Crazy Weather

[emericksmaple]

Talked to a friend of mine just across the maryland broader tonight and he said the the farmers alamnac predicted this warm january. But it is supposed to turn colder for febuary( more or less it is supposed to be like december). And right after I hung up the local weather man said the exact thing that the winds are going to change and it is supposed to get colder come next week. And stay that way, so who knows what is going to happen. All i know is that it is cold and snowing like crazy here at the moment andthe wind is just a howling.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Sounds good to me. I wouldn't mind waiting until the first of March to tap and have a fast and hard 2 or 3 weeks. If it hits right, you can make more syrup in two weeks that you can dream about! :D I am up for anything the way the weather has been down here this month. 8O

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Warm for next 10 days and no freezing in sight. Very much more of this and there won't be any syrup or season down here if it keeps that up. That will be 5 cold days in 35 and I have never seen weather like that this time of year. It normally stays cold until end of Feb. 8O 8O

[sweetwoodmaple]

Weather guys are saying this is the warmest Jan on record (average temp).

It's a mixed bag for us as well up here, but don't trust those guys farther than 48 hours.

[maple flats]

You can't even trust 48 hrs. I aften notice a big dif between forcast and actual in 8 hrs. They are the only profession I know of that consistantly get paid for being wrong. Sometimes I think between the farmers Almanac and grandmas bunions they are more accurate than the computor aided weather forcasters.

[lew]

You've got that exactly right maple flats. While I was in college I thought it would helpful to take a meteorology class. The first thing the professor told the clas was that forecasters can predict the weather 95% correctly for 1 to 8 hours in advance, 8 to 12 hours = 50%, over 12 hours was crap shoot. This from a Cornell professor. I heckled him quite a bit about this statement. Anyways, after a semester of this class, I figured I might as well take a class in reading tea leaves, I probably had as good a chance at forecasting weather that way as using conventional methods.

[sweetwoodmaple]

Yeah, i've heckled a few weather guys too. To their defense, the hurricanes that were around this season were predicted fairly well as far as landfall.

Just from my own thumbnail observation, I would say they are 50% at the 24-48 hour mark. Also depends on what you are defining as "accurate". If they miss by a degree or two in temperature? etc. etc. I'm talking about general stuff, not down to the last degree or drop of rain.

For all you math geeks, I'm sure you can appreciate the equations and probabilities needed to predict the literially millions of factors that can affect weather patterns.

And, as far as the Farmer's Almanac, It wasn't right (at least for my area) this year either.

So, we are back to a crap shoot, I guess. :D

[Sugarbear]

I think that the best way to use weather forecasts is to read or listen to several of them and go with the one that you like the best.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Sugarbear,

Have you tapped yet and when is your normal tapping date. Seems a little early for Ohio, but it depends on what part of the state you're in. :?:

[Sugarbear]

We are planning on starting this week.I just bought a 200 gal milk tank from a neighbor so we have to get it moved and put in.We normally start about the middle of Feb anyway.I was up in Geauga county a week ago to pick supplies and there was one sugarbush already going.This weather is screwy,seems like we will have to payback sometime.

[maple flats]

The guy I listened to this morning said that we will be getting the severe cold that western Europe and northern Asia have had recently. Now I really question how reliable this could be, they miss more than get it right just 24 hrs out, how can they be better on 14 days out? I guess we'll find out. I do want more winter but not that extreme.

[sweetwoodmaple]

Wouldn't that be our luck, go like gangbusters to get ready, then be snowed in for another month.

Can't do anything about it, so... :D

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

.........so let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!! :D :D

[maplehound]

I am trying to decide weather or not to tap as well. Friend of mine went to the Maple days in Geauga county this past Sat. and said that the one guy who has tapped is only getting about 1% sugar. So he has to boil 86 gallons of sap to get one gallon of syrup :( I think I will probably wait a week or so. Next week at this time it is supposed to be only about 20 deg. And then stay that way for a week or two.
Everything else is ready though and can tap at anytime we think it is time. :lol:

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Maplehound,

Went to look at your pics on the website link you posted and it won't allow me to??? 8O

[maplehound]

Westvirginia mapler, I don't know why. When I use the link it lets me right in. Do you have it blocked somehow? Is anyone else able to get in?

[maplehound]

I changed the link. Maybe it will work better now.

[VA maple guy]

Hi Maplehound, your link is working fine. Nice sugar house!!
Gerry

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Maplehound,

Sure is a great looking sugarhouse and setup. Super looking evaporator too! :D Curious how many gph you can boil off??

[Parker]

That is a great looking set up,,,is that a hamock I can see in one of the pictures? Funny I have one in my woodshed too :D

[Sugarmaker]

Maplehound,
Very nice sugarhouse!
Chris

[maplehound]

I will tell my father that you like my sugar house, He designed it. For several years we used it without walls and just last year we enclosed it. I would and still use it for picnics and relaxing all summer. Both ends open so I can drive through it with the wood trailer to fill the wood shed half, and that also gives me a good place for my hammock,(quiet and cool all summer).
We built the frame of the sugar house all from green locust that we had sawed into boards and sheeted it with 1" oak sheeting. Later we added the roof between the wood shed and the sugar house and sheeted the roof with oak and wallnut. (didn't know if we should shingle it or varnish it). The sidding is 6"wide fence boards that we purchased at Lowes or Homedepot for about a $1 per board. (cheaper than ply or TL11.
Thanks for all the comments and good luck to you all this season

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

20's and snowing here today. Warmest day all week is 38 and supposed to stay this week as far as 10 day forecast shows. Two week cold snap would be great as it would really fire up the trees. :D

[VA maple guy]

Hay Brandon, how about sending some of your weather over her to me.
I could shure use some of that good stuff.
Gerry

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Gerry,

I bet you get some soon! :wink:

[maple flats]

I finally got some cold weather. Was lo 20's this morning, hi about 31. The next 10 days look like it will only go up to 33 on 1 day and the rest are all below freezing. I sure hope the forcast is right, I need this weather. It would be good if it stays this way for 2-2 1/2 weeks, then it could go to a boaring 25 overnight and 42 daytime high for the next 6-8 weeks, that would be perfect. I better get plenty of sleep now because it will be in short supply when that 6-8 weeks of perfect starts. :D :lol: :mrgreen:

[saphead]

I work on the Ct. river in Montague City,Ma. and we're in the 7'th or &'th high water (record setting flows for the time of year) since the October flood. The river came up 10' since friday with not a whole lot of rain and snow melt.The Ct. river basin to the north of us is super saturated like I haven't seen in the 22 plus years I've worked on the river! That's about 7000 plus square miles of Vt. and Nh. , so what does this mean for fellow sapheads? With hardly any snow cover left and cold temps. due, how far will the frost be driven down?No lack of moisture for the trees to drink... what kind of season awaits...

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Forecast showing cold here thru Monday and 43, 42, 41 Tues thru Thurs with lots of sun. Will wait until Sat, but if it is showing the rest of the week to be the same, may tap everything on Sat which is the same day I tapped last year. This is usually about perfect tapping date for me here and if the weather don't get too warm, this will put me all the way thru around 25th of March which would be six weeks.

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

saphead-we lost about all our snow from this weekends rain which added to your water height further down the river-Notice in the Boiler room log at work that the river height notifications were made as water might start coming into the mill?. Thar she flow....

Oh wait a minute i'm located in ethiopia what river is near me?? Nile?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Still showing cold thru Tues and a big snow storm supposed to hit here Fri night and Sat before heading up North to you guys. They are saying 5 to 10 inches or more, so we will see. If forecast stays the same, I hope to tap at least 2/3 of my taps on Sat if not all. Might be tapping in the snow all day, but better than in the rain or in below zero winds.

Shows Wed thru Sat here in 40's, so I will hope it holds true. Would be nice to have 500 to 1500 gallon to boil off next Fri and Sat! :D

[maple flats]

Now that sounds like a plan. You are most likely at your usual tapping date by the weekend. Good luck!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

This is the normal tapping time down here. Tapped this Sat last year and made syrup for 6 full weeks and the 6th week was by far my best with around 2000 gallons of sap. I could have made a little the following week, but I had enough. :lol: :lol: :lol: I have gotten six weeks out of both of the previous seasons, so we'll see. Both years have been stingy until the last week last year. I would rather have a good steady 4 to 5 weeks, but I am thankful for anything after the Jan we had. 8O

[Father & Son]

Good Luck Brandon! Our 15 day Accuweather is showing highs in the 20's and maybe mid 30's one day I think on the 23rd. Keep us posted as to your progress :D . We're in the middle of cold and snow and just waiting to see if this Noreaster is going to clip us at all. Looks like most of it will hit farther east and in the New England states. It's gittin close now :!:

Jim

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Jim,

Are you in the northern part of PA??

[Father & Son]

Brandon,
Six miles east of the Ohio line and 35 miles south of Erie. Sitting on the north shore of Pymatuning Lake. "Where the Ducks Walk on the Fish"
Jim

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Hmmm, no wonder it is cold there being so close to Lake Erie. :lol: :lol: