Lake View Today

[BigKahuna]

Mother Nature needs to send that snow up my way. We need it to get trails groomed by the lake house.

I can't believe that you guys up there in Michigan need MORE snow for your trails! How much snowfall have you gotten already this season? At my sister's house in Maryland right outside of Washington they have already surpassed their average yearly snowfall of 14.7 inches. 18 on Monday and 3 more Friday morning. Lake Norman averages 3.1 inches of snow a year. Bring it on!!! Ha! ( I can hear you Michiganders and our Canadian brother Derrick laughing!)

 

[Jack M]

I can't believe that you guys up there in Michigan need MORE snow for your trails! How much snowfall have you gotten already this season? At my sister's house in Maryland right outside of Washington they have already surpassed their average yearly snowfall of 14.7 inches. 18 on Monday and 3 more Friday morning. Lake Norman averages 3.1 inches of snow a year. Bring it on!!! Ha! ( I can hear you Michiganders and our Canadian brother Derrick laughing!)

Not everyone in Mi wants more snow

 

[BigD]

19 this morning here in Central NC. First morning below 20. I heard yesterday we average 12 nights below 20. Last year there was 1. This is the first this year. Global warming. Lol. In all seriousness, when I was much younger, our pond used to freeze over every winter. Haven't seen it do that in many, many years. Maybe 25.

 

[Vikingstaff]

We got a big burst in our cottage area in early Dec, but it then melted. The warm up hampered lake ice development too. That said, other areas of Michigan have more snow. Snowfall in Michigan is pretty inconsistent depending on location, with lake effect areas being the best for it.

Anyway, it takes a fair amount of snow to hard pack and groom trails for snowmobiles…and help mitigate the damage to those trails by SxS throttle jockeys. The more the better in that regard.

Also, when you have 100’s of snowmobiles packing down snow daily on weekends, fresh snow is a premium. 6-10”+ of fresh snow per week is nice to have for us snowmobilers. Without it, you cannot keep the snowmoblies running because their motors overheat easily (liquid cooling motors need snow kicked up from the track across their radiator under your seat, as well as keeping the hyfax lubricated so it doesn’t melt). Probably not a thought for non-snowmobilers….

Our old cottage averaged about 10’ of snow per year (7.5-11’ range annually). Our “new” cottage on Houghton Lake (just 45 minutes SE from the older one, but outside the main lake effect snow belt) is about 5-6’ annually. Thus a big drop off. The difference may not seem like much, but it is if you do a lot of winter activities: snowmobiling, skiiing, etc…

 

[Michiman]

Houghton Lake is always in that tweener area when it comes to snow. Almost always west and north of us between snow patterns and lake effect off of Lake Michigan. We got some, but based on my security cameras, not 10”. I head up Sunday for a week or two. Hoping to get some winter activities in, along with a little cottage work.

Lucky you! We still need to tackle those electrical tasks. Maybe in February when the wife and daughter head down to Florida for a soccer tournament.

 

[Vikingstaff]

0”

Lucky you! We still need to tackle those electrical tasks. Maybe in February when the wife and daughter head down to Florida for a soccer tournament.

I am getting that electrical taken care of this upcoming week. You’ve got plenty with your new place up there, and I didn’t want to take up your time on something like that. I do however appreciate the offer!!!

With that said, if you have some freed up time come Feb when your wife and daughter are in FL for the soccer tourney, perhaps I can swing by and get you out on the snowmobiles…? Zoom, zoom.

 

[BigKahuna]

19 this morning here in Central NC. First morning below 20. I heard yesterday we average 12 nights below 20. Last year there was 1. This is the first this year. Global warming. Lol. In all seriousness, when I was much younger, our pond used to freeze over every winter. Haven't seen it do that in many, many years. Maybe 25.

Yup pretty chilly last night! Actually turned on a small heater in our well housing just as a precaution. Any colder and I'll have to put a blanket on my palm tree! Ha!

 

[BigD]

Yup pretty chilly last night! Actually turned on a small heater in our well housing just as a precaution. Any colder and I'll have to put a blanket on my palm tree! Ha!

If you have power in your well housing, they make thermostatically controlled electrical sockets that can turn a lamp on automatically when it gets cold. Maybe you knew that ? Don't know what kind of housing you have. I have a thick concrete housing stuffed full of fiberglass insulation. It never gets cold enough to freeze in there, and it's seen multiple nights in the single digits in a single week a few years ago. Our rental has a wooden housing with a heat lamp on the socket I reference above. Set to come on below 30 degrees. Works great.

 

[BigKahuna]

If you have power in your well housing, they make thermostatically controlled electrical sockets that can turn a lamp on automatically when it gets cold. Maybe you knew that ? Don't know what kind of housing you have. I have a thick concrete housing stuffed full of fiberglass insulation. It never gets cold enough to freeze in there, and it's seen multiple nights in the single digits in a single week a few years ago. Our rental has a wooden housing with a heat lamp on the socket I reference above. Set to come on below 30 degrees. Works great.

Yes I have power in the well housing. I used to put a utility construction type light with a 100 watt bulb. You'd be surprised how much heat that bulb puts out. The housing is made up of brick that matches the house and it has that expanding foam insulation on the walls.