Mansfield Snow Stake showing record amount of snow for this time of year

[Phil]

If our winter runs as it has been lately there will be a snow drought in January, but right now there's more snow on the ground than ever at this time, 64" (ave. 24")

[Phil]

https://matthewparrilla.com/mansfield-stake/

[Phil]

Stake right now is tied with '68-9 for 50" on this date. The lead up to this point, this year, is very similar to that record depth year. OTOH the record-holder for mid-Nov. snow depth was '90-1 and that was a year when the early snow fizzled. The stake was down to 27" on Dec. 20 and didn't make it back up to its Nov. snow depth until the beginning of Feb. and stayed pretty meager for the rest of the winter. Fingers crossed we don't repeat that year.

[Phil]

Looking more like '81-2 (still a very good year).

[Phil]

A slower start in '07-8 but pretty even, in terms of the depth, by this time. A warm Jan. caused the level to drop, to average depths, but the snowfall increased to bring the total to above average over the remainder of the winter. What does this year still have to bring us? 

[Phil]

One of the benefits of a searchable, chronological, set of messages to this group (in contrast with the ephemeral, here today, gone tomorrow format of other types of social sharing) is that we can look back to the time of the drop in snow levels that are shown in Jan. of '08 and see how we, as a group, were reacting: https://groups.google.com/g/hoosac-range-skiing/c/oGThm78geww 

[Phil]

Again, the archival quality of this format asserts itself. The current snow stake total at Mansfield mimics the 2018-19 season. Here's a reflection of the conditions on this day that season: https://groups.google.com/g/hoosac-range-skiing/c/3TL_2U3kQjs

I think it's apparent that the use of the snow stake level on Mansfield, as a proxy for snow levels down this way, is problematic. It's pretty obvious we don't have comparable snow levels to that season right now, compared to Mansfield's current one. 

[Phil]

Are we poised to see a similar bump up in the late Jan.? Perhaps the low levels noted on the 15th this year reflected the lower levels being experienced earlier in the month back in 2019? Snow levels down our way did pick up toward the end of the month, if you look through some of the conversations we were having.