Lake Superior – Page 20 – M. Sullivan Photography

March 4, 2012March 4, 2012 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Photos, Skiing, Sledding, Weather

Lake Effect

When you live next to the world’s largest fresh water lake, you become familiar with how it can change the weather – heavy fog, cooler summers, warmer winters and lake effect snow. Weather forecasters are often inaccurate when predicting temperatures or precipitation when the winds change and start blowing off the lake. The forecast on Friday evening was for flurries overnight and up to 3 inches of snow accumulating throughout the day Saturday. I would have to say that they were a bit off…once again. Here’s what we actually received.

We woke up to several inches Saturday morning and it continued throughout the entire day. By evening we had over a foot of snow and by Sunday morning we had reached 14.5 inches. Mike pulled the snow blower out three times during the day Saturday so that we could get out to two playoff basketball games for Sebastian, register the kids for ski races and make a run to the grocery store. Sophia had decided on a breakfast dinner for winning the previous snow total bet so we had to pick up supplies. We didn’t bother to make a bet for this next “storm” since the original forecast had minimal accumulation expected.

The nice thing about lake effect snow is that it is light and fluffy. Not like the heavy stuff we received during our “blizzard” last week. Speaking of our blizzard snow, Thursday was warm enough for Mike and Sophia to make this guy during their day off from work and school.

Here’s what he looked like this morning when I was out shoveling our driveway…again.

Sophia had a friend over Saturday during our snow event. Her friend lives just blocks from our house, so it is was a short walk through the snow to get here. She came prepared in snow gear and with a sled. The girls took turns going down our newly complete sledding course in the backyard – the one I didn’t think we would have this year since we had grass in the backyard two weeks ago.

They also tried a couple of runs together on one sled.

They trudged through the deep snow and found a perfect spot to make snow angels.

They also found the biggest snow pile in the yard and climbed to the top.

Then they slid down.

They got tired from all the play outdoors and cold from the snow filtering in under their snow gear and played inside for the rest of the afternoon. By that time I think we were all tired of the snow.

Fast forward to Sunday morning, here’s what I saw when I was out shoveling at 7:45am.

After breakfast the kids headed out with Mike to have some fun in the snow.

Sunday afternoon the kids had their final ski race at Chester Bowl. The snow actually had ended by this time and the sun came out. It was warm on the slopes and the fresh powder made for some great skiing.

Here’s Sebastian – he’s the black spot with a red helmet in the center of the picture.

We hope to enjoy the new snow a bit more before the spring thaw hits. Temperatures are forecast to be in the 30’s and 40’s this week. We are looking forward to skiing with Mike’s Dad next weekend at Spirit Mountain and perhaps we can make a family for Mr. Snowman in the front yard before it all melts.

March 1, 2012March 1, 2012 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Photos, Weather

Leap Day Blizzard

We are used to hearing lots of hype surrounding storms that are predicted to hit our area. Last year we had the “blizzard that wasn’t” where predictions of 24″ of snow with high winds turned out to be one big windy day – no snow. We have become accustomed to lots of talk, but little to no snow. Late last week we started hearing about the big storm scheduled to arrive on Tuesday and continue through Wednesday evening. I was thinking, “here we go again”. We even started a wager at our house with what the total snow accumulation would be. The winner receiving a prize package to include control of the TV remote and the dinner selection for the evening. The weather forecasters had been predicting totals reaching up to 18 inches with blizzard conditions, high winds, dangerous travel, etc. I felt generous at guessing 6 inches for the storm total. Sebastian guessed 7 inches, Sophia 7.5 inches and Mike went all out at 13.1 inches.

Tuesday evening came and went with no snow. I woke up 3am and looked out to see how much snow we had received – nada! When I got up for work at 5:30am, there was a small amount of snow blowing across the driveway and yard. The weather forecasters were lowering their predictions at this point, but still insisting a foot or more of snow would fall during the day. Schools and business all over the city and area were closed. Mike felt venturous and took my aging 4wd SUV to work. I stayed with the kids and worked from home.

The winds continued to pick up throughout the morning and the snow began to fall. By lunchtime, more businesses were closing, the city buses were only on emergency routes. Sebastian was getting bored with being inside and decide to venture out. Geared up with snow pants, boots, gloves and ski goggles, he proceeded to start shoveling our driveway. Unfortunately, it was a completely futile effort considering the winds gusts were clocked at over 50 mph during the day with a 65 mph gust along the bridge connecting Duluth and Superior. The light snow combined with the high winds caked icy snow on all of our windows – north-facing, south-facing, east and west – all caked with ice.

After realizing that he wasn’t getting very far with the driveway, he worked on our small back deck to clear the way to the backyard for Daphne to…well, you, know.. she’s a dog. Anyway, he came back in tired, covered with snow and ready for a snack.

We had a couple of very short power outages, a snowmobile or two drive by on our street and the power company truck drive by. We continued to stay inside until later in the afternoon. Sebastian headed out after 3pm and took another stab at the driveway. I felt bad watching him out the window so I decided to gear up and help. Sophia didn’t want to stay inside by herself, so she got her snow pants and boots on to join us. Even though the wind gusts could take your breath away, the temperatures were in the low 30’s. Not too bad by Minnesota standards. We worked on the driveway, built two forts, made snowballs and shoveled out Daphne’s path to the backyard…again. After 30 minutes of shoveling by hand, Mike arrived home from work and got out the snow blower.

Here’s a peek at the fun we had.

And my favorite photo…

The storm totals from the local weather service came in at 9.5 inches. Predictions were off once again, but at least we finally received enough snow to make it look like winter in Minnesota. As far as storms go, it was a pretty good one. Schools are canceled for the second day due to poor road conditions. Sebastian and Sophia were super excited about that. Mike stayed home with them and they are working on the “bobsled” course in the backyard. How cool is that? And last but not least, Sophia won the snow total bet. She is debating between mac & cheese, steak or pizza for her meal of choice. I’m not sure what will happen when she is in control of the TV remote. I’m glad she is beyond the princess/Dora stage. There may be hope for something entertaining.

Check back in the next few days. I’m sure we will have backyard sledding pictures to share. For now, here’s last year’s.

February 9, 2012 M. Sullivan Photography Landscapes, Photos

Beautiful Day

We have a hectic evening schedule today including conferences for both kids, gymnastics for Sophia, early registration for tomorrow’s ski races and a middle school open house for Sebastian. Good thing the morning started like this.