08 November 2010

First Snow Cover?

We had our first snow cover of any sort on A.D. 2010 November 01.  Initially I reported that it was our first "official" snow cover, though it was less than the historical measure I've used: "one centimeter that remains for at least one hour."  Still, how can you say that you haven't had snow cover when you have?  This was the first year we were faced with this issue, because, for six years, the first snow cover has always met the evaluation criteria.  The point I'm getting at is that my wife doesn't believe the snow cover on November 01 was substantial enough to be called our first "official" snow cover.  I too was unsure when I made the call, and her opinion has been eating at me.

I know the whole thing seems a little bit ridiculous.  I mean, we're talking about the weather here!  Still, I try to keep VERY detailed weather records, and if our first "official" snow cover wasn't on November 01, we're looking at the latest first snow cover since I've lived here. (There is no snow in the forecast). I hate to leave a record that says, "Wow, there wasn't any snow on the ground until late November back in 2010," when there WAS snow on the ground on November 01.  I also hate to say that the next snow cover will be our first because it will REALLY throw off our "average" date of first snow cover, which is right around the first of November.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I wanted to leave a record of my internal conflict here with the weather records.  I want to be able to remember what was going through my head this year so I can keep it in mind when I'm looking back through the records.

P.S. For what it's worth, I probably would have changed the date of the first snow cover if we had experienced another day with snow cover since then.  However, I'm hesistant to do it from this point forward because it would have such a significant bearing on the historical "average."

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