April 20, 2017 Evening

Good evening! Mostly cloudy and 60 degrees on Bennett Hill in Clarksville. There is a northeast breeze at 6 mph. The dew point is 47 degrees. The skies will clear Sunday around 6 am.

The sun will set at 7:44 pm with dusk around 8:14 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy conditions and 56 degrees. There will be a northeast breeze at 6 mph.

The views from the recently cleared overlooks from Bennett Hill are amazing. They cleared out a much larger view over Clarksville so on a relatively clear day like today you can see the Adirondacks and Green Mountains along with the interesting hills around the Vly Creek Reservoir. Also a new view of Wolf Hill and the Heldebergs. I like how you can really study the terrain. Reminds you that you are in the mountains.  Green is starting to pop pit everywhere. Birds are chirping, cows are enjoying the first spring grasses. 

Did some vacuuming and cleaning around the apartment, and finally vacuumed out my truck before I take it up to the Adirondacks and track more mud into it. It really needed a good vacuum though. I also made up some more maps and fixed a minor bug in the code for my map making software. 

Tonight will be scattered showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after midnight. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Low of 50 degrees at 5am. 10 degrees above normal. Northeast wind 6 to 16 mph becoming southeast after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2016, it got down to 32 degrees with periods of rain. The record low of 20 occurred back in 1875.

Waning Crescent Moon tonight with 37% illuminated. The moon will rise around 1:22 am. The New Moon is on Wednesday night with mostly cloudy skies expected. The Full β€œFlower” Moon is in 3 weeks. The sun will rise at 6:04 am with the first light at 5:34 am, which is one minute and 32 seconds earlier than yesterday. Tonight will have 10 hours and 18 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 40 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have showers and thunderstorms before noon, then scattered showers. High of 56 degrees at 2pm. Two degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 49 at 2pm. South wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had rain and a high of 76 degrees. The record high of 89 was set in 1923. 0.6 inches of snow fell back in 1947.

A decent weekend ahead. Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 54. Northwest wind 8 to 10 mph. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 60. A bit cool and not perfect sunshine. But okay for camping. I will live with it. I probably could have went up to the North Country based on the weather we’ve had so far but I expect tonight to be very wet.Typical average high for the weekend is 61 degrees.

When I get home tonight, I’m going to have a quick dinner then go down to the library. Pick up a few books to read at camp then update the blog. I have a bunch of photos and maps to upload. Then I will start pulling the remaining camping gear out of the attic. If the rain really lingers or forecast changes, I guess I could still change my mind. 

In four weeks on May 18 the sun will be setting at 8:14 pm, which is 30 minutes and 40 seconds later then today. In 2016 on that day, we had partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 69 and 38 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 70 and 48 degrees. The record high of 94 degrees was set back in 1962.

Looking ahead, Start of June is in 6 weeks and Inaugeration Day 2021 is in 44 months.

April 20, 2017 – Looking Ahead This Week

While this NOAA forecast is a bit pessimistic about the weekend,both Weather Underground and Paul Caiano on WAMC seem more bullish on the weather especially on Sunday where they are predicting ample sun. Nobody is calling for a washout this weekend but Saturday could be quite gray or just be partly cloudy depending on the model you look at. 

Weather Summary
Today. Mostly Cloudy and 65 degrees , 7:43 sunset.
Tonight. Chance of Showers then Heavy Rain and 51 degrees , 6:02 sunrise.
Friday. Rain then Chance of Showers and 59 degrees , 7:45 sunset.
Friday Night. Chance of Showers and 44 degrees , 6:01 sunrise.
Saturday. Mostly Cloudy and 58 degrees , 7:46 sunset.
Saturday Night. Mostly Cloudy and 42 degrees , 5:59 sunrise.
Sunday. Mostly Cloudy and 58 degrees , 7:47 sunset.
Sunday Night. Mostly Cloudy and 40 degrees , 5:58 sunrise.
Monday. Mostly Sunny and 61 degrees , 40 max dew point, 7:48 sunset.
Monday Night. Mostly Clear and 38 degrees , 5:56 sunrise.
Tuesday. Mostly Sunny and 63 degrees , 36 max dew point, 7:49 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Mostly Cloudy and 43 degrees , 5:55 sunrise.
Wednesday. Partly Sunny and 70 degrees , 38 max dew point, 7:50 sunset.