was the driest year of the three previous runnings, and there were short snowbanks to cross over most of the major passes, with a substantial amount (thigh deep) below Virginus Pass. In '95 almost the entire course was under snow, and the run was cancelled because of it. Expect anything in between. We'll post periodic snow reports here, as the season progresses. You can also check them yourself. There are unseasonable bare spots on the peaks above Silverton.

Snow removal was done by High School custodians and Buildings and Grounds employees. It will be improved for the winter of 2006/2007 -- there were a few problems this past winter stemming from miscommunications between the two groups. A snow fighter meeting will be held in late October 2006, between the two groups to make sure assignments are clearly understood.

In principle it can snow at any temperature below freezing. It snows at the South Pole even though the temperature is rarely above -40 C (-40 F). In more hospitable climates, however, it doesn't snow so much when the temperature is below around -20 C (-4 F). When a parcel of moist air cools, it starts producing snow before it gets that cold. By the time the temperature drops to -20 C, the snow has already fallen and the air is pretty dry.

The story of the Southern Pacific passenger train stranded in the snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains in 1952 after an avalanche has been told in newspaper articles and in a book entitled Snowbound Streamliner by Robert J. Church. The train City of San Francisco was stuck in the snow for three days near Yuba Pass while heroic efforts were made to rescue the passengers in which two SPRR employees lost their lives. It was partly engineering and partly political.

The six-fold symmetry of a snow crystal ultimately derives from the hexagonal geometry of the ice crystal lattice. But the lattice has molecular dimensions, so it's not trivial how this nano-scale symmetry is transferred to the structure of a large snow crystal. The way it works is through faceting. No long-range forces are necessary to form facets; they appear simply because of how the molecules hook up locally in the lattice (see Crystal Faceting for how this works).

Not many people are thinking about why snow crystals look like they do, and most of them are meteorologists looking at how snow crystal formation affects the properties of cold clouds. Here is a partial list (in no particular order), along with contact information (in the links): I have also been collaborating with David Griffeath and Janko Gravner, who are mathematicians working on cellular automata methods for computer modeling of snow crystal formation.

A frequently asked question from the owners of Gilson and other machines concerns throwing distance. There are many things that enter in the throwing distance including the machine, operator technique and natural conditions including the snow and wind. If your blower belt is damaged or a poorly chosen substitute for an OEM belt then it may be slipping. It's always best to use the OEM belt. It is worth the few extra dollars. Your engine should always be running at full speed while blowing snow.

If a student transfers from one district to another, the student is still required to take the appropriate tests. LEP students would be required to take the NYSASLAT tests. NCLB requires grade-by-grade performance indicators for each of grades 3-8. NYS is committed to providing performance indicators for PreK ? 12 in both mathematics and ELA. The following guidance/materials will be posted on the Department's website at www.emsc.nysed.gov throughout the school year.

To see why snowflakes look like they do, consider the life history of a single snow crystal, as shown in the diagram at right. (Click on the picture for a larger view.) The story begins up in a cloud, when a minute cloud droplet first freezes into a tiny particle of ice. As water vapor starts condensing on its surface, the ice particle quickly develops facets, thus becoming a small hexagonal prism. For a while it keeps this simple faceted shape as it grows.