October snow closes Utah roads

[Richard]

The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Launched: 10/11/2008 10:14:29 PM MDT

Posted: 10:15 PM- Forget autumn. Utah hit a fast-forward button to winter Saturday, as snow socked several counties and parts of the state shivered through temperatures as low as 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

Snowy weather had caused at least two road closures as of 10 p.m., said Sgt. Jeff Nigbur of the Utah Department of Public Safety. Highway 14 from Cedar City to Hatch was closed temporarily because of an eight-car pileup shortly before 10 p.m., he said.

Interstate 84 also was closed around the Utah-Idaho border about 10 p.m. due to "snow and accidents," Nigbur said.
 
 By 9 p.m. Saturday, Laketown had received 4 inches of snow; Tooele an inch of snow; South Ogden 1 1/2 inches of snow; Coalville an inch of snow and Evanston, Wyo. was hit with 3.4 inches. 

 Ski lovers can brace for good things to come, as the northern mountains were dumped with several inches of white stuff and more is expected to fall Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
 
A winter weather warning issued Saturday afternoon predicted 4 to 8 inches of snow to fall overnight in mountain areas of eastern Utah and western Colorado. Strong winds from the storm are predicted to cause blowing snow and travel difficulties in some areas, so drivers are urged to use caution on high-elevation passes, the National Weather Service advises.
   
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10700712

[Sily]

For those on the East Coast of the US: Expect a severe Winter in U.S. East Accuweather. From that article "The eastern United States could be on the verge of its coldest, snowiest winter since at least 2003-04, and homeowners should brace for huge heating bills if oil prices stay high, private forecaster AccuWeather said Wednesday."


I live on the East Coast. 

A lady at work was tell me on Thursday that she has noticed her pine trees have *fat* pine cones this year ( I think that is what she said was fat ) and the acorns this year are HUGE, also she has noticed the squirrels in her yard are fat, fat, fat and the wooly bear caterpillars are almost completely BLACK!  They are supposed to have at least a little orange in them! I plan to return to this thread the Spring of 2009, to say whether these *signs* proved to be true.

[Polly]

Sily,

I am holding Chief Long-Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi to his word.  I will make him eat crow if his forecast bombs.  :D  The wooly bear caterpillars I have been seeing are not all black.  The squirrels are gathering nuts like crazy and becoming road kill in large numbers in the process though I have not seen any huge acorns or fat pine cones to date and I am outside or walking a lot.

[Sily]

Polly[/color]]...Chief Long-Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi....

icon_lachtot @ the name!   icon_lol

---

Edited to add - CRAP!  That's his real name?!  I thought you were making a joke Polly - I just checked and the guy is really named Bastardi!  Oh man..... :shock:

[Polly]

The title is funny and so is his name.  Hehe.  I copied and pasted it from the AccuWeather website for humor's sake.  Sily, if you have the motivation, maybe you could keep track of your snowfall this winter??

[DreamTime]

A lot of our wolly bullies are all black also. Although I have seen some with a little orange in them. So what does that mean when they are all black?

[Sily]

Polly - I think you've given me an idea, a blog post that I can update at my site on "Winter 08/09" -- I invision pictures, snow totals or lack thereof, complaints of how cold I am and things I'm doing while hibernating inside.

DT - I heard the more narrow the orange part the more severe the winter.  Here's a link to the farmer's almanac which says this:

[color="navy"][size="4"]Weather by Caterpillar[/size][/color][size="4"] [/size]

[color="navy"][size="2"]Posted on September 8th, 2008 by pgeiger  [/size][/color] [color="navy"][size="2"]

[/size][/color][color="navy"][size="2"]Last week we mentioned the weather-lore surrounding persimmon seeds. As the legend goes, if you cut open the seed and clearly see the shape of a spoon, a harsh winter with heavy wet snow. Is supposedly on tap.  Many of you have shared that a spoon is what you are in fact seeing. (A fork shape denotes a mild winter with light powdery snow, and a knife shape indicates an icy winter with cutting winds.) .
[/size][/color][color="navy"][size="2"]
In February, we look to a groundhog for a weather prediction, but at this time of year, many of us (after we of course consult the new edition of the Farmers’ Almanac) look to a fuzzy little caterpillar which makes its appearance early fall each year. (They actually appear in the spring as well but seem to go unnoticed at that time of year.) These caterpillars, often referred to as Woolly  Worm or Woolly Bear have a special ability (supposedly). Depending on the color of the bands, you may or may not be in for a rough winter.

[/size][/color][color="navy"][size="2"]As folklore goes – you need to look at the black hairs at each end of this tiny creature. Legend has it that the more black hairs a wooly bear has, the worse off the winter. If the caterpillar has more orange, then the winter will mild.

[/size][/color][color="navy"][size="2"]Some folks have taken this to an extreme. Supposedly there are thirteen segments in a typical banded wooly bear, and many people believe that each segment represents one week of winter. Orange segments predict mild weeks, and black ones foretell bad winter weather.[/size][/color]
[color="navy"][size="2"]Others also look at the thickness of the hair – thick means bad and sparse a mild one.[/size][/color]
[color="navy"][size="2"]One more weather believe surrounding this tiny weather forecaster revolves around the direction it’s coming from when found. If the wooly worm is traveling north, count on a mild winter. If he’s headed south, get ready for a long cold winter.

[/size][/color][color="navy"][size="2"]Have you noticed these weather predictors crawling around your yard or sidewalk yet?  If so do share with us here so we can compare it to the persimmon seed outlook.[/size][/color][color="navy"][size="2"] [/size][/color]

[color="navy"][size="2"] By the way, if you are a caterpillar enthusiast, make plans to attend the Woollybear Festival on October 5th, 2008 in Vermillion, Ohio. Longtime friend and Fox 8 Meteorologist, Dick Goddard champions the largest one day festival in the State of Ohio. Think of it, 100,000+ cheering on woollybear caterpillars who are strutting their stuff just before the arrival of winter.  [/size][/color][size="3"][color="navy"][size="2"] Join the fun! [/size][/color]
[/size]

[Polly]

Then I will be reading your winter recordings, Sily.  :D

[DreamTime]

I, for one, can not wait for the snow! I love to hibernate.

[Polly]

Sily, while raking yesterday I disturbed a woolly bear and he was not mostly black. He looked average and didn't have anything to tell me about this coming winter when I asked him.