Good morning! As promised earlier we are well on our way to a hot one today. Partly cloudy and 80 degrees in Delmar. Calm wind. The dew point is 72 degrees. The clouds broke earlier then expected this morning, which is certain to push the mercury even higher. And for those working outside, even hotter.

I walked down to the bus stop at the Park and Ride this morning. It really wasn’t that bad in the shade, although walking briskly I started to feel the heat. I wish the bus had had some better air conditioning though, and I fully expect it to be much warmer later on.

Today will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 9am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Partly cloudy, with a high of 91 degrees at 3pm. 10 degrees above normal. Heat index values as high as 100 between 3pm and 5pm. Light southwest wind increasing to 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 73 at 2pm. The record high of 99 was set in 1944. We won’t probably break that record. The sun will set at 7:59 pm with dusk around 8:30 pm, which is 1 minutes and 25 seconds earlier than yesterday. Today will have 13 hours and 59 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 2 minutes and 29 seconds over yesterday.

I will probably stay late in the office tonight, as I have several things that need to get done, run home and have a quick dinner and either go to the library (if the weather is cloudy and wet) or down to the Hudson River and go fishing. That said, dusk comes so early now, so I may be best to just enjoy the air conditioned cool of the library.

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Mostly cloudy, with a low of 73 degrees at 5am. 12 degrees above normal. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 73 at 6pm. The record low of 43 occurred back in 1957.

Cloudy periods:
Friday – Mostly cloudy from 8 am to 10 pm.
Saturday – Mostly cloudy from 2 am to 9 am. Cloudy from 9 am to 1 pm. Mostly cloudy from 1 pm to 11 pm. Cloudy from 11 pm to midnight.
Sunday – Cloudy from midnight to 6 am. Mostly cloudy from 6 am to midnight.
Monday – Mostly cloudy from midnight to 4 am. Cloudy from 4 am to 6 am. Mostly cloudy from 6 am to 10 am.
Tuesday – Mostly cloudy from 9 pm to midnight.
Wednesday – Mostly cloudy from midnight to 4 pm.

Rain expected:
Today 8 to 9 am – slight chance of rain and thunderstorms
Today 9 am to Sat. 6 pm – chance of rain and thunderstorms – 0.57 inches expected
Tomorrow 6 pm to Sun. 2 am – rain and thunderstorms – 0.18 inches expected
Sunday 2 am to 12 pm – chance of rain and thunderstorms – 0.09 inches expected
Sunday 12 to 8 pm – rain and thunderstorms – 0.34 inches expected
Sunday 8 pm to Mon. 8 pm – chance of rain and thunderstorms – 0.24 inches expected
Monday 8 pm to Tue. 8 am – slight chance of rain and thunderstorms
Tuesday 8 am to Wed. 8 pm – chance of rain and thunderstorms
Wednesday 8 pm to Thu. 8 pm – slight chance of rain and thunderstorms

Muggy periods:
Today 8 am to Tue. 12 am – Max Temp: 91, Heat Index: 100, Dew Point: 75

There are 2 weeks until National Dog Day when the sun will be setting at 7:38 pm with dusk at 8:07 pm. I wonder if we will still be in the dog days of summer then? The average high temperature is 79 degrees, with a record high of 98 in 1948.

Today in 1981, the first IBM personal computer is released. Many manufacturers made similar models and it would become the standard for personal computing. The most popular operating system for that platform, but it also proved to be well adapted for alternative operating systems, including Linux.

Last night wasn’t too bad sleeping, but I had a work event, so I didn’t get home until 9 PM. I went for my evening walk, and while I was pretty sweaty after getting through, it wasn’t that bad after the sun had been down for nearly hour. I expect it will be similar tonight. I watched the American Experience special on Richard Nixon for part of the last hour then fell asleep.