2019

Tuesday 4-9-19

Greetings and welcome!

It is a soggy day in Silver Cliff today.

Saturday it rained a lot. I don’t have my bucket out yet so I have to guess, but I’d put it easily in the 0.5-1″ range. Saturday evening I headed out of Crivitz at about sunset. It was misty and a little foggy in Crivitz. As I headed north the fog got thicker as the increasing snow depth and the rain caused a lot more of it. Once I got up to Hwy C and started heading west it got really thick, and was down to maybe 50-100 yard visibility.

It rained again Sunday and pretty much repeated the process.

Monday was a beautiful sunny 60 degree day. In the afternoon some showers and thunderstorms moved in and we were back into the fog. Right at sunset the visibility was maybe 200′ west of the river.

On the Big Snow Page I have a saying.. fog is a snow thief. The 100% humidity allows for some very effective heat transfer and it can melt a lot of snow on a warm day.

While my yard and most of my driveway is clear, the north side of the house where the sun doesn’t hit has knee deep snow or more. That also applies to very sheltered areas and the deep woods. That is where we are seeing our fog get the heaviest.

All of this rain and melting has areas creeks and rivers overflowing their banks. Eagle Creek at the Hwy C bridge is out of its banks as are creeks and rivers going east. It is much less dramatic as you head south.

The Peshtigo River is running high too. When I just checked it was at about +20″ and definitely on the rise. They opened the spring whitewater rafting season at Kosir’s last weekend and people were met with good water levels. This weekend will be outstanding. Looking at the gauge by Kosir’s and the slope of the USGS graph we will easily blow through the 24″ mark today with it continuing to rise. The water levels this weekend will bring the kind of water that makes the Peshtigo River world famous. Call Kosir’s today. 715-757-3431 or Kosirs.com.

Getting into driveways varies from driving right down soggy gravel to axle deep mud with water standing on it. It all depends on how high it is and how much sun it gets. Low spots are holding a lot of water and the ground is soggy and soft. Water squishes up around my shoes walking in the bare areas of the yard.

Critter sightings are up. The deer and turkeys are out by the roads. I have seen eagles and the first sandhill cranes this week, along with chippies and squirrels. Some of the migratory birds are back too.

The trap line produced a couple of mice this week both in the camper and the house. I would think that with the nicer weather the mice would be heading outside instead of invading, but no. Maybe they don’t want to get their little feet wet. I don’t know. I use the plastic T-Rex traps with dry roasted sunflower seeds, and I put a few seeds around the trap. It is an unstoppable combination that usually gets them the first night.

We have some big weather coming up for late week. Wednesday night into Thursday morning the snow is expected to start. It is a strong storm with lots of moisture and a lot of cold air on the north side. Thursday will likely bring heavy snow and some rain or mix, followed by a little snow going into Friday. Model guidance has been on the high side with some predicting 10-14″. On the low side I saw 4-6 or 4-8″. Friday night is expected to go below freezing (25F) and harden it up a little.

It is common for the forecast to be a lot worse than the weather, and sometimes early models get a little sensational about precip amounts. Stay tuned on this one. It might moderate a little for totals, but it is a big storm that will probably get messy. Unless it takes a sudden right turn tomorrow we will see heavy snow, strong winds, rain, freezing rain and the whole spring storm buffet.

Normally I would start talking about fire danger about this time of year. I don’t think that is going to be a problem this week or weekend.

Have a good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Wednesday April 3, 2019

Greetings and welcome!

We have a frosty morning outside today. We had some rain after sunset last night, followed by a little chunky snow.

The ground and the driveway are frozen again after a couple of cold nights. For a while I was walking in and out or taking a car that could handle the mud. The past two days have brought a firm driveway.

The spring thaw was progressing very nicely until our recent cold spell. Some sunny spots had finished with the frost-out and were firming up. Sheltered areas where the sun does not reach still hold snow. That ranges from patchy snow in thin woods up to a foot or more of remaining snow in deeply sheltered areas.

The lakes that I have seen in my recent travels still hold ice, though it isn’t very good ice. The Peshtigo River opened up at the bridge by Kosir’s late last week. I am not sure if it is open all of the way up the rapids section, but it is open by the bridge. I have not checked the levels but it looks fairly high, probably +12 or more. That isn’t bad considering that we have had no rain for a while and the gradual nature of our thaw. Kosir’s starts their spring whitewater rafting season this Saturday. People should have a good day with temps in the low 60s and good water levels.

The road bans are on most town and county roads. Those spring weight limits stop big trucks from using the roads while the base under them is soft from the frost coming out of them. Loggers, excavators, cement companies, heavy equipment operators and others with big trucks will have to take a break for a few weeks.

The ATV trails are closed for a while too. Usually they open back up in early May, but that is totally dependent on how the weather goes. I think that we might be on time this year with the limited frost in the ground, but we have a lot of snow to melt in the deep woods.

In events the Town of Stephenson VFD chicken dinner with a band and free beer is this Saturday at The Woods. It is a good deal and a good time for a good cause. Sunday is the Iron Snowshoe Banquet.

Yesterday we had an election. According to WBAY  our new town supervisors are Riana Ventura Bishop and Sue Victoreen, and Bruce Weber is our town board chairman. Other local races are listed at https://www.wbay.com/elections?configID=1498.

That is about all that comes to mind right now. Time to make the donuts. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Monday March 25th, 2019

Greetings and welcome!

Spring is here. The snowmobiling is done for most of us and it is time to catch up over here on my summer blog.

We are in mud season where the snow is melting and the frost is coming out of the ground and making it soft mud. A lot of people like me have to park by the road and walk in and out while the ground dries out on the gravel driveway.

We are seeing days with high temperatures ranging from the low 40s to the upper 50s. A lot of nights do not go below freezing but some like last night and tonight get down into the teens.

We had one heck of a winter. We started with a rain and snow storm that gave us a big layer of ice. That was interesting to get around on but it made a great base for the snowmobile trails.

Later in winter the snow came. I don’t keep exact track of how much and what day, but it seemed like it snowed every other day or every third day for about 6 weeks straight. I know that we had over four feet of snow in February alone, and that Rhinelander broke the all time record of 110” and then some.

Just keeping the driveway plowed and a couple of paths open was a real challenge. After a while the truck couldn’t throw the snow over the 4’ snowbanks and I had to do a lot of the driveway with a snow blower that could.

At one point I measured over 3’ of snow down in the yard. When I buried the plow truck trying to push back the banks I was in almost 5’ of compact snow. The county roads had places with 6-10+ foot snowbanks, and they were running out of room for the snow too.

We really got a lot of snow this winter.

Late in the stormy period the storm changed to rain, and a lot of it. That made it really hard to manage. That snow had to be shoveled off of roofs or they would collapse. You can’t have 3+ feet of snow on the roof and a couple of inches of rain unless you place is really well built or has a steep metal roof.

There are probably people with remote camps that will find them leveled this year. I have seen garages, campers, metal sheds, big metal barns, mobile homes, wood framed cabins, and a lot of other stuff just crushed by the snow.

It was crazy how much snow that we had and how dense that it was. Maybe at that point it wasn’t surprising that it did so much damage.` It really weighed a lot.

I got up close and personal with it digging out two trucks, clearing off the work shed roof, the camper roof, and other snow chores. I would cut a big lane with the snow blower and then shovel foot square cubes of snow down into it to be launched farther by the snow blower. A lot of it was chest deep or more and very compact. The snow blower alone couldn’t do it.

After a while I was getting sick of the snow because I spent all of my time cleaning it up and no time riding my snowmobiles in it.

So all of that snow is going to cause flooding, right? This part caught me by surprise. Yes and no. It depends on the permeability of your soil.

Much to my surprise there was not much frost left in the ground when the big melt started. I expected the flood of floods in my work shed that was surrounded by 4’ snowbanks from the roof snow removal. It flooded a little, but less than usual, and it was done in a week even though the snow was still there melting. I have sandy soil and the water was soaking right in once the frost under the snow broke through.

Other areas that have more clay or more frost saw a lot of water in lowlands and swollen rivers. There is flooding on the Peshtigo down by Marinette and Porterfield.

This should make the whitewater rafting crazy this spring, right? Oh absolutely. They are in for an outstanding spring. Not only is there plenty of snow to run off and make the river big when it rains, a lot is soaking in. That goes into the aquifer and makes base flow, a more gradual but consistent release. That always there base flow makes it where the river will be at good levels no matter what well into May and beyond.

This all comes behind a wet fall. The river was big right into December. A lot of that water got trapped in the upstream wetlands when they froze and soaked in over the winter. That water went into the aquifer too. This year’s base flow will be a good one.

This will be a good whitewater season because you are almost guaranteed good water levels any weekend for at least a month or two. When it does rain the river will jump very nicely.

Call Kosir’s 715-757-3431. They start rafting Saturday April 6th, and Peshfest is April 27 & 28.

I will try to get on top of events this week. I believe that the High Falls area bars miniature golf is this coming weekend.

Welcome back and thank you for visiting!

RJB