A January 2022 Nor'Easter
Temperatures here in the Northeast are expected to reach only 30-degrees Fahrenheit today, but rise to the mid-40s by week's end, hopefully melting a good portion of the snow from the year's first nor'easter.
This latest storm dropped about 10-inches of white powder over my Bedford, New York farm with snow drifts as high as two-and-a-half feet. Officials called it a “bomb cyclone” which occurs when air pressure drops and the storm rapidly intensifies. This one strengthened very quickly, bringing driving snow, punishing winds, and whiteout conditions as it moved up the east coast. The winter weather system crippled much of the region, but it left a beautiful coating of white across the landscape.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Earlier in the day before the storm was very gray with little wind. Flurries started mid-morning, then picked up later that night. Here, above the donkey paddock is the sun covered by the winter clouds.
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- Here’s a view across one of my paddocks and the stand of great eastern white pine trees, Pinus strobus, on the right. White pines are the tallest trees in eastern North America.
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- The snow did not seem to start accumulating until late afternoon. Here, the tops of the chicken coops have a light dusting of snow.
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- We already had several inches of snow leftover from the last storm. The front of my stable is always shoveled first, so my horses have a clear path from the pastures to the stalls.
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- This photo was taken the next day, after the snow had already been cleared at least once. By this time, strong winds were causing snow drifts to form around all the buildings.
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- This snow was very light and powdery. Light snow forms when all layers of the atmosphere are below freezing. Because the air is cold, all the way down to the surface, snowflakes don’t melt. It was about 25-degrees Fahrenheit all day.
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- Here, one can see the snow falling – but this light and powdery snow is useless for snowballs, it’s just too cold.
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- Here is the Linden Allee just beyond the stable. The linden tree, Tilia, is also referred to as basswood or lime, though it is not related at all to the lime fruit. They are straight stemmed trees with smooth bark. The gravel covered carriage road below is now completely coated in white powder.
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- This is the carriage road to my tennis court. Along both sides of the road we planted ‘Marley’s Pink Parasol’ Japanese Snowbell trees and a collection of Styrax ‘Evening Light’ trees. They are all growing very nicely. The dark evergreens in the distance look so pretty covered in snow.
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- I am glad all my precious tropical plants are safe inside their heated hoop houses. This one stores my citrus collection – lemon trees, lime trees, cumquat, calamondin, and orange trees – all growing so wonderfully here at the farm.
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- Here is my newly organized stone yard – also covered in white. This is where extra inventory of the many types of stones used at the farm are kept – slate shingles, marble flooring, granite posts, etc.
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- In my herbaceous peony bed, one can see the ripple-like snow drifts against the burlap covered boxwood.
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- The large linden trees are part of an allee I planted several years ago. The specimens below are all European beech trees, Fagus sylvatica, or the common beech – they hold tight to their leaves.
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- Here is the carriage road to the woodlands, almost unrecognizable except for the wooden stakes marking its edges.
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- Tucked away between the Equipment Barn and a grove of weeping willows is my pinetum. It includes pines, spruces, and firs, as well as other evergreens.
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- These stakes mark my catch basins. We paint the tips black to differentiate them from the road stakes. And we mark them, so they can be found quickly and, if needed, the side openings can be cleared.
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- This is the sunken garden behind my Summer House – the footpath covered in white, but all the boxwood hedges protected with galvanized steel frames and burlap.
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- And can you guess where this is? It is actually the terrace parterre just outside my Winter House. The snow collected more than two feet high in between the covered boxwood shrubs. Fortunately, despite the gusty winds, this storm did not cause any serious damage at the farm.
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- Here are two giant evergreens outside my Tenant House. Thankfully, they stood strong and remained intact during the storm.
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- During a late afternoon tour of the property, one of the members of my security team made hearts in the snow – a little whimsy during a storm. Groundhog Day is a couple days away – that popular tradition derived from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerging from its burrow on this day sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den and winter will persist for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early. What’s your prediction for this season?
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
