Leech Lake, Muskoka

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Friday, January 29, 2010

Road Report January 28, 2010




After the rain of last weekend, the roads were badly damaged. However thanks to the cold weather over the past few days and the 7" of snow last evening we have been able to plow the roads back into good shape. Just be reminded to stay in the centre of the road.
Have fun!!!! Carol & Gerry

Friday, January 22, 2010

Posting on the Blog

If you wish to post something on the Leech Lake blog please contact me, the blog administrator, Alan Greenwood (agreenwood@rogers.com). Your submission can include text and pictures.

If you wish to comment on posts already submitted you can do so at the bottom of each post.

Alan Greenwood

Power Outage Announcement

We have, along with other cottagers on the North side, received the following call from Hydro One, we don't know if it effects the South side, as no one has mentioned it as of yet.

Planned power outage for this Sunday that Hydro One sent
Incident Id: 1432072
Customers Affected: 1327
Outage Start Time: Jan 24, 4:00 AM
Estimated Restoration: Jan 24, 6:00 AM
Cause: PLANNED\CONTROL ROOM


Jerry and Carol

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Road Report - January 21, 2010




Hope you enjoy the photos. We have had just a dusting of snow this week. The roads are still in great shape. This morning it's -17, cold, sunny and beautiful. But be aware that the weatherman is calling for rain on Sunday.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Record-Breaking Snowfall

This article appeared in the Muskoka Weekender January 8, 2010

Record-Breaking Snowfall Amounts for December

Muskoka breaks 1985 record for the month

Bi-line: Karen Longwell

Muskoka: It was a record white Christmas for Muskoka.

The district last month broke a 1985 snowfall record for the month of December when it received double the amount of snow it typically gets, according to Environment Canada.

At the same time, areas in southern Ontario saw less snowfall than normal, according to the agency..

The previous record for most snow in Muskoka was 194.6 centimetres, set in 1985. December 2009 saw 199.4 centimetres for the region, well above the typical 87.6 centimetres for the month. A two-day storm, Dec. 10 and 11 dumped upwards of 95 centimetres in some parts of the district, including Bracebridge.

Snow measurements are taken at Muskoka Airport. Records have been gathered in Muskoka since 1934, said Environment Canada warning preparedness meteorologist Peter Kimbell.

November's unseasonably warm temperatures resulted in warmer water on the Great Lakes in December, according to Environment Canada. These warmer than normal lake temperatures combined with very cold arctic air flooding down late on Dec. 9 provided the ideal setup for significant lake effect snow. For much of Dec. 10-11, a series of snow squalls developed in the flow from the northwest off Lake Superior, Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, according to Environment Canada.

"December is typically the month when most lake effect snow occurs for the simple reason that the cold air is arriving from the north and it flows over the relatively warm water," said Kimbell.

One particularly intense and persistent snow squall moved inland south of Parry Sound through the Gravenhurst, Bracebridge and Minden areas, resulting in record-setting snowfalls in some of these communities.

"Unfortunately, this year there was a very strong band that basically clobbered that particular area (Muskoka and Minden)," said Kimbell.

At its most intense, this snow squall penetrated hundreds of kilometres inland, bringing snow to areas south of Ottawa, according to the release.

Bracebridge and Gravenhurst areas were hit particularly hard with the long-lasting,strong snow squall,said Kimbell.

Future forecast:

Muskokans can still expect more winter for the coming months.

The seasonal forecast for January and February suggests below normal temperatures and precipitation for this area, said Kimbell.

"That is really just a best guess," he added.

For the immediate future Muskoka can expect not much in the way of snow, said Kimbell. Right now, the winds are from the north, which means no lake effect snow in the next few days, he predicted

Thursday, January 14, 2010

A Bizarre Road Event

On December 28th we headed to Bracebridge to conduct some cottage business. Once the business was finished we headed to Leech Lake. We do not use our cottage in the winter so we wanted to see how the cottage roof was holding up given the large snow falls earlier in the month.We are located at 1068 Lakeshore RD S. We drove in past our cottage and used Carl Henze's driveway to turn around and head back toward our cottage. We arrived at the top of our driveway. I went down to have a brief look at the roof and when I came back there was a cream/gold coloured SUV/Crossover parked up the slope just at the bend in the road (The road bends around a rock and the power lines at that point.) I got in the car and wondered what to do as backing down to Henze's was a long distance.

The two folks in the vehicle opposite sat there not moving. I thought I should therefore initiate some action so I pulled over, actually getting my left tires in the snow bank. The folks in the Vehicle opposite started to come forward. When they got opposite they too got their wheels in the snow bank and were stuck. Fortuitously I had put a shovel in our vehicle. So I retrieved the shovel and proceeded to shovel a path for the stuck wheels. Still the folks in the vehicle opposite stoically watched as I shoveled. After a couple of attempts they were able extricate themselves from the snow bank. They then drove off without stopping and saying a word; not "thanks" or "how is your car".

Well now we are stuck and stuck big time. We have an "all wheel drive" vehicle but none of the wheels had solid traction. I had to dig through the road side snow bank to get traction for the back wheels. Just as I was making good progress, after about an hour, a fine couple, Rob and Deb, happened by and with Rob's brawn along with our son we were able extricate ourselves from the snowbank.

This was a bizarre incident in that we had no verbal communication with the folks opposite. It felt like we were in a sci-fi movie and this was an alien vehicle with expressionless aliens inside that could not open the windows or doors and get involved in our environment.

Alan Greenwood

Rd. Rept. and Answers to Anonymous

The roads right now are in excellent shape.

Answers to Anonymous:

It is impossible to get the road down to a gravel state even though we would love to. When it rains on the snow base of the road it makes it too heavy to be thrown by the snow blower,and if we used the grader to just push it to the side it would freeze then it would not be able to be moved at all thus narrowing the roads.

As for the "lay by" stretch you are referring to, there is at this time no where to pull into to make these spots without damaging my equipment.

Today the weather man is calling for rain then freezing rain later this afternoon and tonight and we will be back to a skating rink condition. All we can do is have patience and let mother nature do her thing and then we'll go back out clean up the roads.

Thanks for your question, hope this clears things up for you. Questions are always welcome, we will always try to answer them the best we can.

Jerry & Carol

P.S. At least with snow, there are no signs of black flies yet ha..., but the squirrels sure are scurrying around eating the seeds the birds are dropping.



Friday, January 08, 2010

Road Report - January 8th

Hello Everyone!! Happy New Year!

It is nice and sunny here in the great white north, the roads are cleared as well as all driveways under contract with us.

The road is in great shape, just a reminder, please when driving to your cottage, take your time, drive in the centre of the road, and you will have no problems.

The Craggs.