Early mud season for Maine and NH this year?

[peakbagger]

There has been plenty of good sized storms of late that have hit the whites and Maine. More than a few storms have also stayed south and grazed the coastal downeast but the vast majority of them have been rain instead of snow. This sometimes changes in the last stretch of winter but right now the high summits in NH are about 50/50 between bare and snow covered. In NH the snowmobile trails are closed due to lack of snow and I expect the trails are in similar condition in Maine. At my place in the northern whites my normal snowpack this time of year is 2 to three feet, I see bare patches in much of the woods and I have had so little snow even my snowbanks from infrequent plowing are mostly gone.

Even in the woods up high, many aren't using snow shoes as at most there is foot of new stuff on top of solid crust or copious amounts of ice. If this weather keeps up we could have really early mud season. AT BSP the limiting factor to when they open has been how quickly the park road melts and dries rather than the condition of the trails to summit. With low snow and fewer snowmachines using the road, it too may also melt out early. I am curious if there will be shift of SOBOs this year to take advantage of any early spring?

[Puddlefish]

I'd prefer to hike SOBO, but I'd hesitate to to change any plans based on a few days of warm late February weather. I'd hate to delay my April NOBO start, just to find that it rains for a month straight up north and they don't open Baxter any earlier.


Speaking of which, my car is currently parked in 3" of water, I need to go move it, before it drops back to 10 degrees and ices in for the next month.

[Snowleopard]

Slo-go'en's thread says the same thing: http://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthre...rly-mud-season
Mud season is likely to be early and messy in southern New England also -- warm temps, lots of rain, not much snow. It's nasty here on the Mass-NH border.

[Slo-go'en]

I just got back from a ride to North Conway (EMS) and I was surprised there is still snow on the ground south of Pinkham Notch all the way into N. Conway, maybe as much as a foot in places! North and west of there, we got nothing. Saw a Rainbow over Gorham on my way back, never thought I'd ever see one of those in late February in these parts!

The mountains of central Maine got a bit more snow then we did, so I expect Maine will take a little longer to thaw out but it will be a good month ahead of normal.

[Deadeye]

It's only February, there's still more than 2 months of winter to go in the mountains. Plenty of time for plenty of snow. I wouldn't count on anything being earlier/later/wetter/drier/colder/warmer than usual just yet.