Thursday Maypril 6th, 2010

Greetings and welcome!

We have had a little weather since the last time that we visited. Tuesday night a storm came through that got destructive about 100 miles south of here. When it first got here it was one where it was a distinct line. Here by Hwy C I could sit on the picnic bench 5 minutes after it rained. A mile south the roads were wet. Later a few lines of showers finally made it through the area. There was also a line that came through yesterday that added a little. It was not a lot of rain, maybe 1/4-1/2″, but it will help the world get green. It should really set off some changes.

The weekend weather looks somewhat different than my ideal forecast, but it could be worse. The late week storm that I told you about on Tuesday is just a little behind schedule. The way that the models show it this morning the main storm will go a little farther south than expected. That will help reduce rain chances for tonight, but we are expecting rain Friday. Eventually it is shown forming a second storm behind the first, and that one bull’s eyeing us Friday night and Saturday morning.

The place where it gets interesting is that the second storm will bring some unseasonably cold air with it. The maps are showing it as cold as -9C at the 850mb level as close as Lake Superior late Friday night. The NWS has the low in the low 30s. That is deep cold for this time of year. Combined with the moisture from the second low pressure area, yes ladies and gentlemen, the possibility of snow comes into the picture for Friday night and Saturday morning. The morning weather showed it mostly between Eagle River and about Hurley, and 2-5″ possible. It also showed a fair band of snow coming over us. My guess is that we may see some slushy accumulation, but not much. It looks like mostly rain, but the line is close, and that is a tough dynamic to predict. It could easilly go the other way.

Saturday should clear up as the day progresses. There are winds in the 15-25mph range predicted along with highs in the upper 40s. Campers will want an extra blanket for Saturday night when there is widespread frost expected and lows in the high 20s. Clear skies and cold air behind a front will do that at this time of year. Sunday looks a lot better with clear weather and highs in the mid-50s. Our normal hi/lo today is 63/37.

So the weekend doesn’t look perfect for weather, but it could be a lot worse. Right now it doesn’t look like the precip will linger long into Saturday morning. I remain a little skeptical of the snow chances, but it is what is indicated right now. I am also skeptical of dramatic forecasts. Eight times out of ten it isn’t as bad as expected and people who stayed away based on a forecast miss out.

Today is the first day in a while that it hasn’t been windy. The TV weather said that 6 of the last 10 days had winds over 30mph. Yesterday Athelstane weather recorded a gust of 41, and that is on board with nearby stations. It would have been a good week to have a wind turbine.

Tuesday was firewood day agiain, and what a day. I went to a friend’s house where he was clearing a bunch of big basswood. We loaded the truck and trailer heavy with big trunks and really made a load of it. My old truck was -not- happy, and I’m still feeling it too.

I love the part about making a couple of weeks of heat in one day. Basswood isn’t oak, but it works good for early and late season when oak is too much. I have to guess that we covered heat for two or three weeks in November in that load. I like my firewood. It is the Gold’s Gym of the northwoods, being out in the woods is great, and the heat saves me a bundle.

That is about it for now. I expect to be back before tomorrow afternoon with the latest weather updates.

Have a good Thursday and thank you for visiting!

RJB