Mitch
@mitchvtwx
B.S. Meteorology, M.S. Applied Meteorology, Plymouth State University. Vermonter by Choice, Meteorologist, Dendrophile, #ActuallyAutistic, Snow Lover, He/Him, 🏳️🌈
I give up! I didn’t think groundhogs ate marigolds, but I guess this one does…
MassDOT needs to replace those Cape Cod bridges stat! It's pretty much like this all of the time now...
Here's another hybrid white oak example, also from Stockbridge, MA. This tree exhibits traits of both a white oak (Quercus alba) and a Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa). There's quite a bit of leaf variation on the same tree. A white & bur oak hybrid is Bebb's oak (Quercus x bebbiana).
The various species of trees in the white oak group love to hybridize. This tree in Stockbridge, MA exhibits traits of both swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) and bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa). A cross between these two species is known as a Schuette's oak (Quercus x schuettei).
What's a chess burger? Or a grill chess? ♟️😂 $17 for a kid's menu burger or $10 a for grilled cheese is absolutely insane too. 🙄 Seen at a mall food court in Lee, MA.
It’s not often that North Adams, MA achieves “Busy Area” status on Google Maps! Yay!
There’s currently more pollen on my truck than I think I will see for snow during this upcoming super El Niño winter. Achoo! 🤧
Big wind turbine tower sections heading east on NY-7 from Troy, NY toward Bennington, VT likely en route to Searsburg, VT, where Green Mountain Power is replacing several wind turbines on Sleepy Hollow Road. They're just massive! Numerous escort vehicles including NYS Police.
Albino American beech saplings. Due to a rare genetic mutation, they lack the ability to produce chlorophyll and perform photosynthesis, sucking off the nutrients from a nearby parent tree with a shared root system to survive. This elevates the term "sucker" to a whole new level, doesn't it?
While we're at it on this beautiful spring day, my final winter snowfall total was 142.3". All in all a pretty ho hum winter for my location. The two big storms on 1/25-26 and 2/22-23 underachieved and fringed my area, respectively. Here are some photos from peak snow depth...
Interesting wind profile on the 00z 5/15/26 ALB sounding. Backing wind in the low levels (NE to NW), veering above 850 mb (NW to SE to SW). Indicative of a steeply sloping east to west low with the surface low near Cape Cod, while the 500 mb low is over 300 miles west...
Munch, munch! My resident groundhog is busy chomping down on fresh spring grass, clover, and dandelions.
What is this goddamn Looney Tunes about releasing some silly made up UFO files? Where are the Epstein files? Release them now!
Corpse flower-Titan arum blooming and on display at UConn in Storrs, CT. Worth the 2+ hour drive and a 90 minute wait in line to view! It will only be in bloom for 24-36 hours and the plant takes about 13 years to reach flowering stage from seed. It blooms about once every 4-5 years thereafter.
It was worth the drive and wait! Stood in line for about 90 minutes, but it was much longer by the time I left.
Moose! 🫎 I was lucky enough to spot this moose in the Deerfield River just north of Readsboro a little while ago. First time seeing one in a long time. Today is my lucky day.
Hello there! Welcome back! My resident broad winged hawk has returned for the summer from Central/South America.
Public transport is better in many airports in this country than it is in many of our cities. 🙄 The air tram at Detroit Airport (DTW).
I’ve been on this plane for 3+ hours now. At least the WiFi is working and there are some nice views.
Plant ID tidbit! From left to right: Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), Butternut (Juglans cinerea), Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina). The latter two are native species that can easily be confused with the highly invasive Tree of Heaven, which is a pox on the landscape.
Clash of the seasons! Spring vs. winter. Spring may be winning in the valleys, but winter is still hanging on the mountains, at least for now. Today would have been perfect weather for a solar eclipse. We still lucked out 2 years ago today, but today would have been absolutely perfect.
Safe to say that this brand new roundabout (traffic circle, rotary, whatever you want to call it) at the intersection of US-7 and MA-43 in South Williamstown, MA has had a rough go of it lately.
When in Connecticut... No, it may not be the original one on Wooster Street in New Haven, but the tomato pie is just as good at this West Farms Mall location, if not very close to it. Been years since I've had an ah-beetz...