time out there brought some wood ticks, maybe 5 or 6. There were again that many waiting in the cuffs and folds when I put my work pants back on the next day. They are certainly present where I was playing.

The gators have been a mixed bag. I have had days where I didn’t see one, and places where they were a cloud. I haven’t quite figured that one out yet.

On the way to Lakewood yesterday I must have hit a dragonfly hatch. A little this side of Knowels Creek Road the low areas along the road were full of them. We have some unusual species of them up here, and some are pretty funky looking. It’s all good though, they eat other bugs, like the gators and gnats.

We have a pretty nice week in weather ahead. There is a chance of showers and storms probably about Thursday. Other areas of the state will see some sooner, but around here Wednesday and Thursday are the best chance for rain, with the latter being the most likely.

Temperatures look seasonal right through the weekend. We are looking at 75-80 today, low 70s Wednesday and Thursday, then high 70s Friday and Saturday. Friday and Saturday look like great days. Sunday brings a bump up into the low 80s, along with a minor chance for rain later in the day.

Fishing should be good right about now. Tomorrow is a full moon, and that brings peak days on the solunar tables.

This particular full moon will also bring the longest and darkest lunar eclipse of the century tomorrow. Unfortunately we are on the opposite side of the planet when it will be happening early tomorrow afternoon.

I don’t have a lot for events this weekend. Maybe they don’t want to compete with the Porterfield Country Music Festival (June 16-19, TR-SU).

Friday there is a Gril Scout Rummage & Bake Sale at Athelstane Town Hall Sponsored by Girl Scout Brownie Troop 4569. Proceeds to fund troop projects & outings plus a donation to the Amberg Food Pantry
If interested in donating rummage items call Harriet at 715-759-5145

Saurday at the church on A & C in Athelstane there is the Cornerstone Assembly of God’s 4th Annual Custom & Modified Antique Car Show 10am to 3pm -. Free admission and Free Car Entry
For registration or more information please call (715) 856-5537 or (715) 856-5518. Food & Refreshments available – inflatables for children.

I missed it last week, but it was the Twin Bridge Ski Team‘s first show of the year. They will be back at it Thursdays and Saturdays for a while.

Well it is a very nice day outside so I am going to go and tackle some of the stuff to do out there. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB