Summer Rain for the Record Books
This summer, you've heard me and other Northeasterners lament the rain. It seems like it just keeps coming. I remain dedicated to the thought that there must be a little warm and sunny weather headed our way in August and September. There must be.
Despite what has seemed like unusual weather to me, I've tried to go about making the best of the situation, and I've chalked a lot of my feelings up to being a new farmer in the Adirondacks. However, over the course of the last few weeks, I watched a large tree behind the farmhouse die back. At first the leaves on a few lower branches turned brown and shriveled up. The problem worked its way up the tree. It is entirely engulfed now. The only thing I can point my finger at is the rain. The ground is soft and saturated almost everywhere on our property. And there has been little sun.
The low tunnel plastic cover collects or drains away rain water that would otherwise pound tender annuals like these pampas plume celosia.
This got me wondering about how much rain we've actually received in the last three months. The most applicable recorded data for the area points to a whopping 17.95 inches of rain to date for May, June, and July (Saranac Lake Airport data). Generally- my quick internet research tells me that the snow equivalent of 1 inch of rain is about 10 to 50 inches of snow, depending on how wet or dry the snow is.
So - given that we live in the Northeast and generally have heavier snow, lets be conservative and say that we got 13 inches of snow for every inch of rain this summer, so far. If we'd received snow rather than rain, Skiers would be enjoying about 233.35 inches on the slopes at nearby Whiteface Mountain-- or maybe a lot more, given it's elevation? For perspective, last season's total snowfall at Whiteface was 146 inches (taken March 31).
OK, I feel like I can put my rain complaints to bed now. It's been soggy. But there are some forecasted "no rain" days on the horizon before the next front comes through. Thank goodness!
