Today's weather and how to use fencing

Good morning Augusta.

We are under yet another storm watch. Gas up the snowblower again.

This morning it is mostly cloudy with a chance of snow in the afternoon. Fog early. High of 19F. Winds from the WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%.

Tonight it will be overcast with a chance of snow. Low of 3F with a windchill as low as -6F. Winds from the North at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 50% with accumulations up to 2 in. possible. 

The readings from my own weather instruments are:

The humidity is 74% with a dew point of 1ºF, Temperature is 7.6ºF and a wind chill of  7.6ºF

Our wind direction is NorthWest between 0.0 MPH and  1.0 MPH. 

The Barometric pressure is 30.08 HPA 1018 and falling with a weather graphic indicating clouds.

The UV rating is 0 out of 16, Sunrise is at 6:50 a.m. sunset is 4:56 PM and Moon Rise is 8:46 p.m. EDT and the moon phase is waning Gibbous. 

For the pilots out there Raw Metar is:

METAR KAUG 071153Z AUTO 21004KT 10SM CLR M13/M16 A2999 RMK AO2 SLP164 T11281156 11111 21128 51011

Visibility is 10.0 miles/16.1 Kilometers with clear skies.

We have had no additional snow over the past 24 hours.

Everything you ever needed to know about Snow fence

Snow fencing, when properly installed, is a great way to control where snow drifts along a road, driveway, property line or anywhere. The concept is rooted in basic physics and does not actually cause a barrier to the snow driving. It causes snow to drift in a particular way by controlling the wind that, when left to its own natural tendencies, will drift snow across open areas until it is blocked by a tree, curb, wall, house or other physical impediment.

Types of Snow Fence

There are two most common types of snow fencing. The first, and oldest, is a wooden and wire fence made of vertical wooden slats about an inch and a half wide wired together with equal distance spaces between the slats. The more contemporary type of fence is made of plastic, usually orange netting material. Both fences roll up easily and are installed by affixing them to equally-spaced fence posts along the line you intend to force a snow drift to develop.

How it Works

Snow fencing is designed to work by actually slowing the speed of the wind to a point where the snow itself drops out of the wind and falls into a drift on the downwind side of the fence. As the snow loses speed and falls, the particles melt slightly and refreeze with the other fallen snow, making a smooth, seamless and controllable drift along the fence rather than drifting merely according to the random whims of weather and wind.

Installation

Posts should be buried at least 1 to 1.5 feet into firm soil and placed about twice as wide as the fence is tall; that is, 8-foot spacing for a standard 4-foot snow fence. The fencing material should be affixed to each post firmly. If the fence is loose, it will not be nearly as effective. The fence should also have at least 5 inches of space between the bottom of the fence and the ground to allow wind to pass through easily.

Placement

Depending on the amount of snow and severity of the winter or storm, snow can drift up to 20 or 30 times the height of the fence, so be sure to leave at least that much space between the fence and any roadways, driveways or other areas you wish the snow to pile up. The snowdrift will start to form downwind from the spot where you choose to place your fence.