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This Past Winter

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This Past Winter
Posted by Doc Murdock on Monday, March 3, 2008 2:03 PM
It seems this winter has brought more snow than in the last 10 years, at least in Southern B.C. and the Pacific Northwest. I heard that around Spokane, Washington, trucks were delayed for several days because of high snowfalls, poor visibility and risk of avanlaches. Has this winter affected rail traffic in similar ways?
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Posted by chad thomas on Monday, March 3, 2008 2:20 PM
It sure makes for lots of overtime for MofW crews clearing snow and ice from switchpoints and road crossings. Especially shortlines and branches that don't have constant traffic keeping flangeways clear. 
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Posted by JSGreen on Monday, March 3, 2008 4:20 PM
The weather guessers were saying that the NW would be colder and wetter than the past few years, because of a La Nina~ effect...looks like they got it right this time.    I understand it was nothing like it was 20-30 years ago, but it was certainly wetter and colder than last year!
...I may have a one track mind, but at least it's not Narrow (gauge) Wink.....
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Posted by railfan619 on Monday, March 3, 2008 6:38 PM
I would have to agree with you cause i live in the midwest and we have been hit pretty hard here to as of march 3rd we are in to the top 10 for all time snowfalls with 80.2 inches and it seems like every other day we are getting hit by yet another snow storm. But what is really cool to see is an amtrak train going down the tracks at 60 miles per hour and the snow just getting blown right off of the tracks from the train. That is like the coolest thing to see you can always tell when a train has just been though cause of all of the snow flying by the tracks.
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Posted by ouengr on Monday, March 3, 2008 10:33 PM
I heard the other day that more of North America has been covered in snow this year than any time in recent memory.  I want to say that the last time we had this much snow was in the 60's but I dont remember the exact date they quoted.
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Posted by SALfan on Friday, March 7, 2008 10:52 AM
Sorry to hear the snow has been heavier than normal in some places.  Better you than me Big Smile [:D] - we've had a light winter for snow and ice here in Nawthun Vuhjinya.
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Posted by OldBNfan on Friday, March 7, 2008 11:54 AM
I wish this winter was truly 'past!'  We're expecting lows in the teens again this weekend.... the poor folks to the south and east of lower Michigan are getting hammered by another storm.
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Posted by diningcar on Friday, March 7, 2008 12:05 PM
I live in Arizona, oh well you don't want to hear it.
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Posted by Modelcar on Friday, March 7, 2008 12:31 PM

....Not counting the weather system that's working thru from the southwest and up thru the Ohio valley today and tomorrow....our total snowfall to this point has been 24 1/2" {at my location}.  Normal here in Muncie, east central Indiana is about 27" for the winter season.

We are on the northern fringe of what's working thru today and maybe 1" today and 1 to 2" overnight....forecast as of now.

Long range forecast for this area {last fall}, was more mild than normal, and wetter than normal for our winter.  Seems this winter's snow fall arrived in small increments but happened in chain actions....Every few days as opposed to any one deep snow fall.

March is anyone's guess what will happen.....A transition month.  Avg. normal temps are rising fast though....But we've had some bad ice storms here in March.  Whatever it is, it generally doesn't stay around very long.

Quentin

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Posted by jph2 on Friday, March 7, 2008 4:58 PM

 OldBNfan wrote:
I wish this winter was truly 'past!'  We're expecting lows in the teens again this weekend.... the poor folks to the south and east of lower Michigan are getting hammered by another storm.

This is a winter more like when I was a kid (yeah, in the late 60s/early 70s). But, I have to set the record straight. Detroit Metro area was forecasted for 2-4 inches beginning at about 1 PM EST and another 3-5 overnight, along with some more on Saturday. As of 6 PM, I haven't seen a single flake here. Mind you, not complaining, cuz I'm sick of it...

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Posted by Dakguy201 on Saturday, March 8, 2008 6:10 AM
I haven't seen much data on the state of the snowpack on the eastern side of the continental divide in the northern Rockies.  Our reservoirs are suffering from several years of substandard runoff, and perhaps this winter will contribute to a make-up of the water levels.
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Posted by trainboyH16-44 on Saturday, March 8, 2008 12:20 PM

What is going on? It's hot and dry here, and when it's been cold, it's STILL been dry! To the east, tons of snow. To the west, tons of snow.

Life's not fair. 

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Posted by OldBNfan on Saturday, March 8, 2008 12:44 PM
I'd love to 'export' some of our moisture your way!!!  We're over 90 inches of snow for the season... we usually head to Rochelle for the kids spring break, might have to sit in the snow this year!
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Posted by Anonymous on Monday, March 10, 2008 12:43 PM
Uhhhh, what is "snow"?  currently wearing short sleeved t-shirts here and cut-offs.  California bay area had some heavy rains a month or so back, but thats all...its been absolutely amazing weather to go railfanning out here.
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Posted by HankDiggs on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 1:51 AM
A couple of dustings of snow here in the metro Atlanta area -- that's about it.  Have had a couple of bad electric/rain storms in the past month that jammed up CSX's former Seaboard line which runs behind my workplace.
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Posted by dcnlgjms on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 10:43 AM

This winter has been something else in the Eugene/Springfield Oregon area.  I've lived on the McKenzie River (about 30 miles up river from Eugene) for 14 years and have not seen this much snow in that time.  The Union Pacific line from Eugene to California (near Oakridge) was hit with a very large earth/snow slide in the Cascade mountains.  It has taken out over 3000 feet of main line in one area and 150 feet in a second area.  It is estimated that over 3 million cubic yards of earth moved and with it between 10 and 15 thousand Douglas Fir trees.  This all happened in early February and is estimated to be finished in April sometime.  However, a definite date has not been established.  A big problem was access to this very remote area.   Eight miles of new road (dirt) had to be cleared just to get to the area with heavy equipment.  UP is required by the U.S. Forest Service to rescue all the trees.  They will be auctioned off later.  It is estimated that so far they have taken out (by helicopter) almost 1 million borad feet of trees.  The slide was caused by upward pressure from magma resulting in a destabilization of the mountain side.  Slides are still happening.  They are crushing rock on site to create rip-rap in an effort to, hopefully, stabilize the hillside.  It is estimated that the cleanup will cost in excess of $20 million.  We currently have almost 200% snow fall in the Cascades. 

The freight trains are using BNSF track around the area and up through the Columbia Gourge.  AMTRACK has suspended their rail traffic to and from California until the UP tracks have been repaired.

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Posted by stmtrolleyguy on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 3:28 AM
 dcnlgjms wrote:

This winter has been something else in the Eugene/Springfield Oregon area.  I've lived on the McKenzie River (about 30 miles up river from Eugene) for 14 years and have not seen this much snow in that time.  The Union Pacific line from Eugene to California (near Oakridge) was hit with a very large earth/snow slide in the Cascade mountains.  It has taken out over 3000 feet of main line in one area and 150 feet in a second area.  It is estimated that over 3 million cubic yards of earth moved and with it between 10 and 15 thousand Douglas Fir trees.  This all happened in early February and is estimated to be finished in April sometime.  However, a definite date has not been established.  A big problem was access to this very remote area.   Eight miles of new road (dirt) had to be cleared just to get to the area with heavy equipment.  UP is required by the U.S. Forest Service to rescue all the trees.  They will be auctioned off later.  It is estimated that so far they have taken out (by helicopter) almost 1 million borad feet of trees.  The slide was caused by upward pressure from magma resulting in a destabilization of the mountain side.  Slides are still happening.  They are crushing rock on site to create rip-rap in an effort to, hopefully, stabilize the hillside.  It is estimated that the cleanup will cost in excess of $20 million.  We currently have almost 200% snow fall in the Cascades. 

The freight trains are using BNSF track around the area and up through the Columbia Gourge.  AMTRACK has suspended their rail traffic to and from California until the UP tracks have been repaired.

 (Pulls out calculator)

1,000,000 feet of tree ./. 8 feet per tie ./. 12 inches on center ./. 2 tracks = 5,208 feet of new ties, bark, branches, wreath fodder for the  artsy/crafty holiday people included.  

Sign - Dots [#dots]

 

I'm not sure what the total snowfall here in Boston has been, but it's been an interesting winer.  We've gotten two or three major storms, and each one has prety much dumped between 6-11 inches of snow, making a mess of things for about two days, and then within a week, it's all mostly melted again.  It's a lot more snow then I remember from years past, but it's not sticking around a lot. 

StmTrolleyguy
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Posted by SALfan on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 11:04 AM
 trainboyH16-44 wrote:

What is going on? It's hot and dry here, and when it's been cold, it's STILL been dry! To the east, tons of snow. To the west, tons of snow.

Life's not fair. 

Could be La Nina.  One of the magazines to which I subscribe forecasted an end to its (her?) effects about mid-spring, so maybe the weather will go back to normal then. 

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