This is all from memory and after 45+ years it is not all that good but:
It was January 1976, and I was on Christmas break from VTC at my parent’s house here in Brattleboro. I drove an old Dodge Dart and was able to get it started on cold mornings by putting a drop light under the hood overnight to keep the battery warm. During the first week or two of January we went for a spell of 4 or 5 days with the daytime high temperature staying below zero. I think it was 5 days. I remember this because my friend Mark was living in Putney and called me each morning for help to get his car started. Each morning I would start my car, drive to Putney and jump start his car. I think an old VW Beatle.
The term January thaw comes from the time when we would go weeks, maybe more than a month with temps never rising above the freezing point. This year I don’t think we have gone more than a couple days with that happening. The 10-day forecast I just looked at does not show a single daytime high below freezing and more rain on the way. That puts us well past the 1/2 point of January. All very similar to last year. A January thaw will just fade into history.
Gary
Lack of snow, lack of snow, lack of snow....
When we first moved to VT just over 20 years ago, there were snow piles in the driveway on Cedar St tall enough for us to see into the second floor neighbor’s apartment.
I was thinking about this the other day, and also wondering what our current location would have looked like back when Vermont got significant snow in the winter.
I’ve spent more time this year maintaining the snowblower than blowing snow.
Will bears stop hibernating? Will they move north looking for colder winters?
No ice huts of any significance this year on the Meadows so far.
Ski jump days are definitely numbered… can only make snow up to a point.
Go North?
One of the reasons I moved here 27+ years ago was for the cold. I feel so much better in frigid temps, and it used to be from October to April I could depend on being comparatively pain-free. No more.