Monday, January 15, 2024

A shrew wiggles atop the snow

Morning Observation:

This morning in Huntington at 6:25AM it’s currently 15 degrees under partly cloudy skies. Winds are calm. Relative humidity is 79%, dewpoint 9, barometric pressure 30.10”. We picked up a quick 2.4” of new snow yesterday afternoon around 2:00PM when a squall ripped through. We have 5” at the stake. Yesterday’s high was 32, and yesterday’s low was 22. The overnight low got down to 15.

This morning in North Hero it’s currently 23 degree under partly cloudy skies. Winds are out of the south at 5-8 mph. Relative humidity is 70%, dewpoint 15, barometric pressure 30.14”. No snow on the ground. Yesterday’s high was 36, and yesterday’s low was 26. The overnight low got down to 23.

Forecast Discussion:

We’ve got a dry and partly sunny day on tap for today courtesy of a ridge of high pressure cresting over the region. Highs today will be on the chilly side topping out in the low to mid 20s with gusty southwest winds. A trough will pass to our south on Tuesday bringing some widespread light snow to the region beginning overnight tonight. Accumulations of 1″-5″ can be expected north to south with highest amounts over southern counties. Locally we may see 2″-4″ here in Huntington with 1″-3″ in North Hero. Snow will taper off Tuesday evening. Dry and seasonably chilly conditions are expected for midweek under the influence of low pressure centered over Hudson Bay which will rotate cool Arctic air into the region. There’s still an outside chance of some snow again on Friday as low pressure tracks to our south, but at this point it’s looking less likely. Dry and chilly conditions are expected heading into the weekend as Arctic high pressure drops into the region.

3-Day Forecast:

We’ll see mostly sunny skies today with a high near 23 and southwest winds 10-13 mph. Tonight should bring increasing clouds with a 40% chance of snow showers late. Lows will be around 12 with south winds 5-10 mph. Little or no snow accumulation is expected.

Tuesday should be cloudy with light snow likely. Highs will be near 24 with southeast winds 6-8 mph becoming westerly in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 100% with new snow accumulations of 2″-4″ possible. Tuesday night should be mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of snow showers before 10:0PM. Lows will be around 10 with northwest winds 5-7 mph.

Wednesday should be mostly cloudy with a high near 20 and southwest winds 5-9 mph. Wednesday night should be mostly cloudy with a low around 10 and southwest winds 8-13 mph.

Almanac:

Last year on this date in Huntington we had a high of 21 and a low of 12. We picked up 0.30″ of new snow and had 1.75″ at the stake.
Last year in North Hero we had a high of 26 and a low of 17. We had 3″ of snow at the stake.

Burlington averages for this date are a low of 13 and a high of 29.
The record low was -30 in 1957 (brrrrr!)
The record high was 66 in 1995.

The Lake Champlain lake level in Burlington is 98.26′.
The water temperature is 38˚.
Last year’s lake level was at 97.31′.

The Mt. Mansfield snow stake depth is 48″.
The average depth for this date is 40″.

Mt. Washington Summit Conditions
Current Temperature: -4
Winds are out of the west at 51-55 mph
24 hr Precipitation: 2.9″ snow, 0.22″ melted precipitation
Visibility: less than 1/16 mile freezing fog

Sky Notes:

Sunrise: 7:24AM
Sunset: 4:38PM
Length of day: 9:13:32
Today will be 1:43 longer than yesterday.

The Moon is a waxing crescent, 4.3 days old with 19% illumination.
Moonrise: 10:10AM
Moonset: 10:02PM

About Today’s Photo:

I’ve often shown shrew tracks and the remains of their little tunnels running just below the surface of the snow, but it’s not too often that I lay an eye on the actual critter. Robin spotted this little guy scurrying across the snow yesterday afternoon after the squall. It was looking for an entrance to dig in below the snow where shrews spend most of their time in the winter. A dense, frozen snowpack makes it hard for subnivean dwellers, as they’re unable to dig down to the ground in search of food.

iPhone 15 Pro