Fall!

If there's more snow than expected, I'll loan you my snowshoes so you can get your tree :) Permits are still $5 - can't beat that.

Got my permit, will be heading up, how's the snow cover? We got 4" here at 4200" just North of Las Cruces and is, too me, nasty cold. I missed most of it as I was off in Atlanta rekindling an old flame :D
 
Got my permit, will be heading up, how's the snow cover? We got 4" here at 4200" just North of Las Cruces and is, too me, nasty cold. I missed most of it as I was off in Atlanta rekindling an old flame :D


A couple of days of above freezing temps have reduced the snow cover on the south-facing slopes. There's still plenty of snow on the north slopes, but not the original 8 to 12 inches we had at the end of the snowfall. Have fun getting your tree!
 
After a couple of weeks of high-pressure and sunshine in Central Oregon we've finally succumbed to the dreaded high-pressure and damp inversion.
ohmy.gif


gallery_2431_332_83914.gif

Those aren't nice, normal, snow-producing storm-front clouds, just low clouds formed by condensation in the cold air trapped near the ground. A little "fog-snow" was produced this morning -- about 1/4", but it didn't result in the beautiful but terrible freezing-fog that "flocks" the trees...not yet anyway.

As a result of the lack of sun and the cold-trapping temperature inversion, the high today at my house was just 26°, a new low in highs -- lowest high since last winter.

gallery_2431_332_10524.jpg

And because it was humid (and cold) the cold felt much colder -- like being in one of the horrible northeastern-states winters.
 
"Blizzard makes travel 'dangerous' or 'impossible' in parts of West..."


Any of you in CO or NM been getting some of this?

In Oregon (and California?) we seem to be in a hard drought right now...for the past few weeks now and looking to continue for another week or two at least.



At 4200' in S NM we had a good rain :D and a windy/cold (43) day yesterday but I can see plenty of snow 10+ miles away probably over 7000'. I imagine HighZ at closer to 9000' had a good amount but the worst of it was N and heading NE.
 
At 4200' in S NM we had a good rain :D and a windy/cold (43) day yesterday but I can see plenty of snow 10+ miles away probably over 7000'. I imagine HighZ at closer to 9000' had a good amount but the worst of it was N and heading NE.

Well, I'm glad you guys are gettin' some...you deserve it after last winter.
 
The west side of the Sacramento Mountains got about ten inches of the white stuff. I got some rain, then less of an inch of snow at my house on the east side. Like Barko says, they got a good snowfall further north. It's all more than welcome.
 
In Oregon (and California?) we seem to be in a hard drought right now...for the past few weeks now and looking to continue for another week or two at least.

Nope. We are going to fix that. Going to try a repeat of our trip a few years ago to the great northwest. Doesn't matter what the forecast says. It is a safe bet the rains will start this Friday and come down solid for 10 days just to spite us. :cautious:
 
Nope. We are going to fix that. Going to try a repeat of our trip a few years ago to the great northwest. Doesn't matter what the forecast says. It is a safe bet the rains will start this Friday and come down solid for 10 days just to spite us. :cautious:

Cool -- thanks!
Will you be bringing snow to the mountains, or just valley rain?
 
Winter solstice in the northern hemisphere is Thursday December 22. Get it touch with your ancient pagan roots and celebrate. The days are going to get longer!
 
Here's a view looking toward the Tularosa basin after the storm passed through. It was taken from the 3.5m telescope catwalk this morning by our site operations manager, M. Klaene.
catwalk_view.jpg
 
Winter solstice in the northern hemisphere is Thursday December 22. Get it touch with your ancient pagan roots and celebrate. The days are going to get longer!


December 22nd is 1 second longer than December 21st here. I'll be celebrating the solstice tomorrow, which will be 5 seconds shorter than today.


Date. Sunrise Sunset This day Difference Time Altitude Distance(10^6 km)
Dec 20, 2011 8:05 AM 4:16 PM 8h 11m 03s − 11s 12:10 PM 17.3° 147.178
Dec 21, 2011 8:05 AM 4:16 PM 8h 10m 58s − 05s 12:11 PM 17.3° 147.168
Dec 22, 2011 8:06 AM 4:17 PM 8h 10m 59s + 01s 12:11 PM 17.3° 147.159
Dec 23, 2011 8:06 AM 4:17 PM 8h 11m 06s + 06s 12:12 PM 17.3° 147.151
Dec 24, 2011 8:06 AM 4:18 PM 8h 11m 18s + 12s 12:12 PM 17.4° 147.142
Dec 25, 2011 8:07 AM 4:18 PM 8h 11m 36s + 18s 12:13 PM 17.4° 147.135
Dec 26, 2011 8:07 AM 4:19 PM 8h 12m 00s + 23s 12:13 PM 17.4° 147.128

All times are in local time for Vancouver
December Solstice (Winter Solstice) is on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 9:30 PM in Vancouver. In most locations north of Equator, the shortest day of the year is around this date

Source: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=256
 
Here's a view looking toward the Tularosa basin after the storm passed through. It was taken from the 3.5m telescope catwalk this morning by our site operations manager, M. Klaene.
View attachment 13348

Beautiful! What a great place to work...can't believe you're gonna quit.
wink.gif
 
Yep, solstice -- the configuration of Earth and Sun that defines solstice -- occurs at 9:30pm PST the 21st this year.

For the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) Wild Desert Calendar I always compile the celestial/seasonal almanac data (moon phases, meteor showers, solstice/equinox, etc.) that's shown on the various days of the calendar. For most of this stuff the source I use is the US Naval Observatory "Data Services".
Below is the data for 2011 from their Earth's Seasons page, which provides similar data for the years 2000 to 2020.
The data are Month Day Hour Minute -- in Universal Time (aka Greenich Mean Time), which is 8 hours ahead of Pacific Standard, so 5:30am on the 22nd UT is 9:30pm PST on the 21st.

gallery_2431_332_1132.jpg


(BTW: Here's a link to the photos from the 2012 ONDA Wild Desert Calendar)
 
Beautiful! What a great place to work...can't believe you're gonna quit.
wink.gif


:LOL: Well, that's the beauty of it. I can still go to the observatory and enjoy the views, but I can do so on a healthy day schedule and watch other people work!
 
Yep, solstice -- the configuration of Earth and Sun that defines solstice -- occurs at 9:30pm PST the 21st this year.

Oh good, tomorrow! Thanks!
 
Here's a view looking toward the Tularosa basin after the storm passed through. It was taken from the 3.5m telescope catwalk this morning by our site operations manager, M. Klaene.
View attachment 13348


Very nice, looks like winter! Last of our little bit of snow melted today.
 
Here's a view looking toward the Tularosa basin after the storm passed through. It was taken from the 3.5m telescope catwalk this morning by our site operations manager, M. Klaene.
View attachment 13348


Awesome, HighZ. Here in California we're about ready to launch pagan rituals; burning skis, to call in god Ullr, the nordic god of snow. * :) * :) * :) * :) *
 
I guess this is the last day for this thread, being the last day of fall (or is it the first day of winter?)
Either way, this last day of fall (or first day of winter) greeted me with a low temperature of 12.7° -- 5 degrees lower than the previous low this season.
ohmy.gif
This isn't anything remotely like a local record, but it's the coldest we've had so far.
20111221-1.JPG


Still no snow...
VIS420111221-1.GIF
Damn that high pressure!
 
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