Series 2016-11: #snowember16

2016-11-02	#snowember16 – part I
2016-11-04	#snowember16 – part II
2016-11-05	#snowember16 – part III
2016-11-06	#snowember16 – part IV
2016-11-07	#snowember16 – part V
2016-11-08	#snowember16 – part VI
2016-11-20	#snowember16 – retrospect

#snowember16 – part I Nov 2 2016

Hooray! Winter is here! I want 4 meters of snow and -45 °C already in November. (Well, a bit less is ok, too.)

I saw the first snow of the season two days before on my way back home from Umeå. The forecast predicted more snow to come today – even a class 1 snowfall warning had been issued – but not in Skelleftehamn where rain was forecasted.

Skelleftehamn showed only some patches of slush-like snow this morning as a result of last nights precipitations. Skellefteå got two centimeters of snow and experienced some wet snow showers today. On the way back to Skelleftehamn more snow lay on the ground. Between town and home it’s mostly a bit colder with neither city nor the Baltic Sea directly nearby. In Skelleftehamn itself however the snow has been almost rained away and the thermometer showed +2 °C.

Today I had a rehearsal with a new jazz trio in Kroksjön, which means hook lake and is just eight kilometres south from Skellefteå. It was just slightly colder there and the snow less wet. Round ten centimetres had fallen down – still wet but white and beautiful to look at. I took some photos after the rehearsal (I always have a tripod in the car).

When I made these photos it didn’t snow anymore, temperatures where below zero and I could see some stars. When I was on the 364 to Skellefteå it started snowing again, but not much, so I took the E4, the fastest way to Skelleftehamn. Well, normally. Today it took much more time. The snow fall intensified more and more and the visibility was really poor. Instead of 110 km/h I hardly dared to drive 70.

Another car tailgated me, eager to overtake. Finally the E4 became two-lane and the car driver overtook me. I really had to smile, because now – without my backlights in front – the other driver was forced to slow down as well, driving exactly the same tempo I had been using all the time.

It wasn’t easy but I found the exit to Skelleftehamn. The snow fall intensified even more and I slowed down further. Using the full beams the approaching snow looked like a tunnel of stars when a space ship goes into some kind of faster-than-light hyperdrive. That’s what it looks like (imagine that in fast motion):

“Hyperspeed” feeling when driving through night and snow

Funnily enough the heavy snow fall decreased when I approached Skelleftehamn and stopped when I arrived home.

Now at 23:30 we have ca. 5 cm of snow and it started snowing a bit again. If the forecast is right we will get permanent frost on Friday and 30 cm of snow from Friday until Monday morning.

#snowember16 – part II Nov 4 2016

Often the first snow in Skelleftehamn already comes in late October and melts away the other day. Larger snowfalls can occur in November – in 2010 for example the snowfall lasted several days and covered the ground with 70 centimetres of snow.

This years first snow fall was already on Monday but rain melted it away the very same day.

On Wednesday however it started to snow and since then quite a lot of snow has fallen in Skelleftehamn. I have round 35 centimetres in my backyard and more is forecasted for the next days. This is a bit unusual for the beginning of November where mostly it’s just dark and wet.

You could call me snow-addicted, I just love snow – the more, the better! And so I’ve been in great mood since yesterday that the rainy tristesse was replaced by the grandeur of snow.

Six photos from today:

The 1st one this morning in front of the house.
The 2nd and 3rd at the coast of the Baltic Sea. It was quite windy and the snow just bucketed down.
The 4th and 5th on the way to Bureå showing some houses of Örviken and the bay Ytterviksfjärden.
The 6th in Bureå showing the river Bureälven. (Both Bureå and Skelleftehamn are known for severe snowfalls.)

#snowember16 – part III Nov 5 2016

And the snow fall continues. Today it didn’t stop snowing at all. 40 cm of snow covered the backyard of my house in the morning, now it’s already 65 cm and probably the fence will be buried by the snow soon.

Most people are only out to clear the snow, by shovel, snow blower or – more efficient – by tractor. The big municipal snowplough has just come through for the first time today, leaving a “plogkant” (plough rim) – a wall of snow, round 60 cm high, on the side of the street. That means, before I even think off taking the car, that stands on the driveway of my property, I have to go out and shovel all that snow away. And that snow of the plogkant is always quite compact and therefore heavy.

The neighbours have started to look at me almost a bit angry. They know, that I’m snow-addicted and just love that kind of weather while they just see the work. Perhaps I would think the same, if I had lived here the whole of my life.

But anyway – it is so beautiful with all that snow. Have a look by yourself.

The 1st photo is made in Ursviken this morning, when I took my first winter bath.
The 2nd photo shows the way to Storgrundet at the coast.
The 3rd photo shows the sandy beach of Storgrundet, or at least the snow covering it. Looks like boat season is soon over now.

At the shore of the river Skellefteälven in Ursviken

Storgrundet – the beach and a lot of snow

Today it’s even cold the first day with day temperatures round -6 °C. In combination with all that snow, it’s hardly believable that it’s just the beginning of November.

The forecast says, it will permanent frost temperature the next 10 days. I – sorry, my neighbours – would approve it.

#snowember16 – part IV Nov 6 2016

Yesterday evening it stopped snowing and the snow in the backyard started to sink down. Still I had almost 60 cm of snow lying in my backyard. Together with temperatures round -6 °C it looked like a good opportunity for a first ski tour – the earliest I ever made in my life in terms of the day of the year.

I already have moved the skis from the garage to the winter garden already days ago. Annika and I didn’t have to dig out the garage door but could directly start after breakfast and put on the ski clothes for the first time of the season.

It started snowing again when we turned right into the Berzeliusgatan which becomes the gravel path to the beach Storgrundet. That little street probably has been cleared of snow the day before, since only 20 cm of snow covered it and even one or two cars passed by leaving some tracks that soon got snowed over again. (One car had to be shovelled free however.)

The more we approached the coast, the stronger the wind became. Perhaps even the snow fall increased. It’s hard to say because if it’s quite windy and snowy you always think that the snowfall is intense and severe.

Shortly before reaching the coast we took a little side trip to the lake Snesviken, the beautiful lake which it’s tiny island 150 meter from shore. You can hardly see the island on the photo, but it’s at least visible. On the next photo I made the island was completely hidden by the strong snowfalls.

We went back to the main road. The snow was at least 60 cm deep, but now returning on our self-made trail it was much easier to ski. On the main road again we had visibilities below 100 meters. You could see a bit of the road, some trees to the left and right and ahead just some kind of white hole. And you could hear the wind, feel the wind, see the snow and feel the snow’s cold. It was not too cold, but it felt like a really winter day – on the sixth of November!

Looking behind – our trail that led to the lake Snesviken

Heavy snowfall on the way to Storgrundet

I didn’t make any photos at Storgrundet. For one thing I made some photos there yesterday, for another thing it’s not very easy and comfortable making pictures in conditions that I would call “blizzard light”.

On the way back we took another detour along another way. This was unploughed as well and really nice to ski.

On the end of the way there’s a property on the right. If you cross it past the summer cottage you will stand at the stony shore of the Baltic Sea. You can hear the cold waves splashing ashore and the wind shaking the trees. Quite rough and impressive. And you can see, that the Baltic Sea is still open. That’s why we get so much snow in a short time: lake-effect snow manufactured by the moistness of the sea and the frost of the air, locally pouring down on places near the coast just like Skelleftehamn.

Much snow at the Baltic Sea, but still no ice cover

When we left this rough place round the wind-exposed summer cottage and returned to the forest we had the impression of entering a nice and cozy living room. It was almost silent, the noise of the sea seemed to be far away. Almost no wind was felt between the snow covered birch and spruce trees which made the air feel much warmer. And the snow flakes fell gently from above, not lashing from one side to the other. So nice, after the rough impression some minutes ago.

And – even after more than 6 years of living here – it’s still so great to come home from such a ski tour, unstrap the skis at the small stairs that lead to the front door of your house. Twenty minutes from “blizzard light” to home.

What’s a blizzard?

According to Wikipedia a blizzard is defined by three conditions:

high wind speeds above 56 km/h
huge amounts of snow with visibilities less than 400 meters
a duration from over 3 hours

While we got the latter two today it was less windy than 56 km/h. That’s why I call it “blizzard light” today.

#snowember16 – part V Nov 7 2016

Last night it snowed another 15 cm, increasing the snow depth in my backyard to 76 cm and finally the fence in my backgard was gone, hidden by the snow.

You see, that the picture looks a bit hazy? That’s because it snowed still a lot, when I made this picture this morning at 6 o’clock. You see that blending light to the right of the house? It’s a tractor that already had started to plough away the snow.

Some hours later Annika and I took the car to Bureå – another “snow pocket” nearby. As a matter of fact I was curious, if there was even more snow as here in Skelleftehamn.

Finally I could take a picture of the beautiful pavilion Åbacka paviljong which lies near Bureå on the other side of the E4. A huge pile of snow left by a tractor came in handy to get a higher perspective.

And we saw buried cars. And half buried tractors, and really buried cars, and a quite snowed in bicycle.

I heard from some people living in Bureå, that at least one meter of snow has fallen, but I couldn’t find such places in town. I seemed to be as much snow as home, perhaps a bit more.

When we took a detour, left Bureå and headed to Burvik over the hill Bureberget (altitude: 99 meters!) the snow walls at the sides of the road increased. I stopped the car on the side of the street and just took some steps into the forest. Here the snow was really much deeper, I should say round 110 cm! Here seems to be Bureå’s “snow center”.

I left Annika at the bus station and took the E4 to Skellefteå where I had a meeting at one o’clock. Well, I tried to take the E4, but from the next exit on it was closed due to an accident. I left the E4 and took a secondary route. There were many trucks and other cars taking the same detour and since the road was quite snowy and it still snowed the drive was at quite a low pace. Following a truck is no fun since you hardly see anything beside of the white snow whirling through the air. That is called snörök – “snow smoke”. Sometimes it was not easy to follow the street because all meadows and fields are just as white as the road and the red sticks marking the road hardly help in the snörök.

I took it easy, stopped the car in one of the rare snow-free parking bays and made a photo from the collapsed barn buried in the deep snow.

When I came home the snow fall had stopped and the streets where ploughed. On each corner you could see piles of snow up to four meters high. And finally even my elder bush seemed to realise that summer is over and has started to cast of its leaves.

Tomorrow I’ll take a day off and enjoy the early winter. Skis or snowshoes? I haven’t decided yet.

Some other snow depth:

The neighbour at the other side of the street: 86 cm.
Some people in Bureå: 100 cm, already four days ago.
Someone in Lycksele in the inland: 2 cm!

#snowember16 – part VI Nov 8 2016

1. A tiny ski tour

As yesterday I took the car to the hill Bureberget, this time with skis and snowshoes. I had thought that the biggest challenge would be to park the car – not easy if there are only snow walls on the left and the right off the road, but I was lucky, a side road was cleared and I could park the car there in front of an old, wooden house buried in the snow.

I decided for the skis, changed shoes, put on gaiters, strapped the backpack on and put on my skis. After following the main road to Burvik a bit I bent left into the road to the top of Bureberget. The snow has settled a bit and was less high than yesterday. Soon I found a nice way downhills – my first “ski-run” this season, perhaps 20 seconds long. Of course I had to climb up again. That was partly not so easy between trees, rocks and quite soft snow where I sank down to my knees quite often even with the skis on. I found a steep but nice passage up that led me to some kind of bridge or ladder crossing a small ravine. This part I took without my skis …

After I had succeeded the “winter climbing challenge” I stood on a huge rock, almost up on the level of the top again. I took a detour to the forest and was soon back again.

This ski tour was quite short. One of the reasons was, that I didn’t find nice motive for photos today. It was very windy and all treetops were bare of snow. Many pine needles and pieces of bark lay on the snow which made the snow looking old and dirty, even if it was just one day old.

But anyway, it’s always great to be out and so it was today! And even better, when the sun comes out.

2. The coast of Storgrundet

When I was back in Skelleftehamn I didn’t drive home directly but to the coast of Storgrundet. I was curious how much ice would cover the part of the Baltic Sea between island and mainland. There’re still patches of open water, but most of the water is covered with ice. I guess that I have to look for other starting points, when I want to paddle kayak in the weekend.

It was only some degrees below zero but the strong winds made me shiver and I was very glad to had a warm down jacket with me and put the hood on tight. Brrr, autumn is definitely over.

#snowember16 – retrospect Nov 20 2016

It was round two weeks ago, that Västerbotten, and especially Skelleftehamn got a lot of snow, more than 70 centimetres within four days. Such had happened before at least four times since I moved to this place but never so early.

Anyway, I love winter and was very happy to get it so soon. Sad to say, it was only an intermezzo. It became cold for two days the last weekend, when I tried canoeing but since then it has been quite warm and most of the precipitation came as rain that melted much of the beautiful snow away.

Two weeks ago the fence in the backyard was fully submerged in the snow, not it is completely visible again.

My backyard two weeks ago (2011-11-07 07:20)

I definitely prefer the first. Since the peak of 76 cm in my backyard thirteen days ago the snow cover become less and less deep. Today I measured 23 cm, which is less than a third of the former depth.

It is still quite warm and the global weather constellation is quite special: At the North Pole it’s 20 °C warmer than usual (and there’s full polar night!), whereas Siberia and Mongolia have witnessed an early cold wave with temperatures below -30 °C, partly below -40 °C.

How will the swedish winter 2016/17 will be? Too warm or freezing cold? Sleet and rain or masses of snow? Well, we’ll see … . What do you think?