It’s October 20th, 2022. The leaves are falling. The snow is not that far behind. It’s time to hit the trails and start asking what the heck is going on!
First of all, I’m over 9 weeks from a major hemmoraganic stroke that nearly killed me on August 16, 2022. I also nearly died again on August 25th. But I survived. I am back home as of October 11th and I’m slowly getting more back into shape each day. I’m still not driving and have a long ways to g0 in my recovery. But I have come so far already! And it’s time to get back to the best thing that you guys love about Upstate Snow… and that is… The Morning Blog! Starting today, October 20th, The Morning Blog, Until March 2023, will basically become a daily thing yet again. Starting next week, the TRAIL TALK PODCAST will make it’s fabled return. The GUIDE TO YOUR RIDE podcast will follow in December as the trails open up north and by January we will be open statewide. hopefully.
It has been crazy doing the weather these past three winters. Snowfall has been below normal. The outlooks have nailed this, especially last year. I just wish that for the first winter since 2018, we get hit at least “normal” this year. What about if we got hit above normal? What if we got hit big this year, with more than just a 3 to 6 week snowmobile season? What about 8? 10? 12? More??? It’s possible. We’ve done it before and we will do it again! The question is, will it be THIS year? THIS season? An answer could lie in the weather right now.
As I’m writing in Simpsonville, South Carolina this morning it’s a frosty and freezing 28 F for the second day in a row! This is near record cold, if not record cold for parts of the Carolina’s and the Southeast US. It’s about 2 weeks AHEAD of schedule for the first freezing temps here in the south. Freezing temps are more of a November thing around here… not a mid-October thing. This is NOT an every year thing but a once every 5-10+ year thing. Could it be the calling for a big winter down here? Not exactly. In the 2018-19 winter, the last halfway decent winter we had, it did bring EPIC snows but not for all of NYS. Only north of the Thruway across the Tug Hill, Adirondacks, and the North Country got the big snows and the long snowfall. Along the Thruway and southbound, the climate was warmer, less snowy, and much different to tame.
So the bottom line? We have NO idea yet wether it will be another short winter, another longer winter with more snowstorms, or an epic long big winter. In the decade we’ve been covering winters here, we’ve only had 2 big winters. 2014-15, particularly mid January to mid March. That 8-9 week feeling was EPIC. And 2018-19. Other than that, it’s been a lot of mild winters. 6 winters out of 10 with below normal snow. 2 near normal. 2 above. I’d like to run a lot better snowbound moving forward, especially with the last 3 all below normal.
And we shall see.
Thank you SO MUCH for reading this edition of The Morning Blog. You are treasured more than you will ever know. And I’ll talk to you all again soon.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-for-rich-lupia-his-family
Blessing and all love,
Rich Lupia
Stroke Survivor
October 20, 2022
