Shorter Days are Coming

One month from now, September 3rd, it will be last day of the year with more then 13 hours of daylight. On that day, the sun will rise at 6:24 AM and set at 7:23 PM in Albany.

August 3, 2016 7 PM Update

Good evening! Sunny and 81 degrees in Albany, NY. There is a south breeze at 7 mph. The dew point is 60 degrees.

Kind of a crazy day, I had to go back into the office after I got home to get done some business. Kind of a nice evening, but that’s fine, I still have to go to the store later and buy coffee. I might have some to visit the park still before dark. I figured give Big Red a little bit of a drive to get his bones pumping mid-week.

Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 60 degrees at 5am. One degrees below normal. South wind 5 to 8 mph. Maximum dew point of 61 at 7pm. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1966. The sun will set at 8:11 pm with dusk around 8:43 pm, which is 1 minutes and 13 seconds earlier than yesterday. Waxing Crescent Moon tonight with 10% illuminated. The moon will set around 10:07 pm. The First Quarter Moon is next Wednesday. The Full “Strugeon” Moon is on Thursday, August 18th.

Tomorrow will be sunny, with a high of 85 degrees at 3pm. Three degrees above normal. Going to be another very nice summer day. Not too humid. South wind 6 to 9 mph. Maximum dew point of 58 at 6am. The record high of 98 was set in 1955.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. Saturday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 66 at 7am. Clearing out in the afternoon. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 81. Maximum dew point of 60 at 6am. Typical average high for the weekend is 82 degrees.

In four weeks on August 31 the sun will be setting at 7:29 pm, which is 42 minutes earlier then today. The average high is 78 degrees, and the record for that date is 93 degrees was set back in 1953. Four weeks and one day from now will be September. My does time go fast.

Alligator Gar May Help Combat Invasive Asian Carp – Field & Stream.

Alligator Gar May Help Combat Invasive Asian Carp – Field & Stream.

In Illinois, wildlife officials believe that alligator gar may help fight the spread of invasive Asian carp, which are on the invading the Great Lakes. Gator gar commonly feed on carp but pose little or no threat to game-fish populations, biologists believe. Also, despite the gator garโ€™s fearsome appearance, there has never been a confirmed gator gar attack on a human.

Jennifer Walling, the executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, told the Belleville News-Democrat that alligator gar could be a potential solution to the Asian carp problem, in addition to being a trophy quarry. โ€œThe more we learn about alligator gar,โ€ Walling said, โ€œthe more intrigued we are that they could help in the fight against Asian carp, drive revenue as a target of anglers, and become a popular niche food fish.โ€

There is a bit of a disagreement on how much they target game fish, especially in New York in places where Asian carp aren't established.

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/DEC-searching-Schenectady-pond-for-alligator-gar-8463420.php

"The alligator gar in Iroquois Lake [in Schenectady, NY] is just over 1-foot long, DeLugo estimated after seeing pictures of the fish. He said a gar that size could eat plenty of fish, but does not pose any danger to humans. DeLugo said he has taken many large fish off the hands of customers who move or can no longer manage to feed and house the fish. "Then I get on the phone and start calling crazy guys who have hot tubs for a tank โ€” giant things they can put them in," he said.

August 3, 2016 8 AM Update

Good morning, again. 150 days from now will be New Year’s Day. The fog remains withย ย 66 degrees in Delmar. Some burning off the fog as we head downtown, with a mostly sunny day expected. Calm wind. The dew point is 61 degrees. I was dripping by the time I walked down to the express bus stop.

Today will be sunny, with a high of 82 degrees at 3pm. Typical for today. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Maximum dew point of 62 at 9am. Generally pretty nice, not too humid. ย The record high of 97 was set in 1975. The sun will set at 8:12 pm with dusk around 8:43 pm, which is 1 minutes and 14 seconds earlier than yesterday. Days are really starting to get shorter.ย Today will have 14 hours and 21 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 2 minutes and 17 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 62 degrees at 4am. One degree above normal. South wind around 6 mph. Maximum dew point of 60 at 7pm. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1966.

0.3 inch of rain expected between Friday 8pm and Saturday 7pm. We have some muggy weather coming up. Friday 10am – Friday 12pm. Maximum temperature will be 82 degrees, a heat index reaching 83, and a maximum dew point of 65. Saturday 1am – Saturday 4pm. Maximum temperature will be 84 degrees, a heat index reaching 86, and a maximum dew point of 68.

There are 1 weeks until National Smores Day when the sun will be setting at 8:02 pm with dusk at 8:33 pm. The average high temperature is 81 degrees, with a record high of 96 in 1949. I’m tempted to make a smores ice cream sandwich after posting that video yesterday.

Today in 1977,ย Tandy Corporationย announces the TRS-80, one of the world’s first mass-producedย personal computers. I’m sure except for a few in museums, most have been sent to landfills, trash incinerator, and rednecks with their burn piles. Man, and when I burned that ink jet printer years ago, it burned black.

Still looking at Schoharie County for the weekend,ย spent mostly at Mine Kill State Park Pool and some fishing at the Mine Kill Reservior. Probably will just leave Saturday, especially because I don’t want to drive down with a major sinkhole closing the road I normally take downtown. I guess I could leave on Friday night, but that depends on how likely thunderstorms look — I don’t want to camp in the rain if I can avoid it.

I still want to get up to Piseco-Powley Road at least one more time this summerย in the month of August. And I am now leaning more towards Moose River Plains for Labor Day Weekend. But a lot could change before then, so I don’t know.

Lots of new Google Maps have been up for the blog,ย so I look forward to featuring them in the coming months.

Have a great day. Enjoy the beautiful weather and ample sunshine. Sunny skies and 78 degrees with a dew point of 60 for lunch time!

August 3, 2016 Morning

Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Foggy and 63 degrees in Delmar. Calm wind. The dew point is 60 degrees.

Today will have patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high of 82 degrees at 3pm. Typical for today. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Maximum dew point of 62 at 9am. The record high of 97 was set in 1975.