Tri-Snow Week

February 19th through 25th
Winter in the northwoods oscillates between obscenely cold/dry to mildly cold/white. And sometimes obscenely white. By the end of February you tend to get more of the latter. Last week was mild and white x 3. The first snow event was disappointing from a total inches viewpoint, but those that like their snow topped with a nice ice layer were ecstatic. The ice cover was not limited to the snow. By Tuesday, everything outdoors had a 1/8 inch coating of cold. The sun eventually punched through the icy overcast and started the thaw cycle again. It took about 2 days to melt the ice from the trees. The above freezing days and below freezing nights shrunk the lake snow and grew the lake ice. By the weekend, the ice on the lake grew to 27 inches thick. Given the amount of snow left on the lake and the predicted amounts coming, a yard of ice is unlikely but still possible. Knott Lane is still covered by ice and snow. If your route to work passes along Knott Lane, it'd be best to add a few more minutes to your commute. The sun and milder temperatures have improved the condition of Lake Lucerne Drive and all the other county roads. Bare pavement has been reported in more than one location! The lake seems fine for driving as evidenced by the patterns on the surface snow. The freeze-thaw-freeze cycles have given the bar back its roof long, seasonal "teeth". The knottlane webcam was judged stable enough after some post assembly testing and put back on its perch. One further surgery is scheduled in the next week or so to remove its cataracts. The second snow event was a beefy 3.5 inches. The third was bigger. By Sunday morning, strong winds that accompanied the bigger snow had created 2 foot plus drifts on the shore, decks and, alas, driveways. Many areas were still being cleared long after the sun went down. With predictions of 40+℉ weather coming next week, we will get the Annual Knottlane Ice-Out contest posted sometime this week. There was much tapping talk among the men last week before the big one hit. There's still many that want to join spile to tree next weekend, but the snow may have pushed tapping back to the week of the 10th. Or even the 17th. Snowmobiles are still roaming around the woods, lakes, and gas stations but, given the forecasts, a slushy and sloppy end of that season is near.<br><br><br>-Nemo pushing to beat last Summer's total of 85,117 points.