Welcome to the Coles Pond Weathercam page.
Technical Info:
The heart of our weathercam page is a wireless DAVIS VANTAGE PRO 2 weatherstation, which transmits current weather data to a console inside our house. The inside display is then hooked up through a Davis ‘Weatherlink’ to the serial port of a desktop computer. Then Ambient ‘Virtual Weather Station’ (or VWS) software is used to FTP the data to this website every five minutes, where it is then displayed on the weathercam page. This website is based on a modified template from CarterLake.org with PHP conversion by Saratoga-Weather.org. The Davis equipment, VWS software, and much more are available directly from the Ambient website
The Webcam image is captured with a StarDot NetCam XL 3MP.
Location and Climate:
Coles Pond is located in northern Caledonia county in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. The weathercam location is a quarter mile from the Pond, bounded on three sides by the 10,421 acre Steam Mill Brook Wildlife Management Area. This area is 95% forested with maple, birch, beech, spruce, balsam, and cedar. The remaining area is a mix of old fields and wetlands. Several streams are on the area, including frontage on Coles and Stannard Ponds. Wildlife includes deer, black bear, moose, snowshoe hare, coyote, fisher, bobcat, raccoon, beaver, mink, otter, ruffed grouse, turkey, mallard and black ducks, and loons.
Because of the elevation of the area, the temperatures observed at Coles Pond will generally be cooler than the surrounding valleys. The higher elevations of Northern New England create distinct microclimates.
During the summer months daytime temperatures are very pleasant. A ninety degree day at Coles Pond is very rare, and I have not observed the temperature hit ninety since this weatherstation has been operational. Even mid-summer nights can sometimes be chilly, and the higher elevations often escape the dense morning fog that frequently engulfs the valleys. Winter days can often be frigid, and it is not unusual for daytime highs to remain below zero. However, mid-winter nights are often warmer than the surrounding areas, as the heavier cold air will drain down into the valleys. The higher elevation often gives hints to the coming weather systems. When the higher elevations are warmer than the valleys, it usually foretells of a coming warming trend. Winter precipitation can be very different at Coles Pond also. We often will see snow or a mix while the lower elevations are receiving all rain. Cold frontal passages can be very abrupt, with temperatures falling ten or twenty degrees in less than an hour, along with a quick change in precipitation type.