November 11, 2016 Evening

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Good evening. A rather blustery and cold evening in the Finger Lakes National Forest. Mostly cloudy and 34 degrees in Hector. The wind makes it feel much cooler. Breezy, 18 mph breeze from the north-northwest. The current wind chill is 23. The moon is peaking out and the skies will clear around 11 pm.

Not a half bad drive out here, but I did not like driving NY 206. I got stuck behind a milk bulk truck, which was full and crawled up the hills. Then I had a big line of cars behind me. Pulled over in Greene then by the time I was halfway to Whitney Point cars piled up behind me again. I was doing the speed limit or a few miles above it but it just was quite congested. 

I was planning to go to Walmart in Oneonta but decided to stop at Whitney Point. Which doesn’t have a Walmart. Waze directed me to either the Ithaca Walmart which was four minutes out of the way or the Munson Corners Walmart which was eight minutes out of the way. It was brand new and had a fairly impressive sporting goods section although nothing like the Mansfield PA Walmart with their racks and racks of AR 15s, at least before the obnoxious liberals said they couldn’t have them anymore. I’m just glad I missed the Ithaca traffic and driving the miserable NY 76.

I needed to go to Walmart specifically as I needed mantles for the lantern and wanted to get a new carbon monoxide detector should I pitch a tent and bring the heater inside to warm it up. My existing carbon monoxide detector is almost 10 years old, and wasn’t really designed for extended battery use as it’s a plug in model, so it tended to chew through batteries. The one I bought was designed to run on batteries exclusively and also has a monitor that tells you the exact CO levels. The Big Buddy Heater is a catalytic heater designed to be used inside (chemically oxidizes rather than burns propane like a catalytic converter in a car), the tent is fairly well ventilated, and automatically shuts off in case of low oxygen levels but in case of a malfunction I’d rather not die from CO poisoning.  

I didn’t pitch a tent this evening, but in some ways I wish I had. That wind is cold and a toasty tent would be nice. Although tents tend to be more drafty than my truck. I’ll be plenty warm when I get under the covers in my truck tonight. 

I’ve been craving ravioli for a while now. Cooked up a big pot of that tonight, along with garlic knots in the Dutch Oven. Baked the beef ravioli, covered with mozzarella and ricotta in the Dutch Oven. Tasted good. 

Nights sure are long this time of year. But I have a fire going and staying fairly warm with the help of the heater. Future nights I do want to camp somewhere more protected from the wind though. 

Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 29 degrees at 5am. Six degrees below normal. Northwest wind 13 to 18 mph decreasing to 6 to 11 mph after midnight. Chilly night for sure. One year ago, cloudy with a low around 47. The record low of 15 occurred back in 1976.

Waxing Gibbous Moon tonight with 83% illuminated. The moon will set around 6:14 am. The Full “Beaver” Moon is on Sunday night with partly cloudy skies expected.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny, with a high of 43 degrees at 4pm. Six degrees below normal. West wind 6 to 10 mph. Last year, cloudy with a high around 56. The record high of 68 was set in 1909. There was 7.3 inches of snow back in 1968.

In four weeks on December 9 the sun will be setting at 4:34 pm, which is 13 minutes earlier then tonight. The average high is 38 degrees, and the record for that date is 62 degrees was set back in 1966.

November 11, 2016 Morning

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Good morning! Today is Veterans Day. Thank you to all who have served. Partly cloudy and 47 degrees in Delmar. There is a west-southwest breeze at 10 mph. Red sky in the morning. Showers are expected on and off this morning. 

Finishing getting packed for my road trip. Today will be cold today with the wind whipping around but hopefully by the time I reach the Finger Lakes the clouds have will clear. I can hang a tarp to block the wind. From there on subsequent days, heading out to Allegany County then Cattaraugus County then Chautauqua County and Pennsylvania. It seems like it is all coming together now. Everything seems to be going well. 

Every time I check it seems like the forecast changes but I’m still not expecting a washout but I do think today will be kind of chilly with unstable weather. But it will get nicer for the weekend. 

Veterans Day will be partly sunny, with a high of 48 degrees at 10am. Five degrees above normal. It won’t feel that way with the wind though. Generally   Breezy, with a southwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming northwest 16 to 21 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Last year, cloudy with a high around 51. The record high of 70 was set in 2002. There was 3 inches of snow back in 1906.

Sunset comes early, although it’s about 15 minutes later in the Finger Lakes. Thats one of the reasons I am heading out west for my November trip. The sun will set at 4:35 pm with dusk around 5:05 pm in Albany, which is 1 minute earlier than yesterday. Today will have 9 hours and 52 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 2 minutes and 16 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 28 degrees at 6am. Eight degrees below normal. Blustery, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 8 to 13 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. One year ago, cloudy with a low around 47. The record low of 15 occurred back in 1976.

There are 2 weeks until Buy Nothing Day / Black Friday when the sun will be setting at 4:25 pm with dusk at 4:56 pm. The average high temperature is 44 degrees, with a record high of 64 in 2004.