Wednesday October 29th, 2019
Greetings and welcome!
Last night’s snow was dispatched by the sun and 40 degree day by early afternoon. The exception is the areas where the sun could not hit. The grass is still white on the north side of the house, and the front steps has an ice and snow layer about 1/4” thick. There are still a few white spots in ditches where a little snow survived in the shadows.
The week ahead looks cold. Most days will struggle to get above 40 with lows in the mid to low-20s. It might take a while for the front steps to melt.
It is almost midnight Tuesday night and we are down to 23 degrees. That has me a little concerned for exposed plumbing like my hose faucet. If it gets much colder it could freeze and crack it. It is going to be close.
Stuff like the well house and camper are becoming a concern too. My rule on the well house is that as long as we get into the mid- 40s, mid-20s overnight is OK. Under 20 busts pipes. The forecast has us close to criteria for protecting stuff. Looking at at GFS forecast models I don’t see a break in the below normal temperatures for 10 days plus. I guess that I had better take a day off of work this week and address winterizing plumbing.
Usually I could leave the well house unheated and stuff like winterizing camper plumbing until late November. Most years I do it the week of deer hunting or right after. Last year it was mid-November and hustle. This year I guess that it will have to be late October.
In the little cartoon that I made up for myself with my winter prediction I was expecting this cold weather pattern early in winter. Honestly I wasn’t expecting it for at least two more weeks. I like that the lakes and ground are getting a head start at freezing up (not frozen yet but they are cooling fast). I am not as happy about the mountain of outside work still to be tackled and a daily high temperature that I will be lucky to see hit 40. Our normal high right now is about 50, much more pleasant for working outside than 37 or 40.
There is a storm for Thursday that initially was forecast to bring a little more light snow to the area. As of right now it looks like that will stay downstate and south of Green Bay. There is another chance of light snow Saturday but nothing significant.
Hunters are going to find lowland and swampy areas very wet this year, and streams/rivers might be a little more challenging than usual to cross. It has been a very wet year. Right now the Peshtigo River is running at about 600cfs (+5”) when it typically will run at about 300cfs. Ponds and swamps are quite full.
The last item tonight is the deer along the roads. In a word- crazy. Day and night I have to be very alert for deer along the roads. Sure that is typical for fall when they become more active and eventually rut. This year it seems early and more intense. I generally don’t hit deer (19 years without one) but this fall I have had at least 20 deer within two feet of my bumper as I am locking up the brakes. It just isn’t normal. I think that I might have to buy one of those 170db steamship horns. They will jump so high that I can drive under them. But seriously, be careful. It seems like the deer are crazier than usual in the roads this fall.
That’s it for tonight. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!
RJB
