Monday January 18

We had a very nice, snowy weekend, starting with some beautiful, fluffy snow Friday and into Saturday.  Combined with the MLK holiday weekend, the lake-area was abuzz. I heard that WISP was basically fully booked for skiing and tubing over the weekend, as many rentals were also filled. Here’s a photo I took Saturday after the first round of snow to give out-of-town readers an idea. We had more snow Sunday evening as well.  DCL is a winter wonderland…

mike tumbarello snow 1-16-21

Saturday’s Snow

Today, snow showers are likely, mainly before 1:00 pm. Cloudy, with a high near 27 degrees, with a west wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. Tonight we have a a chance of snow showers, Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. West wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.

Friday, Maryland State Department of Education Superintendent Karen B. Salmon, Ph.D. announced $781 million in additional funding to assist Maryland schools and students recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding, allocated through the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act, provides grant awards directly to local school systems to assist in reopening classrooms, assess and address learning loss, provide targeted tutoring and other initiatives to help alleviate the impacts of the pandemic. Garrett County schools will receive $3,986,847!  That should really help.

Alpine Lake Resort, just south of Oakland in Terra Alta, West Virginia, has a new off-season menu with some compelling specials.  As we all get a bit tired of isolating, Alpine might be a good alternative for something a little different.  They have trails open around the resort and, you can’t beat their mountain views from their restaurant.  Check for hours (only open for dinner, Wednesday – Saturday,during the off season)

Here’s some interesting factoids on vaction preferences that are being impacted by the current pandemic.  I think these all bode well for Deep Creek Lake area: TripAdvisor says more than 50% of its consumers are more likely to take a nature trip than they were before the pandemic. Booking.com’s data shows that 56% of its travelers are searching for “off-the-beaten-track escapes”. Pitchup.com, a lodges, cabins, and campsites booking engine, reports that reservations for 2021 are more than six times higher than last year.

The Garrett County Health Department announced that 6.507% of our citizens have received the first dose of the vaccine.  I believe that is the highest percentage in the state.  The hospital occupancy at GRMC is 61%, and the county has 1,716 confirmed positive test results (local cases) and 56 deaths to-date.

To wrap things up for today, here’s a great photo submitted by Eric Williams. I think it visually captures the cold temperature at the lake.  Thanks for sharing Eric.

eric williams 1-16-21

Deep Creek Morning

Have a great Monday dear readers…

 

 

 

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