3/12/2003: Record-setting snow
 

http://cellar.org/2003/snowfall1.jpg

The Earth Sci Pic of the Day gave us this one, which shows a unique satellite view of record-setting snowfalls in the northeastern US and Canada. As much as four feet of snow fell in western Maryland (the center-bottom of the shot), and record snow hit Baltimore and Boston.

http://cellar.org/2003/snowfall2.jpg

Elspode sends along this version (thanks!) which must have been taken a little later and looks at the Great Lakes and sees all but one almost completely covered. At the lower right you can see that some lake effect snow has taken place. The lake effect usually dumps more moisture on the right-hand side, the east side of the lakes. Buffalo, at the lower right, is famous for getting simply massive amounts of snow, even if the rest of the area sees very little.

Interesting note. If you look at the top picture you'll see two lakes in the middle of NY state. They are smack in the center of the image, and they look like a quotation mark.

These are the two largest "finger lakes" of New York State. What's interesting is that they are not yet frozen over.

In that area of NY there are a lot of wineries. Here's the thing: good wine grape varieties don't like to get too hot or too cold; they don't survive well. (They developed in France where things are generally more temperate.)

So this shot shows why wineries landed around the finger lakes. The waters there are a little warmer than the rest of the area, and they help to keep things a little warmer in the winter and a little cooler in the summer.

Wine grape growers talk about "micro climates" a lot because minor little differences can make big differences in the grapes. There's an example of a micro-climate. The growers plant right on the shores so they get maximum benefit of the lakes.

(The climate still isn't warm enough to support a lot of good RED grapes; most of the wine made in NYS is white because the white varieties withstand cold better. This is also why good German wines are white; grown for a colder climate.)

The article accompanying the Great Lakes pic said that the lakes froze completely over on around February 27, so that is about a week after the snow pic of the Eastern US was made.

If you need any evidence that this has been a cruel winter across about half of the country, you need look no further.

Amazingly, here in KC we've had no more than two simultaneous days below 20 degrees, and I'd have to guess our average temperatures for the period from December to March to be around 40 degrees or better!

It has been damn dry, though. We're working on a two year drought around here. Very little snow this winter...several snow events, but all very moisture deprived, brief and melted within two days at most.

I wonder if the lakes might have still frozen over in the intervening time between the snow pic and Great Lakes pic?

Sure would like to see a larger context of the Great Lakes pic.

Seneca and Cayuga are both extremely deep active lakes.... I don't think they ever completely freeze over. :confused:

Western Maryland isn't actually at the bottom of the pic, but right under Pennsylvania. It looks like a little triangle. I don't have any image manipulation tools here or I'd highlight it to show you.

http://msdelta.net/~dave/images/cellar/snowfall1.jpg

Microsoft Photo Editor kinda sucks, but with enough copying and pasting, I came up with this.

Do we get a bonus, or am I just missing yesterday's post somewhere?

Arg, a miss. Sorry.

Isn't that Cayuga and Seneca below lake Ontario in the second picture? Look mostly snow covered.

Asked in another thread was location of Lexington and Cloverdale. Deep into VA I was surprised. Well south of Dave's square highlighted box. Due to snow in that box, potential electric problems continue in the Lexington and Cloverdale VA regions (near VMI and Sulfer Springs WV). Two major electric transmission lines were lost in the Mt Storm area that includes an area west to Pruntytown WV (and I can't find Pruntytown on a conventional map).

These lines will probably be restored by summer. Good thing. We only have three major connections to our important electrical providers in the west. One was lost in the box. One in Erie PA has been in trouble still since last summer. None are very reliable according to MISO - the mid-west electric grid that provides much of our emergency power. Do record snow in winter mean record summer heat?

Did you find Pruntytown, tw? It's off I-79, south of Morgantown. (And it's in the 2003 Rand McNally atlas.)

As to your last question, it's a good one. Perhaps this summer will be like the summer of 2000, where it was hot as hell in May, then rainy and mid-70s all summer (at least in the DC area).

Arg, I didn't miss yesterday's post, I just mis-labeled it.

<i>"Won't you take me to.. Funkytown?

Won't you take me to ... Funkytown?"</i>

cool!
 

In the second image down, I think you can see shipping routes cut through the ice.

I don't think so those streight lines are just the international boundries automaticaly put on there so we have a frame of reference. If you notice the states are outlined too.