Swirling, dirty clouds reflecting muddy waters rushing below, humid with a high of 60F and rain hammering away the afternoon.

A gorgeous balmy, breezy 60F night spills over into the day but draws foggy, blue cloud cover like curtains rippling over gusty winds and a high of 70F. Flowers bloom. Buds bud. Spring is in the air. Update: Warm afternoon rain continues all night until the following afternoon.

Brilliant sunshine and a high of 42F.

A high of 50F and clear skies. Perfect lunchtime skiing on Belleayre Mountain.

Bitterly cold for a high of 18F and an icy wind. Rivers flowing under a crust of ice. Waterfalls frozen over. Swirling cotton-candy clouds and a brief hint of sun at noon.

More face-freezing on the peaks: 17F for most of the day with a bitter wind pushing skiers around on the slopes. Some sunshine peeking through the clouds.

Strong squalls whip up the dusty top layer of snow into small, swirling tornados that race across the frozen fields. A high of barely 30F, while most of the day sinks into the depths of frigidity somewhere around 20F.

Face-numbing 12F at 8am rising to 27F by mid-afternoon. Bright sunshine and fresh powder on the slopes after yesterday’s all-day snow.

Soggy after yesterday’s all-day rain. Soaked trees, and fog burning off in the sun by early morning for a high of 50F. Humid.

A balmy 26F at 8am with the sun rising through a jumble of clouds cluttering the baby blue sky. Thick patches of ice under last night’s light snow flurry. A high of 30F.

Back to the gloom. Steady overnight rain continues into the morning, making the going icy at dawn, and continues all day until mid-afternoon when it transforms, as if by magic, into fluffy snow. Overcast, humid and a high of 48F.

After almost a week of gloom, the sun appears and lights up the sky to a dazzling, brilliant azure blue, a consolation for the laziest, slow rise in temperature: still a bone-chilling 12F. By afternoon, a haze had crept overhead like tight muslin, dampening the sun to a enigmatic glow. A breathtaking day.

Overnight blustery winds deposit a foot or two of wet snow by morning. Temperatures warm up to 30F. A brief glimpse of the sun mid-afternoon and a plunge into low temperatures early evening.

A dark day with freshly powdered peaks moping under a grey shroud of gloom and a high of 28F. Steady, light snow moves in late afternoon. An ice storm cometh.

Brisk and bright with a gauzy sky and a high of 28F.

Back to the russet tones in the valleys with ice floes on the creeks conveying the frigid temperatures. Thick snow remains on the northern peaks. Overcast with a shimmering sky and a high of 26F.

A crisp, bright day on the peaks. Cloudless skies and a high of 26F. Hazy valleys in the east under the afternoon sun.

A high of 24F and partly overcast with periods of bright sunshine. A post-Christmas stint of wood gathering and chopping continues.

The big chill continues with a high of 25F and bright sunshine shining through thin stretch of rippled cloud looking like a fraying net curtain. A face-numbing afternoon that only a Black Lab could love.

Brilliant sunshine, clear skies and bitterly cold with a high of 16F. After a foot of snow this week, a plunge into arctic temperatures.

Above is the most popular Daily Catskills image of the year, a picture of our Black Lab Alfie, who regularly gets a 60% engagement rate on his own, modest Instagram account. Videos on Instagram of Alfie in his element – snow – regularly get many hundreds of likes on our own social media. We adopted Alfie from the ASPCA in Kingston in 2014 and we began hiking the Catskills 3500 just to wear him out. He’s had his portrait taken by NYC photographer Shannon Greer and we wrote a post here about him that was so popular it was picked up in New York City by Mrs Sizzle. I’ll be writing Part 2 of Alfie’s life in the New Year. He loves snow and swimming regardless of temperature because he has a thick layer of furry Labrador blubber and webbed feet. He loves hiking and turns six years old in April. If I could take him skiing, I would. There’s a chance you will find us snow-shoeing the hiking trail from Giggle Hollow to the top of Belleayre Mountain this winter to catch a glimpse of the skiers flying down Cathedral Run. Alfie appreciates his country life here in the Catskills and is such a good dog, he gets fresh, warm marrow bones straight out of the oven. I sometimes think he’s the only reason that we have readers at all.

A quiet dawn breaks over a winter wonderland and a thick blanket of wet snow. More snow flurries throughout the day and a high of 36F.

© J.N. Urbanski 9am – Usage prohibited without consent

An overcast morning with thick cloud like a comforter rolling back mid-morning in places further east, like Woodstock, where the foliage is a bit more colorful. Scattered showers with a strong breeze making waves. A high of 48F.

© J.N. Urbanski 10.30am – Usage prohibited without consent