Winter 2023-2024

[throttleplate]

6 hours ago, DitchPanda said:

My local Bomgaars already has snowblowers and shovels marked down. Don't normally see that til late February \early March.

 My neighbor who works for a big lawn cutting company which also does snow removel was layed off untill snow starts to show up. Last year he was mad about having to get up at 3am to get to work as fargo nd was nonstop snow last year, this year our lawn is 100% uncovered and partly green.

[casts_by_fly]

10 hours ago, gimruis said:

Tough to ruin a shovel when there’s no snow huh

 

How long does it take to wear out a snow shovel up there?  Serious question.

 

I had/have the type with the double 90 degree bend in the middle, the big plastic scoop, and a metal plate across the nose/bottom of the scoop.  I bought my yellow one in 2006 for new house.  I took it to the UK in 2007 and we only had 2 snow storms in 12 years that I needed it (but boy was it great to have since no one there has one).  In the 4 years back here I've used it a handful of times.  Most of its lifetime was used to chip ice which is what split the metal lip and why I had to get a new one.

 

thanks

rick

[gim]

24 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

How long does it take to wear out a snow shovel up there?  Serious question.

 

Haha.  My comment was more of a joke to @throttleplate since his wife literally wears out shovels during the winter.  He's posted photos of them before and they look like a bear chewed on the end of it.

 

If you buy a good snow shovel they will last a long time.  One with a metal edge is preferred, with a thick durable handle and shaft for scooping and throwing it, if needed.  If you buy the cheap plastic ones from Wal Mart they break or wear out after one season.  I have two; one of each.  I do not use my metal-edged one on my deck as it scrapes the stain right off the wood.

 

Anything over a couple inches here gets the snow blower.  Unless its the heavy, wet crap that usually falls in March.  My snow blower can't do that because it comes out of the chute like ketchup.  @A-Jay has a much more powerful one with duallys and tracks on it that could move that heavy wet stuff much better.

[TnRiver46]

Mid 20s this morning brrrrr . Afternoon should be nice tho 

[T-Billy]

On 12/27/2023 at 9:32 AM, A-Jay said:

Most years the acorns are wicked bad. 

Shovels & a wheel barrel bad.

You need more squirrels. I know a guy in Tennessee that might be able to help you out. 😉

[TOXIC]

Hmmmmm…..

[casts_by_fly]

We are right on the border of 1-2", 3-4", and 8-12" on that same map of our area.  If the storm moves east 30 miles we get 12".  North 30 miles and we get rain.  It looks like we're going to start with hard snow and move into wintry mix and rain for the area, though with our house at a little higher elevation than most we normally tip over into snow then.  Either way, I'm not going anywhere and the snowblower fired up on the 4th pull (the gas tank was empty for the first three).

[TnRiver46]

@casts_by_fly

[Jar11591]

Went from 3-5” to now calling for 8-12”. I love my state 9 months of the year, but my ancestors weren’t in their right mind when they decided to settle this frozen hellscape. I hold it against them a little because snow just makes me miserable. And I’m not even under plowing contract anymore. 

[Jigfishn10]

5-8"

ehhhhh....It's New England

[casts_by_fly]

On 1/5/2024 at 7:48 PM, TnRiver46 said:

@casts_by_fly

yup. Forgot I ran it dry last time I used it. Didn’t check that. 

[Koz]

I see people posting about the lack of snow and ice, but in my neck of the woods here in the south we've had longer stretches of cold weather this year. For the past two months we've had freezing or near freezing temperatures each morning.

 

How cold has it been? I keep my smart thermostats at 66 degrees when I'm home and when I get more than 3 miles from home they automatically set the temperature to 63. I just git my December electric bill.

 

$435!

 

I have never, ever, ever had a bill near that high before.

[TnRiver46]

Dear lord that’s higher than a giraffe’s butt 

[throttleplate]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

 a giraffe’s butt 

 

Someone wanted to see a giraffes butt?

[gim]

14 hours ago, Koz said:

I see people posting about the lack of snow and ice, but in my neck of the woods here in the south we've had longer stretches of cold weather this year. For the past two months we've had freezing or near freezing temperatures each morning.

We're currently in an El Nino phase and that pattern generally sends colder/wetter weather further south, while keeping the northern part of the country drier and milder.

 

My natural gas bill which is the energy source for my high efficiency furnace was the lowest amount I've ever had for December.  It was just over 60 bucks.  My thermostat is set at 65 degrees in the winter months, so very similar to yours.

[MN Fisher]

5 minutes ago, gimruis said:

My natural gas bill which is the energy source for my high efficiency furnace was the lowest amount I've ever had for December.  It was just over 60 bucks.  My thermostat is set at 65 degrees in the winter months, so very similar to yours.

Ya - thermostat in our house is set at 70 (Nora gets cold very easily) and our Dec gas bill was only $95...and our oven/stove is gas fired as well, so there's that.

[throttleplate]

17 minutes ago, gimruis said:

My natural gas bill which is the energy source for my high efficiency furnace was the lowest amount I've ever had for December.

 

Isnt minnesota going away from natural gas appliances like california is?

[MN Fisher]

3 minutes ago, throttleplate said:

 

Isnt minnesota going away from natural gas appliances like california is?

Gods I hope not - my gas stove and gas water heater are much more efficient than electric ones are...if I had to move those to electric, my electric bill would go up by more than my gas bill would go down.

[gim]

12 minutes ago, throttleplate said:

 

Isnt minnesota going away from natural gas appliances like california is?

No.  The bill as it stands requires electricity and energy suppliers to be "carbon free" by 2040.  Which means there must be as much energy generated from "non fossil fuel energy sources" as there is from fossilized ones.  It has nothing to do with consumer's choice or availability for energy sources.  The primary energy supplier in MN, Xcel Energy, has agreed to become a carbon free supplier of electricity by then.  They will need more energy supply from solar, wind, and clean nuclear power to offset traditional power sources such as coal burning.

 

@MN Fisher, your natural gas furnace is perfectly fine for many years.  North Dakota is not in favor of this bill that MN passed because they are the primary supplier of coal to this state.  If MN buys less coal from them, that cuts into their profits for supplying it.

[J Francho]

Had to break out the snow blower today. Love the smell of 2-cycle exhaust in the morning!

[MN Fisher]

3 hours ago, J Francho said:

Had to break out the snow blower today.

I think I broke a sweat sweeping the 1/10" that was on the wheelchair ramp out the front door...hardest 5 minutes of this year.

[MN Fisher]

And the bottom finally drops out.

 

NWS forecast for the coming weekend.

Saturday

A 30 percent chance of snow. Patchy blowing snow after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 10. Blustery, with a north northwest wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Saturday Night

A 20 percent chance of snow. Patchy blowing snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -7. Blustery, with a northwest wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Sunday

Partly sunny and cold, with a high near 3. Blustery, with a west northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around -8. West northwest wind around 15 mph.

M.L.King Day

Partly sunny and cold, with a high near 3. West northwest wind around 15 mph.

[gim]

11 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

And the bottom finally drops out.

You had to figure at some point it was going to get "cold" here.  As of yesterday, Jan 8, the lakes I drove past here in the Twin Cities were still open water.  I have a feeling they will freeze over within a week though.

 

Won't be long until some knucklehead drives his truck on the ice and we hear of a vehicle going through...

[casts_by_fly]

same here  I just typed this in Ajay's thread but I think this weekend will be the last open water around here for the winter.

 

[throttleplate]

I wonder if we in mn, nd will get our usual january thaw or was that allready included in the warm weeks prior?