General snows will move in tomorrow to refresh a lot of the state snow pack… and bring (hopefully) enough to areas wanting to get open but the snow cover is just too thin. The expanding of the playground for snowmobilers has definitely helped, especially because sled traffic has been heavy EVERYWHERE. Even during the weekdays. There will be some wintry mix with the snow, especially along and south of Route 20 so beware of that. Not a big storm by any means… this system could be classified as “typical” for mid winter.
Storm approaching from the south and west will spread snow across Upstate NY Tuesday, lasting into Tuesday Night and tapering off Wednesday AM. Not much lake effect behind this. The issue will be in the Southern Tier (mainly south of Route 20) and the Catskills where some sleet/wintry mix will work into the system with a wedge of warm air aloft riding over the cold that has been locked in over Upstate NY the last three days. This will also cut down on accums across the Southern Tier and Catskills, from what it could have been as straight snow. Along and north of the Thruway, it should be a mainly snow event with only a brief mix possible (not likely). Capital Region and Saratoga/Washington Counties should be mostly snow and get some badly needed accums to stay open and/or just open. Not as much as you need, but it’s better than nothing!
After this storm, the cold will remain across the region with another system indicated for late this week and cold temperatures continuing through the last weekend of January. We should find ourselves in good shape when the calendar flips to February a week from today. Euro hinting at things getting active next week at this time. I’m not saying a big coastal storm will happen… the important point to take from this is storm tracks are to our south and cold air is in place. Even if we don’t get this, pattern should be favorable for the foreseeable future.
Once again we don’t know for sure how long “winter” will last, but confidence is unfortunately high that once the pattern changes, if we get hit with a thaw, chances of recovering will be slim. I’ve said it before and will say it again clearly: THIS IS OUR WINTER. IT IS HERE. THIS IS THE BEST STRETCH WE WILL HAVE IN 2020-21 SEASON. YOU HAVE TO RIDE NOW, WHERE YOU CAN, WHEN YOU CAN. This is great advice and why Upstate Snow was created in the first place 9 years ago.
This is a double edged sword too. We saw a preview of it in January and February 2020 when people just took off and rode when there was snow. It seems gone are the days you could ride mid week with flat trails and low traffic, even outside the popular riding areas. This is AWESOME for the sport, club and especially the businesses that support snowmobiling. The other side is the more people, the more the bad apples (disrespectful, dangerous, entitled riders that trespass off trail, flip off other riders, speed excessively, don’t stay right, drink and ride, and threaten physical harm to others). It is up to all of us, each individual rider, club member, to stand for what’s right, give positive peer pressure, and police ourselves. This is needed now more than ever. Many of us respectful riders have been raised to let things go when we see them, mind our own business, and avoid conflict. The consequences of continuing to do nothing when we see people doing things that are not right, will be a major loss of trails (some have closed and many more are “last chance landowner” trails, in critical places where re-routes are impossible) and continued hesitancy for people at large to accept what snowmobiling really is: A family sport, a sport friends enjoy doing together, family and friends making memories to last a lifetime, the highlight of the lives of so many people in an increasingly cold and dark world we live in. Thank you to all, riders, clubs and businesses whom see snowmobiling for what it truly is, and work hard to serve and defend it everyday. Have a great week!
Rich
