Wet Friday

If you live in the Augusta area, DO NOT look outside. It's a mess out there.

It is wet, foggy and its going to get worse before the day is out.

We are expecting temps to reach the low to mid 60's today with stretches of very heavy rain with thunder and lightening  possible later in the day.

This morning's readings are:

a relative humidity of 98% with a Dew Point of 60.3ºF.

The temperature is 60.8ºF, with no wind chill at this time. 

What little wind we have so far is between 4.0 mph and 5.2 mph out of the North Northeast. Today's wind is going to remain variable and is not expected to exceed 10 mph.

Our Barometric pressure is 29.69 and falling.

The rainfall for yesterday was 0.43 inches. So far this morning we have had drizzles, and that is expected to get increasingly worse as the day progresses.

Now, since snow is not all that farr off, just for review, I wanted to post a spot on "How to rake snow off of your roof". For those of you who live in places like North Carolina, stop laughing. For those of you who have lived a lifetime up here in snow country, stop laughing.

For those of you  who have just moved up to snow country and haven't had to deal with snow on your roof, pay attention, you need to know this.

 

Written by a gentleman named Edward Abbott

If you live in an area where it snows a lot, you may find yourself raking snow off of your roof. In a well-designed house, this is rarely necessary. Not all houses, however, are well-designed for snow.

1.Buy a snow rake.

This is the first step. Typically, snow rakes are sold at the hardware store in snow country.

Snow rakes come in kits which you assemble yourself.

2.Buy more than one snow rake if your roof is a long way from the ground.

Buying more than one kit allows you to assemble two kits together to make a snow rake that is extra long.

Here you have to be careful. Since you are now exceeding the design specification of the rake, you must handle your snow rake very carefully being sure not to stress it or flex it too much.

3.Build a path around the house so that you can walk on top of the snow.

I consider this to be an essential step. One half hour of building paths through the snow so that you can walk on top of it will save you lots of trudging through deep snow and falling into holes.

You don't want to be falling into holes. This really slows you down. Trust me on this one.

How do I build a path? I walk through the snow taking little tiny baby steps retracing my steps many times.

The idea is to create a flat surface that you can walk on as easily as you would walk on a narrow sidewalk.

I've thought of using snow shoes but have rejected this solution. To me, there's nothing that is better than walking on hardened and flat snow with my own two feet. 

4.Go for the easy stuff first.

Since the whole point of snow-raking is to remove weight off the roof so that it does not collapse under the weight, you might as well go after the easy stuff first.

I do the easy stuff first and then if I have the time and energy, I go after the hard stuff that is higher up.

5.Remember that it is harder to move snow once it hits the ground than it is to get it off the roof in the first place.

Snow falls easily off the roof because you have a fall line working in your favor. Once it hits the ground, you have to pick it up and throw it with a shovel.

I'm very careful not to remove more snow than I can shovel. Of course, it helps if you own a snow-blower.

6.Leave a protective layer of snow on the roof.

Remember! You don't have to get all the snow. Just the excess that threatens the load-bearing capacity of the roof.

7.Rake a little snow each day.

If you do a little bit each day, you won't have to worry about it accumulating. Generally speaking, it is not any one storm that will collapse a roof. It is a series of storms -- each building on the next.

8.Consider your roof your winter health club.

This is a health club where you pay no dues and you don't have to get in the car to get there. You simply go outside and start raking anytime you need exercise.

9.Be aware that snow rakes destroy gloves.