Head in the Clouds Amherst: October 2015

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Cool, crisp day, freeze at night

Random tree by the side of the road, Easthampton MA
Photo by S. Vardatira, 10/17/2015

What a beautiful, cool, crisp fall day here in the Valley. Cold night, though - if you haven't heard already (or felt it in the air), there's a freeze warning in effect overnight. So, um, too late for harvesting now....

Friday, October 9, 2015

Cumulus to the Rescue!

Cumulus Clouds (among others) over Hadley, MA
Photo by S. Vardatira

"The weather threatened to ruin the day: there was a completely clear blue sky throughout the morning. Luckily some fair-weather Cumulus came to the rescue and arrived just as we were breaking for lunch."

From a recap of the 10th Annual Cloud Appreciation Society International Gathering in the UK on September 26. (Cloud Appreciation Society October 2015 e-newsletter)

On Puffer's Pond

Saturday, February 4, 2023, 3:35 pm: The past two days have seen record-breaking cold in the area, with the temperature dipping to -14F overnight, Friday into Saturday. To make matters worse, the wind was unyielding, whipping through the trees and driving wind chill readings down to -40F. In a season that had been unusually mild up until that point, it was something of a shock. Local residents were suddenly forced to think about warming up their cars, preventing pipes from freezing, and dressing in multiple layers to walk their dogs. By Saturday, while many were happy to hunker down and wait for temperatures to stop breaking low records, this was the moment that ice fishers and skaters had been waiting for all winter. With temps hovering around 12F (albeit above zero) by Saturday afternoon, Puffer's Pond was the place to be for about 30 people, many of whom were spread out over the ice, either ice fishing or playing hockey. While this is a fairly typical sight at Puffer's in the coldest winter months, our current lack of snow made it unique. No one had to contend with snowpack - the skaters didn't even have to clear a "field" for their game. And with all the hiking paths snow and ice-free, photographers had no trouble capturing water flowing through, under, and around layers of ice on the water. And, still, at 12F, without hand and foot warmers, I did not linger long. The temps will be rising quickly in the coming week, climbing well above freezing, even to 50F in the days to come. So, I'm guessing the skaters and ice fishers also won't be here much longer.

(Read past entries here.)

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Saturday, October 17, 2015

Cool, crisp day, freeze at night

Friday, October 9, 2015

Cumulus to the Rescue!