This is my last post for the season. I hope you all had a great winter and that you have a terrific summer! Time to put away the sleds and bring out the ORV's, bikes, canoes, kayaks, or whatever summer toys you have. Stay tuned for next winter's reports.

Trail conditions are currently poor - icy in spots, wet in spots. Spring conditions prevail.
National Weather Service forecast:
Wednesday: Snow showers likely and areas of blowing snow. Cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 16 by 5pm. Wind chill values as low as -1. Windy, with a west wind between 25 and 30 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Wednesday Night: Snow showers and areas of blowing snow. Low around 6. Wind chill values as low as -7. West wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Thursday: Scattered snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 18. Wind chill values as low as -8. West wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -1. Wind chill values as low as -8. West wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 34. Southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 17.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 41.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.

Sunday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43.

According to the groomer driver who gives me his report, the weather is going to be dismal, ugly and lousy. (etc. etc. etc.) The national weather service forecast is below. Conditions will deteriorate according to how warm it is and how much rain we get. I've been walking around without my winter coat on for 2 days now.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a steady temperature around 40. West wind around 10 mph.

Friday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 26. West wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.

Saturday: A chance of rain and snow after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday Night: A chance of rain and snow before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. Northeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday: Rain and snow likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. East wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Latest report from the groomers is that conditions are very good right now, but the weather will be of concern for later in the week. Trails are flat and traffic is so light that they don't need to groom today. If you can get up here and ride during the week, that's your best bet. Here's the weather from the National Weather Service...
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 23. Wind chill values as low as zero. West wind around 5 mph.

Tuesday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 6. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of snow before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 16. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. South wind around 10 mph.

Thursday Night: A 50 percent chance of rain or drizzle. Cloudy, with a low around 33.

Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39.

Friday Night: A chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21.

Saturday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 30.

Saturday Night: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21.

Sunday: A chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39.

Despite some freezing rain, there is still lots of snow and groomers are running their regular schedules. If you were concerned about what the fast-moving storm would do to conditions, trails made it through in good shape. Keith, groomer driver said that corners could be a bit icy, but that the low lying areas that got soft should freeze up soon with the colder temps so don't hesitate to come up riding.

Sorry I haven't updated yet this week - I've been in Lansing meeting with some of our Legislators. So this will be real speedy since I'm tired and want to go home. Trails are in great shape and being groomed. Some mixed precipitation is being predicted for tomorrow, but temps are supposed to stay close to freezing and trail groomer Keith said a bit of moisture won't hurt the trails. Stay tuned for more updates. I'm headed home to see my family.

We received another 2-3 inches of snow last night and trails are being groomed. Be careful around corners and watch for ice under all the snow. Please remember that trails deteriorate in direct relation to how many sleds are out. Also watch out for 2 groomers running in tandem, so if you pass one groomer, there may be another one close behind.

From the National Weather Service:
Friday: Snow showers, mainly before 1pm, then a chance for flurries. High near 21. West wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of around an inch possible.

Friday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 7. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Saturday: Snow, mainly after 1pm. High near 22. Calm wind becoming east between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Saturday Night: Snow, mainly before 1am. Low around 10. Wind chill values as low as zero. North wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Sunday: A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 20. Northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph.

Talked to one of our county's volunteer groomer drivers a bit ago - he said that yes, they are grooming and trails are in good shape currently. He did caution to watch out for some ice under the snow. It's snowing and blowing out there right now...only caught a few inches out of the last storm but there's plenty of snow anyway.
Here's the latest weather report for those of you who don't feel like looking it up...
This Afternoon: Snow showers and widespread blowing snow. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 15. Wind chill values as low as -5. Breezy, with a west wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Tonight: Occasional snow showers and widespread blowing snow. Low around 9. Wind chill values as low as -7. Northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Friday: Snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 22. Wind chill values as low as -1. West wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Friday Night: A chance of flurries. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 6. West wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Saturday: A 50 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 22. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.

Saturday Night: A 50 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 8.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 20.

Keith, head of the groomer drivers for the AuSable Valley Snowmobile Association just called me from his sled - said he's having a great ride and is going to send the groomers back out. The 3-4 inches of snow we got over the weekend on top of what we had left from the Great Melt, is enough to groom. The weather report is predicting snow with colder temps the rest of the week, so it looks like this coming weekend will be a good one to ride.

Keith, head of the groomer drivers for the AuSable Valley Snowmobile Association just called me from his sled - said he's having a great ride and is going to send the groomers back out. The 3-4 inches of snow we got over the weekend on top of what we had left from the great melt, is enough to groom. The weather report is predicting snow with colder temps the rest of the week, so it looks like this coming weekend will be a good one to ride.

Word from the AuSable Valley Snowmobile Association groomer driver is that trails are ice and dirt and in poor condition. Nothing in the short term weather forecast is promising any amounts of snow, but stay tuned. It's still only the middle of February. I'll update again if we get enough snow to improve conditions.

Trails are groomed as of 2/9/09 but watch the weather. Trails may survive if we don't get the rain that is predicted or it is colder than expected. Stay tuned for further updates.

Weather as per National Weather Service...
This Afternoon: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42. Southeast wind around 10 mph.

Tonight: Rain, mainly between 1am and 4am. Areas of fog after 1am. Low around 36. Southeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of rain or drizzle before 1pm. Patchy fog before 1pm. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 50. South wind between 5 and 15 mph.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Wednesday: Rain. High near 46. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Wednesday Night: Rain likely before 10pm, then rain and snow likely between 10pm and 1am, then snow likely after 1am. Cloudy and breezy, with a low around 29. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Thursday: A 40 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 32.

Thursday Night: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 16.

Friday: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 29.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 13.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 28.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 8.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 28.

The groomers are still running and trails should be in super condition for Thursday and Friday. All bets are off when it comes to the weekend, due to the weather forecast. Stay tuned for more updates.

See below from the National Weather Service.
Thursday: A chance of flurries after 1pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 23. Wind chill values as low as -14. Southwest wind between 5 and 15 mph.

Thursday Night: A chance of flurries before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 14. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 31. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.

Friday Night: A chance of freezing drizzle after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25.

Saturday: A chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 37. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday Night: A chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 34.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 17.

The latest word from Keith, groomer driver for the all-volunteer AuSable Valley Snowmobile Association, is that they are grooming. No surprise there. Trails are currently in great condition - with that comes our normal warning of "trails will deteriorate with heavy sled traffic". Our other standard warning is for you to watch out for grooming equipment running in tandem, particularly on Saturday. Now that the snow is piling up, if you see a groomer in an area that has high banks, you may need to turn around until you find a place where the groomer can pass you. The grooming equipment is much bigger than a sled, and in a contest of sled vs. groomer, the sled (and its driver), will always lose! Please remember that the groomer drivers in our area do not receive pay for their work - so give them a friendly wave as you drive by.

Weather:
Friday: Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 13. Wind chill values as low as -8. West wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Friday night: Snow showers likely, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 8. Wind chill values as low as -7. West wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Saturday: Snow likely, mainly before 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 25. Wind chill values as low as -6. West wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Saturday Night: A chance of freezing drizzle. Cloudy, with a low around 21. Southwest wind between 10 and 15 mph.

Sunday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 30. West wind around 10 mph.

Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 16.

Trails continue to be groomed and are in great condition. The weather forecast for this week is for cold temperatures and some snowfall. No big shake-ups in the immediate future. For those of you who haven't managed to make it up sledding yet this winter, we have lots of snow - the NOAA snow graph shows 15-20 inches, but I'm pretty sure we have way more than that. And if you ask my husband, who plows our driveway, he'd swear we have about 10 feet.