Fresh Snow In Gorham

As of this morning (Friday 10/22) there was 1/2" of snow on the ground near the Gorham Randolph NH line. Its not sticking to the pavement but is on the grass. Its currently snowing lightly.

The elevation is around 1400 feet

Earlier this morning, there was a very light coating (maybe 1/8th inch) here in Bethlehem (about 1440 ft elevation).
But, this light coating is quickly disappearing under the blistering sun . . . uh yeah!

Elevation? We don't need no stinkin' elevation! We got snow (and graupel) this morning on our punkinheads down here 'twixt Lakes and Seacoast at 500 feet.

(You'll notice that I didn't claim it was accumulating . . .)

The Whites will look beautiful this weekend with the fresh coat of white above 3000 feet. Wish I could get up there..someone take pictures for me. Very impressive coat of rime and snow on Mount Washington too.

After the warm spell this week, there are very few patches of snow visible on the Northern Presis. The usual spots where snow hangs around the longest are very close to bare. I expect after todays (10/28) warm stretch it will all be gone.

Of course there is a chance of snow showers on Saturday!

A picture is worth a thousand words:




Snow will be back!

Tim

has there been a lot of RAIN?

I've heard Sabbaday brook trail has some "difficult" water crossings...we are coming down this way so wet feet isn't that much of an issue...but, don't REALLY want to be turned around (or swept away) when I'm almost BACK to the car

With regards to rain, yes it has rained a lot recently but of far more importance to you is how much water is flowing in the brook? Rather than give you an easy answer, I will used the "teach a person to fish approach "

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nh/nwis/u...format=gif_default&period=30&site_no=01074520

The link I have posted above gives you the USGS stream flow site for the east branch of the pemigewasset which should be a pretty good indication of the relative stream depths in the area. The Sabbathday brook actually drains into the Saco river, but the gauge in North Conway is a lot slower to respond.

I used a period of 30 days but you can expand or contract by changing the number in the blue rimmed box on top. Now look at the second graph which shows depth at the gauge, it looks to me that over the summer a reading of five feet is the "average". The spikes you see are the various rainstorms, notice how they go up quick and then ramp down a bit slower. As long as the day you pick corresponds with one of the low gage days, the crossings should be reasonable. So the night before you go, check the gage and the forecast and you should be have the best available information.

FYI, the VT forecast is calling for a chance of rain/snow showers coming through this Saturday. So if the weather gets nasty when you are nearing the turn off for the Sabbathday brook trail, there is always the option of going back the way you came.

peakbagger said:

With regards to rain, yes it has rained a lot recently but of far more importance to you is how much water is flowing in the brook? Rather than give you an easy answer, I will used the "teach a person to fish approach "

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nh/nwis/u...format=gif_default&period=30&site_no=01074520

Click to expand...

There is NO BETTER WAY to answer someone's questions...sometimes I feel a bit guilty asking so often. Just not sure where to get the info.

Thanks.

hikes-with-him

Notice the big spikes in flow and depth on Oct 2nd on the charts peakbagger provided. Just in case you want to see what the East Branch Pemi River looked like on Oct 1st, here are two videos clips I shot that day. The last two "photos" in this gallery are actually videos. The first is shot from under the suspension bridge at Lincoln Woods trailhead; the second is shot from on the bridge. That's what 6000 cubic feet per second looks like.

The "magic number" (in my experience, others will certainly have their own experience, and comfort level crossing streams of varying intensity) is somewhere in the 500-1000cfps (~6.5 feet) for the Pemi, East Branch, in Lincoln. Above this range, then you have the beginnings of sketchier stream crossings. The higher / smaller the stream naturally is, the further up you can go on the gauge and still be safe. I use the mark of about 700 to be able to get to Owl's Head without heroic measures or wet feet. Basically, below 6.5 feet and 750cfps, I have no real concerns -- assuming a stable weather pattern, no snow melt due to warming, etc.

Tim