December 12, 2016 Night

Good evening. The bus stop is shoveled out. The slush pile between the shoveled out shelter and the road was smaller than I thought it was but I nor does anybody else want to walk through such a mess wearing dress shoes or even boots with worn down soles. They really need to pave the road shoulder to the concrete pad in front of the bus stopped. But it’s now scraped down to the mud. 

Down to 40 degrees now but we still have a while before things ice on up. 27 degrees before day break. Warming up to 37 degrees by 1 pm tomorrow under Partly Cloudy skies with possible snow showers in the evening. Not going to be a terrible day. Much colder Wednesday and Thursday with the real frigid air due Thursday evening with a low of negative three in the city and on Friday with highs only reaching 18 with wind chills in the single digits or possibly even below zero. 

But in the mean time, I got out for my evening walk. A nice evening tonight with a nearly full “Cold” Moon. The full moon is Wednesday night and it will be truly cold then. But not quite as cold as Thursday night. Moonlight at times was bright when the moon came out from under the clouds. With the fresh snow, at times the landscape was almost as bright as day. Made sure to mark that hidden police trap in Waze that I saw while walking. 

Almost have made up my mind about the winter coat I will buy. Probably get the same model of Carhartt jacket that I have but alas one not with a broken zipper missing teeth, as many tears, ember holes burnt it, or stains. Not going to get Carhartt brown one, as stain too easy but might get a dark brown like my vest. I can’t wear my dry clean only work jacket in the woods and his year with colder weather expected, I don’t think my vest and hoodie will cut it for winter camping. 

Time for bed. Good night. Sunrise tomorrow at  7:16 AM. Days soon will be getting longer. 

Winter

They did a nice job cleaning out the bus stop except for the section between the road and shelter. Maybe the plow pushed the snow back there? I guess I’ll dig that out later. Dug a path from my doorway to the road, not because there is a lot of snow on the driveway, but I’m afraid everything will ice up tonight. Moreover, cleaned off the windshield of my truck, not because I’m going anywhere, but I’m afraid with the cold temperatures expected, the snow on the windshield may freeze solid and be a real pain to clear off later on.

Ahh… winter.

December 12, 2016 Evening

Good evening! Heavy rain and 41 degrees in City of Albany. There is a west-southwest breeze at 11 mph. Made it onto the bus just in time to miss the rain. I suspect that the rain will be done by the time I get home. Enough rain to make the roads a bit slick and slow up traffic a bit. Bus is kind of banging through the gears. Old NOVA bus tonight. 

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 28 degrees at 6am. Six degrees above normal. Watch out for black ice after 8 pm as the roads may still be wet when the mercury drops below freezing.  West wind 8 to 14 mph. In 2015, it got down to 43 degrees with periods of rain. The record low of -6 occurred back in 1988.

Waxing Gibbous Moon tonight with 94% illuminated. The moon will set around 8:20 am. The Full β€œCold” Moon is on Wednesday night with chance of snow showers then mostly cloudy skies expected and chance of snow showers.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of snow showers after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high of 37 degrees at 1pm. Typical for Tomorrow. West wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had rain and a high of 52 degrees. The record high of 58 was set in 1984. 14 inches of snow fell back in 1915. The sun will rise at 7:16 am with the first light at 6:44 am, which is 46 seconds later then yesterday.

We got to watch the weekend weather at this point. Not expecting a lot of snow this weekend but sleet and a few inches may make the roads hazardous. I wasn’t really planning on getting out of town this weekend, as my parents are having a Christmas party, and I left my Big Buddy Heater at my parents house so they could use it in their garage. I’m hoping we have decent weather for Christmas Day, as I have that Monday off and may try to get up to the Adirondacks to camp.

Looking ahead, Martin Luther King Day is in 5 weeks, Presidents Day is in 10 weeks, Daylight Savings Time is in 3 months, Patriots Day is in 18 weeks, May Day is in 20 weeks and Memorial Day is in 24 weeks. Those 24 weeks will come and go quickly I hope. 

I’ve been feeling better today but still feel a bit achy at times. A lot of people are getting sick around the office, and I’m not ready to say I’ve dodged a bullet yet on getting sick.. 

Fixed the Facebook bug, so now photos are posting to Facebook once again. I also fixed some miscellaneous bugs and improvements to the Facebook connector. 

Got a battery for my remote control, so now I will automatically tape the PBS Newshour. Now I won’t have to stay up to 10 pm to watch it, as I tape it daily at 6:30. I’m glad because lately I’ve been trying to get to bed by 10, to ensure adequate sleep. 

Got the second charger for my laptop. It’s a genuine HP charger, so hopefully it will hold up. Now that I have a charger at home and work, I don’t have to worry about not having a charge wherever I am. It was only $25 including free shipping from Ebay. 

December 12, 2016 Afternoon

While tonight will be relatively warm compared to averages, the second half of the week will be pretty cold but not record breaking cold by any means.

Exceptional temperatures:
Tonight will be warm. 28 degrees. 22 normal. -6 record (1988). Partly Cloudy.
Wednesday night will be cool. 14 degrees. 21 normal. -8 record (1874). Chance of Snow Showers.
Thursday will be cold. 21 degrees. 36 normal. 61 record (1874). Chance of Snow Showers.
Thursday night will be cold. 1 degree. 21 normal. -11 record (1917). Chance of Snow Showers.
Friday will be cold. 15 degrees. 36 normal. 55 record (1917). Mostly Sunny.
Friday night will be cold. 8 degrees. 21 normal. -8 record (1942). Chance of Snow Showers.
Saturday night will be warm. 29 degrees. 20 normal. -9 record (1919). Rain/Snow is likely.
Sunday night will be cool. 11 degrees. 20 normal. -13 record (1973). Partly Cloudy.
Monday will be cool. 25 degrees. 35 normal. 54 record (1973). Mostly Sunny.

Throughout the week we will have a chance of some lake effect snow bands blowing as far east as Albany.

Rain and snow expected:
Tuesday Slight chance of snow from 4 pm to 6 pm. Chance of snow from 6 pm to 8 pm. Slight chance of snow from 8 pm to 11 pm.
Wednesday Slight chance of snow from 5 pm to 10 pm.
Thursday Slight chance of snow from 3 am to 4 am. Chance of snow from 4 am to midnight.
Friday Chance of snow from midnight to midnight.
Saturday Chance of snow from midnight to 7 am. Snow from 7 am to 4 pm. Rain and snow from 4 pm to midnight.
Sunday Rain and snow from midnight to 7 am. Chance of snow from 7 am to 7 pm.

Not much sun is expected this week, except for Friday, which should be sunny, but cold with a high around 15 degrees.

Cloudy periods:
Monday Mostly cloudy from 3 pm to 5 pm.
Tuesday Mostly cloudy from 4 pm to midnight.
Wednesday Mostly cloudy from midnight to 3 am.
Thursday Mostly cloudy from 1 pm to 3 pm.
Saturday Mostly cloudy from 3 am to 10 am. Cloudy from 10 am to midnight.
Sunday Cloudy from midnight to 3 am. Mostly cloudy from 3 am to noon.

Not a great week weather-wise for sure. But it’s the middle of December. At least mostly snow-free.Β This time of year, days that are 75 degrees and sunny are hard to come by,Β at least in Albany.