Second Annual Cider Donut Run/Walk for the Amherst Survival Center

It's the confluence of all things wonderful: a great cause, crisp fall air (and possibly other interesting variations on New England weather!), scenic views, neighbors and friends, and yes, Atkins' famed cider donuts (as well as other local delicacies). Runners, walkers, spectators, and supporters are all encouraged to join this year's second annual Cider Donut Run (10k) and walk (2 miles) on Sunday, November 3rd. The 10k road race starts and finishes at the Mill River Recreation Area and takes runners into UMass and through North Amherst, including scenic Puffer's Pond. The 2 mile walk brings participants to Puffer's Pond and back. Last year (2012), 426 people registered, and 406 finished - pretty impressive for the first year.

All proceeds benefit the Amherst Survival Center -- last year’s race participants donated almost $13,000 – with your help we can top that number in 2013! New this year is a free pasta dinner sponsored by Bertucci’s. The pasta dinner is open to all runners, walkers, and family members, and race number pick-up will be available for anyone who has pre-registered for the Sunday event. This pre-race dinner will be held at the Survival Center on Saturday, November 2nd, 5pm-7pm. More information and registration links can be found here.

See you there!

Essential Fall Foliage Apps for Smart Phones

Trees by Cumbie's on Route 63, North Amherst (Photo by S. Vardatira)

As you head out on your annual Columbus Day weekend fall foliage expeditions (and could today be more beautiful for doing just that?), here are a couple of Smart Phone apps that may help you scope out the best colors around:

• Yankee Magazine's Leaf Peepr app for iPhones and Androids helps fall-foliage fans find and report on the best and brightest colors in the United States. Make foliage reports by posting photos, writing comments, and rating foliage status for your location. In addition, the Peak Slider lets you rate foliage as either Green, Turning, Moderate, Peak, Fading, or Gone. And use the Foliage Map to find current foliage rated by hundreds of other leaf peepers. 
• Leafsnap is available only for iPhones, unfortunately for Android users. It is the first in a series of electronic field guides being developed by researchers from Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution. This free mobile app uses visual recognition software to help identify tree species from photographs of their leaves. With Leafsnap, you are able to snap a photo of a leaf and learn all about the tree from which it came.
• If it's tree identification you're after, Android users may want to check out TreeID. Though not as snazzy as Leafsnap, this is still a solid app that enables users to narrow the species list for any location in North America using the phone's GPS, network signal or any entered address or zip code. Basically the application can become “Woody Plants of Where You Are Standing." Users can further narrow the species list by answering a series of very simple tree attribute questions such as where the plant is growing, leaf shape, leaf arrangement, flower color or fruit type. It even includes a photo guide to how different trees turn color during fall foliage. 
• AllTrails App for Androids and iPhones is the most popular app for finding the trails nearest you, whether you are visiting a national park or looking for a place near home to hike, bike, or run. Even city folk might be surprised by how much nature is around. Includes 50,000 trail guides (United States & Canada) for outdoor activities including everything from hiking and mountain biking to fly-fishing and snowshoeing. You can also read and write trail reviews which in the fall often include comments about fall foliage.
• The Ultimate Drive for iPhones and Androids will help drivers locate the most scenic routes. Unlike a GPS, which will usually direct drivers to highways (not usually the best routes to choose for fall foliage viewing), Ultimate Drive allows you to map your favorite lesser known "road stretches," share advice with other drivers, and seek out scenic byways and backroads.
• New Hampshire Fall Foliage Tracker for Android and iPhone users traveling around New Hampshire. Includes one-touch access to the latest foliage reports across New Hampshire with detailed advice on where leaves are at their best, itinerary suggestions and in-app maps to help you locate attractions along your route, plus an interactive Foliage Timeline map that will help you time your trip based on historic peak data. There's also a Gallery where you can post a photo and caption to help other leaf peepers find gorgeous leaves. 

And come November, when the leaves outside have dropped and fall foliage is just a memory, you can always download Autumn Free to your iPhone or Android and watch an autumn scene unfold on your screen, complete with rustling leaves. Change the background, wind speed, and the spacing between the leaves falling to the ground.

Nature's Wastefulness

North Amherst, 10/9/2013 (orange specks are leaves in flight)
Photo by S. Vardatira

Outside the youth center, between the liquor store 
and the police station,
a little dogwood tree is losing its mind;

overflowing with blossomfoam, 
like a sudsy mug of beer;
like a bride ripping off her clothes,

dropping snow white petals to the ground in clouds,

so Nature’s wastefulness seems quietly obscene.
It’s been doing that all week:
making beauty,
and throwing it away,
and making more.

             -- Tony Hoagland (for more on Tony Hoagland and his poetry, click here)
             
Tony Hoagland's poem is all about spring, of course, but it perfectly describes what's going on outside now, except the trees are maples (and more) and the white petals are varying shades of red, yellow, and orange leaves. Simply beautiful.

Fast Falling Foliage

Leaves on ground, Amherst MA (10/7/2013)
Photo by S. Vardatira

There's nothing like a windy day to remind us why this season is called "fall." And today is just such a day. With every gust of wind the air is bright with orange and yellow leaves, nature's confetti. The enormous pine tree in the woods out back is even shedding yellow pine needles, draping the grass and neighboring trees in a golden blanket.

If you haven't experienced this particular incarnation of fall, you're likely to have all afternoon, as a strong cold front (which also encompasses remnants of Tropical Storm Karen) moves across southern New England. This front has very strong jet stream dynamics which will likely bring a line of heavy downpours capable of causing pockets of flooding, heavy showers, and/or thunderstorms. An isolated weak tornado cannot be completely ruled out. The entire region, including Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden Counties, is currently under a Wind Advisory. Prepare for sustained winds of 15-25 MPH with gusts to 45 MPH with isolated higher gusts particularly in any convective showers and thunderstorms. Be careful where you wander today. While falling leaves are harmless, falling trees are a whole different thing entirely.

Addendum to original posting (added at 3:11 pm):
- All of Western Massachusetts is currently under a thunderstorm watch until 10 pm tonight
- Tornado watch issued for Berkshire County until 8 pm tonight.

Stay safe out there!

Amherst and the Saxby Gale of October 1869

Prouty, Charles, "Paper mill in North Amherst," in Digital Amherst, Item #763, http://www.digitalamherst.org/items/show/763 (accessed October 5, 2013).

The 1869 Saxby Gale was a major hurricane that swept up the North Atlantic and devastated coastal areas of eastern Canada's Bay of Fundy on October 4-5, 1869. The storm was named for Lieutenant Stephen Martin Saxby, a naval instructor and amateur astronomer, who had - based on his detailed observations and calculations - predicted an extremely high tide and storm surge a week before the event occurred. Such accurate advanced predictions were rare at the time, and even after the event, the general population mostly dismissed the whole thing as more luck than science. 

Apparently, however, the impact of the Saxby Gale wasn't felt only in Canada. Right here in Amherst MA, a 36-hour storm hit the area on October 4, 1869 (144 years ago, yesterday and today). Although local newspaper accounts at the time don't connect the western Massachusetts storm to the hurricane raging in the Atlantic, these must have been one and the same storm system. Wind and heavy rains over the two day period flooded Fort River and much of the lowlands of East Amherst. North Amherst was also hard hit as dams at the paper and leather mills were torn away. 

By comparison, it's a lovely day out right now, with the lightest of breezes and trees in varying autumnal colors bathed in sunlight. So far, our fall has been unusually devoid of storms (knock on wood). Enjoy!

Touches of Autumn on a Cloudy Day

Maple leaves, 9/27/2013 (Amherst MA)
Photo by S. Vardatira

There is a running debate in our household about whether fall foliage colors appear more or less vibrant on cloudy days - and by extension when to plan our day-long excursions in search of "peak." I just happen to be a strong proponent of the stunningly-better-colors-on-cloudy-days camp (I am nothing if not decisive on this point), though I will concede that sunny days have a whole different kind of beauty to them even if the foliage colors can tend to wash out in the glare of the sun. Of course, we are no where near peak yet, but splashes of red, yellow, and orange are all around us. It was an overcast day today, just perfect for capturing those brilliant fall colors.

Puffer's Pond, North Beach, 9/27/2013 (Amherst MA)
Photo by S. Vardatira

Cushman Brook, Puffer's Pond Recreation Area, 9/27/2013 (Amherst, MA)
Photo by S. Vardatira

New England's Season

Photo by S. Vardatira, October 2010 (Hadley MA)

Happy Autumn, everyone! This is the season for New Englanders, no doubt about it. From harvest festivals, to fall foliage, to apple picking and pumpkin carving, to frosty nights, and spectacular, ever-changing clouds rolling across the sky, it doesn't get much better than this. People come from all over the world to experience fall in New England, and we are right here. Enjoy . . .

And what will today bring?

Sunset cruise on the Connecticut River near Northampton, 9/11/2013
(before the thunderstorms moved in)

You know the weather is weird when the Amherst-Pelham schools close for the day due to the high humidity causing "slippery floors." It's mid-morning, thunder is rumbling, the trees are just starting to change color around the area, and yesterday the temperature got up to the high 90s.  In our house, the rooms with air conditioning are completely fogged up. Not exactly what you'd expect for New England weather in September.

The situation improves by later today and tomorrow, but first our region will be getting isolated to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms from late Thursday afternoon into Friday morning. Yesterday brought thunderstorms to parts of Amherst and portions of Western Massachusetts and Southwest New Hampshire, with the bulk of heavier action back into Eastern New York, Vermont, North-Central New Hampshire and Maine. While conditions were unstable in the region, most of the triggering mechanisms stayed north and west of our area. Below is the local storm report (showing where trees, power line, etc. came down) from yesterday's severe weather event:

NWS Taunton Local Storm Report:
http://kamala.cod.edu/offs/KBOX/1309120259.nwus51.html

For later afternoon today into Friday morning, a strong cold front will bring an end to the short duration of heat we've been having. Temperatures across Southern New England today will be mostly in the 80s with a few areas possibly touching 90 degrees. Conditions won't be quite as unstable as yesterday but instability parameters will still be sufficient - coupled with strong wind shear values and a focus for convection between the cold front and pre-frontal trough - to set the stage for isolated to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms with strong to damaging winds, hail and urban/poor drainage flooding as the primary threats. The extent of the severe weather threat will be determined by the timing of the cold front and the amount of instability available as the cold front moves through the region. It's possible that the cold front will slow down as it moves across the area, which may extend the threat of thunderstorms into Friday morning for parts of Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 

Sunday Boating on the Connecticut

Boating on the Connecticut, late afternoon, 8/4/2013

If you want to feel like you're on vacation right here at home, there is no better way than to take a boat ride on the Connecticut River. Yesterday afternoon's cruise - courtesy of our dear friends who own a boat - featured a lot of sun, a spot of rain, and an exciting interlude with some storm clouds. We had set anchor and were enjoying a snack and engrossing conversation when we noticed a large dark cloud looming above (we might have noticed it sooner except for that engrossing conversation!). As we raced to pack up and set back to the marina some thirty minutes down river, thunder rolled across the sky and lightning flashed around us. It was mostly cloud-to-cloud lightning, fortunately, and the whole thing blew past us as quickly as it came. All in all a lovely way to spend an afternoon, with a little weather excitement and enthralling cloud vistas to spice things up.

A little rain

Storm clouds gather

Storm clouds depart

Fun Facts About Head in the Clouds Amherst

Geographic distribution of Head in the Clouds Amherst readers
(darkest green for highest number of readers)

So which of these "fun facts" do you find the most surprising?

• Currently, more than 2,000 individuals check out our site every month (2,019 last month, to be exact). The number has been increasing steadily since we started at the very end of October 2012 (just ahead of Hurricane Sandy).
• Just about 70% of our readers are from the U.S., which means that 30% of our readers are from other countries.
• After the U.S., we are most popular with readers in Germany, Russia, France, U.K., Indonesia, and China (in that order).
• We have posted blog entries 144 times.
• Our most popular post of all time is from January 8th, "UFO Sighting Early Evening (it's true)."
• Our most popular post this month has been "Musings on a Hot Summer Night," from July 17th.
• Of our "back pages," the most popular are About Us, Emily's House, and Weather Cooks, in that order.

And if you haven't visited all our pages or read our most popular entries, now's your chance. Enjoy and come back often!

Camille Seaman: Photos from a Storm Chaser

Photographer Camille Seaman has been chasing storms for 5 years. In this 3.5 minute TED talk she shows and talks about some of her most stunning, surreal photos. We don't usually get these kinds of vistas around New England - too many trees, hills and mountains and our clouds tend to be a little less dramatic as a rule - but even we have our awe-inspiring moments. The trick is to catch them (and be this good at it). To see more of Camille's work, which also includes more cloud photos and an incredible series on icebergs, visit her website here.

Heat Wave Relief Comes Saturday

NECN Heat Advisory Map, 7/18/2013

This week’s intense heat and humidity will last through Saturday. Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories are in effect today for much of Southern New England and will likely be reissued Friday and possibly Saturday as the heat wave continues.

As we get into Saturday, intense heat and humidity will then be followed by a cold front with scattered to numerous strong to severe thunderstorms on Saturday. In a somewhat rare move so far in advance, on Wednesday the Storm Prediction Center issued a “Slight Risk of Severe Weather” for Saturday for all of Southern New England (it is likely to become more than “slight” as we get closer to Saturday). Today and Friday could see an isolated to scattered strong or severe thunderstorm threat, but it’s more likely that widespread severe weather will stay north and west of our region until Saturday.

As we get into Saturday, the current heat wave will end as a strong cold front is expected to make its way into Southern New England. Models have been insistent out as far as 7 days that scattered to numerous strong to severe thunderstorms will organize in a line or several line configurations with the potential for damaging winds, hail, and heavy rain.

Musings on a Hot Summer Night

Given the intense heat we’ve been enduring lately, I thought it might be a perfect time to share this out-take from my never-quite-completed novel, Murder on the Whale Watch.

Humpback whale breaching on Stellwagen Bank (Photo by S. Vardatira)

It has been a hot, hot summer. Long interminable heat sliding up from Bermuda, coating Boston and all of New England in a haze of sticky wet. We have been delirious with the heat. We ache. Our joints swell in their sockets and leave us immobile, exhausted. I do not remember heat like this. You hear that wherever you go. People murmur in the streets about the state of the Earth, the drought, climate change. It is like living in purgatory, or hell. The air quality is unhealthful (at the very least). We suspect it is worse, that perhaps they’ve skewed the scale so we will feel grateful it is not worse. We believe they are lying. We feel better when they tell us that the heat and humidity combined make it feel like 105°F. That’s closer to the truth. The cactus that moved east with us from the Chihuahuan Desert is thriving. The other plants wither, curl up, and die. The cats lie sprawled across the table. Only an ear twitch leaves the impression of life. Harvard University closed yesterday.* For the first time in over 350 years, it closed because of heat. It is hot, damned hot.

We can barely remember when “hot” was simply the sizzle of love, a gesture to imply the sound of oil in a hot frying pan. The sizzle of love is almost obscene in such heat. It is reserved for night-time dramas watched by the vibrations of an oscillating fan. Even then, you consider the implications of heat between people. The beads of perspiration, the glaze of sweat under the breasts, slipping between the thighs. You imagine fights in such heat. Small, bickering, headachy fights. Anything more intense would require too much energy. Energy is in short supply. It withers in the hot sun on the pavement. It threatens to leave altogether, taking along air-conditioner and fans alike. We gaze mournfully at the TV weather forecast. We make ridiculous journeys in search of coolness, pitch our tent in the local campground despite the increasing heat, break camp, and drive home. When we can, we leave early for the beach where we submerge for hours by the water’s edge, flip off inflatable boats, dangle over air mattresses.  

In the evenings we venture out to the front stoop and wonder why the humidity hasn’t left with the last light of day. And when we’re not tossing in bed at night, turning over our pillows, and kicking off the top sheet, we dream. We dream of fall, and apple picking, and leaves turning crisp golden reds in the frosty air. We dream of cool, misty fog  . . . and whales and dolphins diving somewhere off shore, beckoning.

* This is, in fact, a bit of fiction. Harvard did not close yesterday to my knowledge. But it could happen – Harvard first closed due to heat in the summer of 1988. 

Musical Ice on a Hot Saturday

Turn up your volume to capture this symphony of ice 

(Video by Dan Vardamis) 

As we New Englanders continue to swelter in our current heat wave, there may be at least some psychic relief in gazing on these scenes, all taken over the last few days and sent to us by Dan and Elaine Vardamis who live in the mountains of Colorado (check out their blog for more surreal July vistas). Surreal, that is, if you are in Amherst on these dog days of summer.

Skiing on July 4, Photograph by Dan Vardamis
(Elaine is the dark speck skiing downhill just slightly above the center)