Wilkes University

A New Team But Same Old Uneasy Feeling

By DAWN SHURMAITIS Special to the Times Leader
 Wednesday, January 28, 2004 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





Ask most people to pinpoint the snowiest place on earth and the best guess
is usually Siberia, where the meteorological equivalent of Big Foot was the
discovery of an 8 by 12 inch snowflake. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Big as that 1971 snowflake was, it didn't add up to much,
accumulation-wise. On average, Siberia experiences only "scant" snowfall per
year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Most people think it snows there a lot, but it doesn't," says Paul
Hudspeth, of the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. "It's really
a cold desert. The thing is, though, that the first snowflake that ever fell
there is still there." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Siberia typically measures just 13 inches of precipitation per year -
including rain and snow. Northeastern Pennsylvania, by contrast, averages 47.8
inches of snowfall alone. But this year, like last year, is anything but
average, according to senior Accu Weather meteorologist Marshall Moss, of
State College. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As of Tuesday, 23.7 inches of snow has already fallen on the area. Another
8 to 10 inches was expected overnight and more snow is forecast for Friday.
Low temps will linger. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Last year, Northeastern Pennsylvania averaged 80 inches of snow, which,
technically speaking, is "transparent ice crystals formed around dust or other
(particles) in the atmosphere." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Put another way, 80 inches is a "whole lotta snow," Moss says. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But when it comes to record-busting, Washington is the state to beat. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For more than 30 years, Washington's Paradise Ranger Station in Mount
Rainier National Park boasted the world record for annual snowfall: 1,122
inches between July 1, 1971, and June 30, 1972. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That's 93.5 feet of snow. How much is that? Picture a basketball court
standing on end. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In the winter of 1998-99, however, Mount Baker kicked even Mount Rainier's
butt, breaking its record with 1,141 inches. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Washington Cascades, according to data center meteorologist William
Brown, experience "phenomenal snow" because of the proximity of a major
moisture source - the Pacific Ocean. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At Mount Rainier, expect to find 10 to 20 feet of snow on the ground on any
given winter day. Another 4 feet is expected this week, according to Donny
Ledford, Mount Rainier's telecommunications operator. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It ain't nothing," says Ledford, who nonetheless always sports skis, snow
shoes and 80 pound bags of sand in his Ford pickup. "I'll use my same old
regulation snow shovel." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Linda Conkrite, who commutes 26 miles to work in Mount Rainier, says snow
is not her biggest worry. "We got bear, elk, deer, coyote and cougars crossing
the road. But I'd rather deal with the animals up the mountain than the irate
drivers down in town." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If this year's snow proves too much for you to handle, consider a trip to
relatively dry Siberia. The 22-hour trek to Novosibirsk costs $800 round trip,
according to Miriam Giza of Boscov's travel center in Wilkes-Barre. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Leave your snow goggles behind, but bring your parka. Tuesday's temperature
in Novosibirsk? Minus-7 degrees, with a wind chill of minus 21. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 CUTLINE: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/DON CAREY &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ed Whitman of East Poplar Street in Plymouth Township might be grumbling
because he had to clear a bit of snow on Tuesday and today. But if he lived in
Mount Rainier, Wash., he might be shoveling 4 feet of snow this week. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Know your snow &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 More snow falls each year in southern Canada and the northern United
States than at the North Pole. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rochester, N.Y., is the snowiest city in the United States, averaging 94
inches of snow fall annually. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Very little snow falls in the Arctic. The mean precipitation for the area
is less than 2 inches annually, the same as many desert regions in the south.
No more moisture falls in the Arctic in a year than does in the Mojave Desert. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Large snowflakes can measure up to 2 inches across and contain hundreds of
individual crystals. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The heaviest snowfall in 24 hours was 76 inches at Silver Lake, Colo., on
April 15, 1921. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The fluffiest snow falls at temperatures around 15 degrees Fahrenheit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The colder it is outside, the smaller the snowflakes that fall. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Source: Webster's New World Dictionary, the Internet &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

You Think It's Snowy Here? Nepa Gets More Snow Than Say, Siberia, But Only Gets A Speck Of What Mt. Ranier Gets.