I've already mentioned the amazing amount of snow that's hit places like Redfield, NY, some 40 miles from us. For Utica, this winter is proving to be one of bizarre extremes. January turned out to be the warmest on record and over 4 degrees warmer than usual. In fact, I was running comfortably outside in shorts in the early-mid part of the month. Then, it turned bitterly cold and February greeted us with amazing amounts of snow. Barely two weeks into the month, Utica smashed the all-time monthly snow fall record, set in January 1890 at 59 inches, with a total of 63.1 inches. The 30 days up to that point accumulated a total of 81.4 inches, with 97.1 for the season. Although it is likely that we will top out our seasonal total above the average, we probably won't hit the all-time season total (nearly 200 inches). Each month by itself would be notable enough, but the January/February contrast is what is so striking.
Pictures tell the story a little better:
Here is a shot from the deck on the side of our house on January 4. Note the complete absence of snow. My training log shows that a couple of days later I went for a run with a couple friends and it was in the upper 50's around 9:00 AM.
Here is a reverse shot, standing in the woods looking back at the deck (this was taken a couple of summers ago when it was completed).
Now here's pretty much the same shot taken this past Sunday. Notice the subtle differences.
It is worth noting that the snow had already been removed from the roof of the little extension a couple of weeks ago and that the deck railings are about 40 inches high.
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Yeah! Wow dude, the snow sucked the color right out of your siding and deck rail. They look almost black and white.
Nope. The difference is that in the bottom picture there's a wrought iron hook on the railing to hang the hummingbird feeder.
Holy crap, I will never complain about the weather in St. Louis again.
What I like is the evidence of intelligent design in nature (in this case, falling snow). Notice that there's a fairly clear path from the bottom of the porch steps to the foreground, neatly allowing for residents and visitors to enter and exit the domicile with minimal hassle.
Also notice there's almost no snow on the roof compared to the amount on the ground. This places less stress on the roof (which is not able to withstand an excess of static stress) and more on the ground (which is large and able to hold up lots of snow, just as it held up huge dinosaurs and unicorns less than 8,000 years ago).
Elegant. Some here like to blind themselves to such obvious signs of a creator's concern about human welfare, but not me.
Well, ask the #$%& creator why he put all that stuff on my driveway then.
Wait. Let me guess, it's because I'm an atheist isn't it? I knew it. Free will bites you in the ass again. It's kind of like the creator's own neutron bomb wherein the real estate is deemed to be more valuable than the residents. Suddenly, it all makes sense.
If He left it off your driveway, then it would be obvious that He exists and was not only intelligent, but smart; at least in the winter. What would that do to faith?
Next winter temperatures in your area have about a 40% chance of being in the upper third of the historical distribution.
All that warmth means that cyclones crossing the great lakes region will pick up above average amounts of moisture from the lakes.
So while next winter is likely to also be slow to start, it's also likely to dump lots of snow on you when conditions are finally right for snow.
:-)