Winter Storm Fern Thread January 2026

We got lucky, it stayed just above freezing when the rain started. But a couple hrs north, around Gainesville, everything is ice. ammoaddict in NC said everything was solid ice there, couldn't even back the tractor ou of the shed...

 

We got 16 inches 0n top of the 8 inches we already had, temps in the single digits and low teens so it was very light. I recognize your snow gauge from Ryan ya all, he's my go to guy.

 

Measured the path I had shoveled when it was at 7" and there was another 5.5" at 8am Monday. So 12.5" to that point - that doesn't count any drifted areas. Snow blowed and shoveled from somewhere around 8:40am thru 10:30am (I have a lot of pathways). Actually, right after I got most everything cleaned up except my truck, right around it, and my front stairs I started getting freezing mist. Yes, at 20* I was getting mist that was freezing on contact. Must have had some warm air above. That lasted about an hour, then it started snowing again. Will go out and measure before cleaning that up this morning. Probably got 2-3" additional, but just going by what was expected.

Didn't think to take a picture of the berm from the second road plow leavings - this is the overspill from the deepest area. That ridge behind is where I had stopped snow blowing last night



Parking areas all cleaned up (10:30 am). Was going to go back out to clean off the truck and move it to clean up around it after recharging batteries - but it started with the freezing mist and later snow, so decided to wait until Tuesday.


I love seeing this evergreen after snow - it is a good indicator of how heavy the snow is. Heavy snows will make that 6-7' tall center branch flatten down to about 3'

 

Fern's backside dumped another 3 inches late yesterday. So, 18inches is the total.

 

It was 6 degrees here this morning. This stuff is going to be around a while. They haven't scraped any of the secondary roads.

 

Around 8 inches for me... and about an inch of sleet on top. Got the snow shoveled off the driveway on Sunday just in time for the sleet to arrive. Work closed on Monday, which gave me a chance to remove the sleet layer. That was PITA work... had to bust up all the sleet before shoveling it off. And, each chip of sleet took a layer of the gravel driveway with it. So, now much of the gravel is in the yard. But, at least we can get out and I'm not as sore as I thought I would be! Don't want to do that anytime soon again, thought!

 

It took an hour to get rid of the ice from my front steps to the driveway (about 15'). It was about a half inch or so thick. Wouldn't break up easily in the driveway so I just spread a trashcan full of wood ash It's messy but it aint slippery! I'm going to see if I can find my shingle remover tool and try to pry the ice up with that.

 

Yuppers , we got a lil snow.

 

Things are going okay. Drove to meet friends to see a movie and the roads are clear, or good enough. Tried to shovel a path at our mailboxes, but the handle on the end came off. Reset the wood screw and added Go Rilla glue . Lets see tomorrow.

going to see if the little Kubota can track through the deep snow tomorrow. It is 22* at the moment, but dropping to singles again.

i worry about my home on nights like we are having. You folks in Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Hampshire with the 30 below stuff, amaze me.

 

Took that pic as I was leaving Shaw's yesterday. Can't even tell there are businesses behind that pile - and there is a 5-7' incline.

Last part of grounds clean up from the storm was to clean off the truck, move it and snow blow what was piled just around it. Plus, on the other side is the retaining wall just 1.5-2' away, so the snowblower doesn't fit back there. Had 16" total from the storm (got off a lot lighter than we thought)





I have easily 200'+ of paths that I clear also (I blow back nearly all my road frontage too)

 

we are just comfortably numb. If something hurts ya ice it, we iced..

 

Clearing paths, walkways, and the rest of the 'misc.' areas definitely eats up some time. Years ago I used to snowblow the road frontage as well but haven't for quite some time.

I did something different after this last storm that I hadn't tried in the past. I have a well-used trail through my woods that I take the dog on multiple times a day for exercise. Slogged through it a few times after this last storm and with the 21" of fresh snow and drifts, I have to admit it was starting to get to me (the dog loved it). I had always cleared a path to the tree line but yesterday I just kept going with the snowblower. Hadn't planned to go far but it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be (relatively flat terrain and few obstacles). Finally got to a point where I could make a turnaround and did a second pass on the same route on the way out. Didn't do a full loop through the property as the other longer part of the trail has some obstacles that would prevent the snowblower from making a path. Maybe if/when I feel a bit better I'll try to tamp the other part of the trail down with snowshoes. Took a rough measurement this morning and had cleared about a 500' path through the woods. The things we do for our dogs...

 

Nice!

Make sure you have extra shear pins for the auger.

I walk/police the area I'm going to snowblow to my woodyard for anything that would gum up the works.

 

I always keep some extra shear pins handy! Since I walk that route through the woods so many times each day, I was fairly certain I wouldn't hit any unseen obstacles (I even know where the rocks are so was ready for those). I hit a couple small branches that had come down during the storm but that was it. Back in 2019 I was helping a neighbor out using the front blower on the tractor and they swore up and down that their driveway was clear of obstacles. Ended up catching a buried 6x6 railroad tie in the auger blades and for some reason, when it stopped it broke the chain instead of a shear pin. They did pay for a new chain but that was the last time I believed anyone about nothing being buried under the snow.

 

I always give the dog a path to get around the yard.

When we had chickens:

 

Yes our dog needs paths; wording it delicately he’s an intact male and doesn't like his dangly bits dragging in snow.. As a guy I understand

 

EODMSgt I'm glad you didn't hit any fallen branches causing a shear pin to bust!

I though for sure that would have been the result of the blowing in the woods story.

 

Classic!

Correct me if I'm wrong......isn't this one of wildwest all time favorite pics?

 

Driveway still frozen solid ice. Slid all the way down the hill, finally came to a stop just before the highway.