Good evening! Mostly cloudy and 76 degrees in Burdett as we head into the 11 o’clock hour at the Finger Lakes National Forest. Midnight will be here before you know it.  There is a east breeze at 6 mph. The dew point is 61 degrees. With the warm evening, it actually feel somewhat muggy. I’m glad I’m not home in my non-air conditioning apartment. 

Small campfire this evening because it’s so darn warm. But it’s vacation and I’d rather be in the woods, sleeping in my truck then at home. The alternative is it could frigid, especially camping up here on the Hector Backbone like in April. I like the Finger Lakes but it was so incredibly cold camping here last spring. With the drought, the grass and even the pastures are starting to look more like April then what you would expect in late July. Fortunately though the fire danger is low because the humidity is still relatively high and while some of the grasses are stressed from a lack of rain, they’re not winter dead. 

After dinner took a short walk over to Foster Pond. Pretty sunset, although I wish I could have been in an open pastures on the other side of Hector Backbone to have watched the sunset over Seneca Lake. Maybe later this week. Foster Pond is very low from the lack of rain. Assuming whatever fish survived it might actually be good for fishing. Also hiked a little ways along the Backbone Trail. 

For dinner I had this garlic herb macaroni and cheese package mix, with a little bit of  spaghetti sauce and barbecue sauce. While you might those flavors would clash, it actually was quite tasty. I also had some good sweet corn on the side. With a cold glass of milk or two, I was very happy with how dinner turned out. 

Spent some five hours plus at the Watkins Glen pool today, swimming and enjoying those Adirondack Chairs reading a book about deer hunting and listening to several podcasts. Used ample sunscreen but still got sunburnt in a few places I missed. Still I avoided sunburn on the most sensitive places like my face, ears, and neck, so I’m hardly complaining. That sun felt so nice, and I’ve been waiting all year to sit in those Adirondack Chairs at the Terrace Garden overlooking the Watkins Glen swimming pool. No, I didn’t bother to visit the glen, but I will do that the next time I’m there, hopefully when less crowded in the week. The pool got fairly filled up by mid afternoon burn u had gotten there before 12, so chairs and parking were still available. By the time I left people were parked all over the grass due to a lack of parking, despite the large parking lot at the pool. When I go back on Tuesday or Wednesday, I don’t expect it to be nearly as full. 

Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 69 degrees at 5am. Seven degrees above normal. East wind around 7 mph becoming south after midnight. Maximum dew point of 63 at 6am. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1953. Waning Gibbous Moon tonight with 60% illuminated. The moon will rise around 11:20 pm. The Last Quarter Moon is on Tuesday with clear skies expected. The Full “Strugeon” Moon is on Thursday, August 18th.

Tomorrow will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly between 2pm and 3pm. Partly sunny, with a high of 87 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees above normal. Southwest wind 8 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. I doubt they’ll get rain in the southern Finger Lakes but they sure need it. Muggy and hot tomorrow with a yucky maximum dew point of 69 at 10am. But no rain. The record high of 97 was set in 1963. The sun will rise at 5:52 am with the first light at 5:20 am, which is 58 seconds later then yesterday.

Looking at visiting the Enfield Glen and Lucifer Falls in the morning tomorrow, swim in Lower Falls pool at Robert Truman (as much for the pictures as anything), then head to Taughannock State Park to swim in Cayuga Lake, do some fishing, and maybe visit the waterfalls. I like that swimming beach but it tends to be quite cold. 

As much as 0.2 inch of rain expected between Monday 8am and Tuesday 11am if we are real lucky. 0 inch of rain expected between Thursday 8am and Thursday 7pm. Within the next four days, a total of 0.2 inches of rain is expected. That is if they are lucky, and even that minimal rain would be much desired here. 

We have some muggy weather coming up. Monday 7am – Monday 11pm. Maximum temperature will be 87 degrees, a heat index reaching 90, and a maximum dew point of 69.

Looking ahead, Mutts Day is in 1 weeks, September 11th is in 7 weeks, First Day with Average High Below 70 is in 2 months, First Day with More Night then Day in Albany is in 9 weeks, Harvest Moon is in 12 weeks, First Day of Sunset Before 6 PM in Albany is in 13 weeks, National Candy Corn Day Day is in 14 weeks, Daylight Savings Time Ends is in 15 weeks, First Day on Average with Low of Freezing is in 16 weeks, Thanksgiving is in 4 months and Christmas is in 22 weeks.

No rain is in the long range forecast for this area… 

Monday Night. Slight Chance of T-storms then Mostly Clear and 66 degrees, 66 max dew point, 5:54 sunrise.
Tuesday. Sunny and 83 degrees, 61 max dew point, 8:32 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Clear and 63 degrees, 58 max dew point, 5:55 sunrise.
Wednesday. Sunny and 85 degrees, 59 max dew point, 8:31 sunset.
Wednesday Night. Partly Cloudy and 66 degrees, 58 max dew point, 5:56 sunrise.
Thursday. Chance of T-storms and 85 degrees, 60 max dew point, 8:30 sunset.
Thursday Night. Chance of T-storms and 66 degrees, 62 max dew point, 5:57 sunrise.
Friday. Chance of T-storms and 80 degrees, 63 max dew point, 8:29 sunset.
Friday Night. Mostly Cloudy and 64 degrees, 62 max dew point, 5:58 sunrise.
Saturday. Chance of T-storms and 79 degrees, 62 max dew point, 8:28 sunset.