And You Are More Annoying Than Your Cousin, Polar Vortex

It is a balmy 47 degrees and raining here in Lake Placid. The warm, southerly wind makes the air smell like a moist Adirondack spring evening.

On January 11th, at 9:00 at night.

It was warm and rained, “heavy at times,” all day, so the ground is mostly bare of snow. Rushing rivulets force their way through frozen mud and grass. Roads are closed throughout the Adirondacks because of ice dams and flooding, and flash flood warnings remain posted through tonight. And let’s not forget the possible thunder storm.

The warm breezes and rain rode the Southern Jet Stream that ambled too far north last night, and they’ve all settled in for a visit. This is not your normal Adirondack January thaw; the unusual warmth comes on the heels of record breaking cold. Wind chill values were minus forty here in Lake Placid just a few days ago. The extreme fluctuations are bizarre and make outdoor recreation planning difficult and skiing impossible. Today’s walk turned into a morose assessment of the damage done and was cut short by torrential rain. But at least the lifestyle hound obeyed instructions and did not fall through the melting ice.

We are all ready for these extreme characters, those wandering trouble makers, Southern Jet Stream and Polar Vortex, to stay where they belong and let us enjoy winter in the Adirondacks.