Spring is coming....too early to get out of "Snow Mode"?!?!

[RCW]

I've been on OTT 12 years. Some of our "old timer's" may remember this......

A few times over the years I've polled the membership about when to take the snowblower off the BX2360 in favor of the loader and box blade for dirt work.

(I've lived in this region my entire life, so I kind of know, but it did make for good conversation)

Each time, either I or some of our colleagues out west have gotten HUGE snows shortly thereafter.

I was even admonished for poking the "Snow Gods" in the eyes.....

I'll never make the conversion before March 14.

We had a "Superstorm" Blizzard on March 14, 1993, and got 34" in 12 hours on March 14, 2017. A couple weeks earlier in 2017 I was ready to pull the snowblower, but didn't......

On this 7th Day of March 2025, I hereby proclaim that the Week of March 16, 2025 will be Held as the "Week of Winter Separation," and the snowblower will come off my tractor (should the forecast prove favorable ).

Just so you're all warned.....

 

[DustyRusty]

Wish that you had given this advice a bit sooner, since I removed the snowblower about a week ago, and put the plow into storage. I haven't installed the loader as of yet, so reinstalling the snowblower or the plow isn't going to be a big deal. Besides, if I am out moving snow, it will be less time that I have to post to these forums.

 

[mendonsy]

It's one of those Murphy's Law things. If you take it off will get a snow storm but if you leave it on then you won't.

 

[Donystoy]

No need for me to remove the blower or blade since I can only drive on the driveway until the fields are dry. Might be able to do a bit of gravel grading in the meantime. Besides we have had freak snowstorms in April but not for quite a while.

 

[torch]

I've seen 25°C on a sunny April 1 and a foot+ of snow two weeks later.

The blower doesn't come off until the dragonflies come out.

 

[jimh406]

We usually have at least some snow until end of April. Usually only a few inches that melts off pretty fast. I probably could convert the tractor any time. My guess is end of March for me.

For now, I'm leaving my chains on the tractor. I have a bit of work to do to level where the power company made a mess along my driveway changing out the underground line. I hope to get to that in the next few days while the rear blade is still offset. I can't store it with it offset, it's way to unbalanced or I'm doing it wrong.

After I finish that, I'm going to install the grader/scraper to fix the community road from the snow runoff. We have very small ditches down the middle of the road and one neighbor cut reverse speed bumps to let the water run off better. I'll use the scarifiers and reverse path to move the gravel/material where it needs to be. Then, I let the neighbors pack a bit and do it again. The chain marks are covered by the grader scraper and give me a bit more traction to fix the road. Once the main work is done, in a couple of weeks, I'll probably pull the chains off.

I have the snow plow blade on my Polaris Ranger for now. I could take it off. I took the chains off a couple of weeks ago. For these warmer snows, I really don't need chains on it.

 

[The Evil Twin]

I remember the 1993 storm. We were out of school for a week.
When the frogs start emerging, I know it's safe to forget about the snow. It's also about time to do a little overseeding along the wood line. The dirt will be germination temperature in another week or two.

 

[Bearcatrp]

Usually wait until the final 4 is over. We usually get dumped on during that time.

 

[S-G-R]

I'll wait until next weekend and see how the following week looks. I miss my loader...

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Spring doesn't officially get here until the worms are on my driveway......
THEN I put the snowstuff away .
Don't need no fancy computers, modelling or AI krap just LISTEN to the real ,old farmers !!!

 

[mikester]

When the ice is off my driveway and the gravel finally firms up is a good indicator for me.

I usually take the blower off mid-late March. We can and do get snows all the way until May but I don't bother cleaning those as they tend to disappear quickly.

 

[chim]

The plow came off and the forks went on about a week ago. Cut down three dead trees and I needed the forks for handling the debris. IF there's a freak snowstorm, it only takes a few minutes to swap back to the plow. Both are SSQA . The RFM is still on its shelf in the shed.

 

[Sidekick]

Another month for me unless we get real warm weather for a week that gets the frost out.

 

[Bearcatrp]

I removed my front blade yesterday to use my forks. Decided to keep the forks on. Am calling it, No more snow this season. Todays high is 70 degrees. Way to early in the season for 70's. Probably get a large snow storm in a few weeks for removing my front blade.