January and February are some of the coldest months throughout the North Country, and with the extremely cold temperatures and wind-chill factor, frostbite is no joke.
Today we’re going to talk about what frostbite is, who’s at risk, recognizing the signs and symptoms, how to prevent it, as well as what to do in case you do have frostbite. » Continue Reading.
The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee has invited the public to the Grand Marshal Reception and Royalty Dinner on Tuesday, February 5 at the Hotel Saranac, 100 Main Street in Saranac Lake.
The Grand Marshal Reception will be held from 5 to 6 pm and is a free event to welcome the 2019 Winter Carnival Grand Marshal and Royalty. Snacks will be served and a cash bar will be available. » Continue Reading.
Come mid-January, when I’m acclimatized to winter, I enjoy an occasional stroll on the icy surface of Lake Champlain. I favor bays sheltered from the brunt of winter winds where the ice has had ample time to thicken. I pull microspikes on over my boots and off I go.
There’s room to roam between Burlington and the breakwater that parallels the shoreline. The lake ice locks spectacular natural art in place. Bubbles trapped under December ice are entombed as January’s ice forms below. Crystalline patterns resembling minute stars form during the various freezing and thawing cycles that occur as lake ice interacts with fallen snow. » Continue Reading.
The Long Lake Winter Carnival has been set for Saturday, January 19th, at the Mt. Sabattis Recreation Center, located at 6 Pavilion Way off of Deerland Road, NYS Route 30.
Events begin at noon, and include a bonfire, snowmobile parade, and coronation of the King and Queen. Free activities are slated throughout the day. The Cardboard Sled Races start at 1 pm with prizes awarded for speed and overall award for best decoration. » Continue Reading.
The Town of Colton’s annual Winterfest starts January 11th. The festival theme Rockin’ in the Great South Woods – will include events spread out over three consecutive weekends in January, not just during the last weekend of the month as has been done in the past.
Winterfest posters displayed in and around town highlight the new three weekend approach, and include a QR code for smartphone users to directly link to the schedule online. » Continue Reading.
The other day I was driving through New Hampshire’s Crawford Notch, where my eyes are usually drawn to the tall mountains and long, cascading waterfalls on either side of the road. But on this day my gaze shifted toward the snowbanks lining the narrow highway. The sun was shining and the landscape glittered. The sparkle of sunlight on cold white reminded me of childhood trips, when I would look out the backseat window at passing fields and imagine all those tiny glimmers were winter fairies, twirling and skipping through the snow.
Snow sparkle isn’t (as far as science has revealed) attributable to fairies, but to light bouncing off the snow at multiple angles. “When you have a really cold snowfall, you tend to get a bunch of little individual plates,” explained Adam Gill, a weather observer and meteorologist with the Mount Washington Observatory. “It’s like billions of these little tiny reflectors all over the ground. If there’s a bright light source, if you’re at the correct angle, that light source will reflect back at you.” As we move across the landscape, our angle changes, and light flashes from different directions. » Continue Reading.
Had a unicorn pranced across the trail in front of me, I wouldn’t have been surprised.
It was one of those sparkly winter days, when snow drapes fir trees and glints across the landscape. I was at the top of Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire’s Franconia Notch, and an undercast made it seem as if the summit were a sunny island above a sea of clouds. To add to the wonder, there was something magical happening in the sky, which shimmered with color and light. » Continue Reading.
Few things seem as remote as the January sun in the North East. We see the light, but we feel almost no heat. In this way, winter can feel like a kind of exile – there’s a sense that the Earth has been flung to the farthest reaches of its orbit.
The idea that the winter sun is remote, however, is misguided. In fact, the Earth is closest to the sun when the Northern Hemisphere is in the deep freeze of winter. This extreme proximity is known as perihelion, and in 2019 it will take place on January 3. Conversely, aphelion – when the Earth is farthest from the sun – takes place during the height of summer, this year on the Fourth of July. The exact dates vary slightly every year, but always occur in January and July. » Continue Reading.
Applications for parade performers participating during the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival are now available online at www.saranaclakewintercarnival.com.
Applications can also be picked up at the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce at 39 Main Street in Saranac Lake. » Continue Reading.
Every winter brings its annual a-salt on roads and walkways. In icy conditions, salt may be necessary for safety, but too much of it is worse than a bad pun. Cars, equipment, and concrete suffer in obvious ways, but damage to trees and other woody plants is less visible. Salt injures trees and shrubs by several means.
When road-salt spray hits twigs, buds and, in the case of evergreens, foliage, such direct contact causes yellowing of needles, and subsequent death of evergreen twigs and limbs. It also leads to stunted or deformed growth, such as witches’ brooms, on hardwoods. Severe or repeated direct exposure, especially for sensitive species like white pine or cedar, can kill the whole tree. » Continue Reading.
Fifty-two Remembrance Trees were lit by the Town of Colton on Friday, December 7. The trees will remain illuminated through the end of January to help brighten winter nights during the town’s Winterest which kicks off January 11 and ends January 27. The trees are sponsored by individuals, families, and groups to honor loved ones. » Continue Reading.
Winter has arrived in the North County, and the snow will not be leaving us anytime soon. Not everyone has access to plows or snow blowers, which leaves us with one last snow removal tool, the shovel. Shoveling snow can be a physically intensive activity, and should be treated as one.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2015, more than 158,000 people were treated in an emergency room, doctor’s office, and clinics for injuries that happened while removing snow or ice manually. In order to prevent these types of injuries, you can follow some of these steps. » Continue Reading.
In winter, when we spend most of our time indoors, houseplants can add beauty, color, warmth, and contrast to living spaces. Several scientific studies indicate that they improve indoor air quality, too.
Successful houseplant horticulture doesn’t have to be difficult. You need to start with plants that are healthy and free of pests. And you need to understand how indoor environments affect plant growth. Even healthy plants may not survive (and certainly won’t thrive), unless they’re given the amounts of humidity, light, water, and fertilizer that they require. » Continue Reading.
Northern New Yorkers are definitely not strangers to cold winter weather. But most of us would rather have not had to deal with the brutally relentless cold that gripped much of the nation during December and January.
According to data from the Southeast Regional Climate Center, cities including Buffalo, New York; Worcester, Massachusetts; and Bangor, Maine all experienced their coldest 2-week-stretch of weather ever recorded last Dec. 23 – Jan. 5. The week between Christmas and New Year’s was the coldest on record in Buffalo’s history. And, on Dec. 28, 30 record low temperatures were set across the country; the lowest of which was recorded in Watertown, NY; -32°F. Eighteen east coast cities saw record lows on January 2, including Morrisville, Vermont; -29°F. Their previous low for that date was -14°F. And let’s not forget he first major storm of 2018; the infamous ‘bomb cyclone’ or bombogenesis. » Continue Reading.
In folklore and literature, Jack Frost is often portrayed as a mischievous guy, sort of Old Man Winter’s younger self. He’s a personification of everything cold. In our region he’s a busy guy, at least for half of the year.
And an artistic one.
He gets credit for painting the trees orange and yellow and red in the fall. And we’re all familiar with ground frost, that harbinger of winter that looks like a dusting of snow. This phenomenon occurs when the temperature of objects near the ground falls below freezing. Water in the air freezes onto objects, sometimes as what looks like frozen dewdrops, sometimes as branched crystals. » Continue Reading.
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