ON PARADE | Farm equipment punctuates the snowy emptiness of a hayfield in Barnard. (Herald / Tim Calabro) The following observations were taken in Randolph Center during the week of January 16-22, 2012.

After a bitter cold start to last Monday, temperatures rebounded, fol­lowing the same pattern we have been experiencing for much of this winter. As the warmer air returned, light snow and then freezing drizzle fell, and Tuesday evening was dominated by a thick fog which rolled throughout much of our area. The temperature kept rising to the low 40s before sunrise Wednesday, when the cold front arrived, with gusty northwest winds pushing in much colder air from Canada. After an initial 13-degree drop in two hours, the temperature kept falling steadily until it was back below zero by Thursday morning.

Friday brought us a round of light snow, with more significant accu­mulations to our north. The weekend was cold but area snow depth to­tals remained well below normal, hampering skiing and snow machine travel in many areas. By this Monday, yet another bout of mild air had caused a serious freezing rain situation, resulting in treacherous driving conditions throughout much of Monday night. After a relatively mild Tuesday, a return to near-seasonable conditions was anticipated, with the potential for some snow on Friday.