The Big One

It was supposed to rain all day Saturday, turning to snow after 11 p.m.

We heard all sorts of forecasts. Pat Bernard said he heard we were supposed to get as much as 18 inches. The NOAA forecast couldn't seem to decide. During the day the estimates varied from 3 to 11 inches.

When the rain didn't materialize until after dark, Gerald thought the forecast wrong. He had arranged for us to meet a group of friends in Prescott the next day and was confident we were going to make it.

I got up at 3 a.m. and looked outside. It was impressive. I told Gerald we got several inches. I think he thought I was joshing him until he got up and saw it for himself. It looked like more snow than we've ever seen, including during the storm that stranded us there between Christmas and New Years.

Here's another view from the front porch.

Pat Barnard had told us that the best snow guage was a straight-sided bucket.

Just as it started to rain, Gerald decided to put a large, chili can outside to use as a gauge. It would be the small bump in the snow to the right of the pole.

When Gerald went out to get it, he measured the depth of the snow in the ground in a couple of places. His measurements varied between 6 and 8 inches.

Not that we think this is accurate, but here's what we measured from the can.