End of Winter

Hard to have an end when there was never really a beginning.  And I say this while much of the country just experienced a prototypical spring-like storm.  Except it isn't spring.  I guess when our biggest snowfall of the season is in October anything is possible.  I held out for as long as I could but as we now approach March with no signs of cold or snow on the way, I have thrown in the towel and hoping at the least for an abnormally cool summer.

I just got done looking at the long range and it isn't pretty.  Temperatures are primed to move upwards.  Like 60's upwards.  We do have a few chances of soaking rain to break up the monotony of above average temperatures and suns and clouds.  At least when I do my winter in review I can stand tall on my Philadelphia prediction that everybody else blew.  

On a more troubling note it is once again the season to talk tornadoes.  I can't imagine it being anything like last year but with the way the last few days have played out who knows.  It's a bit early to tell what patterns will set up but I wonder what kind of severe weather we are in for.  Tornadoes can occur just about anywhere and we are not in the clear even though nobody talks about it.  As winter fades I will move away from the snowy side and transition back to the stormy and severe.

However, I'm not quite done with winter yet even though it might be done with me.  Those flurries in the forecast on Saturday turned into something a little more exciting.  As you can see below a nice band of snow set up briefly from western PA to our area.  It was the closest thing to lake effect snow you could experience this far from a lake.

In fact I went to check the radar after looking out the window and seeing partly sunny skies being overtaken by a line of dark clouds.  Ten minutes later and what a difference.

It got windy.  The snow started to fly, and I was back feeling pretty good again.  Even if it did only last a short time it was what I will assume, a nice little way to end a lackluster winter.  A chance of flurries turned into this lasting image from the 2011-12 season.

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To cap things off we got a little ugly on Sunday running the trails up and down the pagoda in what could only be described as a technically nightmare for anybody looking for flat ground.  As much as I wanted to enjoy the scenery, I spent 90% of the race looking at the ground.  The uphill climbs kick your ass while you try not to break an ankle on the downhill.  If I wasn't hearing people around me fall, I was passing people limping or being helped.

DETAILS BELOW:

FINISHING SPOT & TIME: