Early Snow

Well the forecast information that I studied yesterday did not project what actually happened.  Meteorologists have a difficult job trying to compile as much information as they can, even using sophisticated computers, they can end up looking like they were wrong.  Anyway I feel that sufficient information was put out there telling people that there was a freeze watch, and possible snow.  I read too much into the information I found and stated that the snow should not stick because of the ground being too warm.   At this hour there is a very heavy band of snow, hitting the area.  Temperatures are hovering around the freeze mark and since this has been the case now for much of the day, there is the danger of bridges and certain areas of roads can freeze and make driving very dangerous.  Because of a good quantity of leaves that are still on the trees, there are reports of branches and entire trees falling on wires, causing power outages.  Do not be surprised if you loose power, hopefully you still have batteries you purchased when Hurricane Irene came through our area.

For parts of PA and NJ, it is now not recommended to go out unless you really need to.  I was driving around and there is a lot of wet heavy snow still on certain roads.   If this freezes we can really see a problem, especially on hills or narrow roads.

Be safe so stay at home, the storm warning is over at 2am but temperature will stay in the lower 30's, which means the roads will continue to freeze.

Tomorrow will be a bit warmer and the roads will be clear and everything should melt, if you need to go out and shop, just wait until tomorrow.

This pic was taken at 3pm today, at this time it had started to be a mix of rain and sleet.  I checked online and they are reporting that some areas had anywhere from 2 to 5 inches within a 10 mile radius of Horsham.

Snow & another Nor'easter?

We have not even reached the fall color peak yet and you can hear the buzz from all the radio and TV stations about freezing temps and even some snow.  A Nor'easter is on its way, which is a dual front event, that when it meets,  can produce a good bit of precipitation and this type of storm is known to linger for some time. 

The good news is that this event should not effect us for too long.  For those like myself that live in northeastern Montgomery county, we should not see much snow, and even if we did, the ground is warm enough it would not stick.  Now for folks living more to the north and west, especially way up in Allentown or Reading, they should see accumulation. 

Channel 6 news reported at 11pm, that an October snowstorm is extremely rare, well we know that, I don't remember seeing snow at this time of year.  Please revisit the post regarding tire selection,The_Weather_Vane: Do you need new tires?   

This is a warning sign that we should look to be prepared for what could come our way during the Winter months.

Hurricain Rina & Our First Freeze

The two major headlines for today, the Track of Hurricane Rina and there is a Frost warning for the northern areas of Bucks and Montgomery counties.

The NWS has sent out (early this morning) a Freeze Watch which is in effect from late tonight until tomorrow morning.  This mainly impact vegetation such as any plants that you may have outside.

Hurricane Rina will reach he Yucatan Peninsula by Thursday afternoon, a weaker storm but still a category 1 Hurricane.

The forecast looks good for the launch of the NPP Weather and climate study satellite.  Launch is expected for Friday the 28th.

Thanks go to wunderground.com for the map displayed here and the the National Weather Service for alerting the public for storms and other events.

Nockamixon State Park

First I need to mention that the German Satellite crashed into the Earth today, Nasa has stated that it could have landed anywhere from the Indian Ocean to China.  A large 1.7 ton reflector, is a prime concern because it is fairly heat resistant.

Fall is now upon us, this past weekend we had great weather, relatively clear skies and some winds.
So given the nice weather, I went for a hike at Nockamixon State park.  Every time I go to this place I a surprised at it's diversity, offering, hiking, fishing, hunting, swimming and boating.  I am sure I missed something on my list.  I first parked at a boat launching area, after checking my GPS, I started to walk and found the path blocked. A small yellow sign warns of this being a hunters area and beyond this point you should wear an orange vest.  

Please note that you can click on any picture here to enlarge the image view.

 Well I forgot that we are in Deer season, so I continued down this path. I then ended up near a crossroad and briefly noticed hunters hundreds of feet away.  I originally intended to follow my GPS through a long trail that would have led me to the lake shore through a narrow mud filled path.   I started to think that I may not be safe where I was hiking.  I walked a few more feet then I heard a powerful gunshot in the distance.  Well then I walked over to a field clearing and saw Haycock mountain, this is about 960ft high. This mountain is also known as Ghost Mountain.  I did not see an Albino Cannibal running around.  For more on that story, click here :  weird US

 Now being fully aware of this being a bad place to be, I thought to back track and see if I could find a hunter.  I did walk back to the crossroad and spoke to two hunters that I had waved to earlier, just so that they are aware of a crazy photographer that was walking around.  They confirmed that I was not in a good place and said I should get back to the main road.  I agreed and walked back down the asphalt path that I had originally came from. 

 
I got back to the area where my car was parked, and took a couple shots at the lake but I was not satisfied with them.  I found a map of the park and proceeded to plan my next stop.  I found another boat launch location, that was facing a more open area of the lake and I thought should have boats there to be seen.  Well I was right, it was a good move, I found fisherman, fishing boats and sailboats.

In the end the sky progressively got darker, the constant winds appeared to have brought thick dark clouds with it. This meant that the lighting conditions deteriorated for my work that day.  I wish I had more time there, but I felt that I did just enough to capture this moment of time.

Here is a final shot, not quite a sunset, but close enough to say goodbye to this lake for the day.
On a final note, be on the lookout by this Thursday, possible double low pressure fronts moving in to give rain into Friday, not sure if this will be a storm, but we cannot rule that possibility out.