Floridaโ€™s toxic breach was decades in the making | Florida | The Guardian

โ€˜No community should suffer thisโ€™: Floridaโ€™s toxic breach was decades in the making | Florida | The Guardian

This toxic industry has plagued the state for decades. Central Florida is the phosphate capital of the world; the state produces 80% of the phosphate mined in the US, as well 25% of the phosphate used around the world. An estimated 1bn tons of phosphogypsum is housed in about two dozen stacks that dot the Florida landscape, some looming as high as 200ft, each with its own pond of acidic wastewater on top. And every year, about 30m more tons are added to them.

NOAA Radar

No rain here locally but there looks to be more bands of rain around.

April 12, 2021 – Looking Ahead This Week

This week looks to be fairly seasonable, clouds and showers but not a lot of much needed rain. Weekend looks to be decent, but a lot can change in five days. ๐Ÿ˜Ž

Weather Summary
Today.
Feels like …
April 6th.
Chance of Rain and 54 degrees , 7:34 sunset.
Tonight.
Feels like …
April 24th.
Slight Chance of Rain and 40 degrees , 6:16 sunrise.
Tuesday.
Feels like …
April 24th.
Mostly Sunny and 62 degrees , 41 max dew point, 7:35 sunset.
Tuesday Night.
Feels like …
May 10th.
Partly Cloudy and 45 degrees , 6:14 sunrise.
Wednesday.
Feels like …
May 2nd.
Mostly Sunny then Slight Chance of Rain and 65 degrees , 41 max dew point, 7:36 sunset.
Wednesday Night.
Feels like …
May 7th.
Chance of Showers and 44 degrees , 6:13 sunrise.
Thursday.
Feels like …
April 11th.
Chance of Showers and 56 degrees , 7:37 sunset.
Thursday Night.
Feels like …
April 18th.
Chance of Showers and 38 degrees , 6:11 sunrise.
Friday.
Feels like …
April 2nd.
Chance of Showers and 52 degrees , 7:38 sunset.
Friday Night.
Feels like …
April 18th.
Mostly Cloudy and 38 degrees , 6:09 sunrise.
Saturday.
Feels like …
April 17th.
Partly Sunny and 59 degrees , 7:39 sunset.
Saturday Night.
Feels like …
April 21st.
Mostly Cloudy and 39 degrees , 6:08 sunrise.
Sunday.
Feels like …
April 22nd.
Partly Sunny then Chance of Showers and 61 degrees , 36 max dew point, 7:40 sunset.

West from Harvey Mountain

April 12, 2021 Morning

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Five weeks to Average High is 70 ๐Ÿฎ. Kind of a chilly day, but at the same time, warm enough that at least for now my windows are open. Rather have the fresh air and dress in layers. Warmer weather is certain though at this point. ๐ŸŒกCloudy, damp but so far not a lot of rain and 48 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜” There is a east breeze at 6 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The skies will clear around 2 am.

This has been the story of the past 24 hours. ๐ŸŒ‚ Everything is very bone dry, and the rain has been more clouds then actual wetness. While we have many chances for rain this week, I am not certainly expecting very high stream levels when I get north this weekend, but hopefully at least the fire risk will be lower. ๐Ÿ”ฅ I’ll probably just work from home all day, as I haven’t used that much internet bandwidth lately, as the weather sucks. ๐Ÿ’ป

Yesterday morning though, was pretty nice when I was out Five Rivers ๐Ÿธ with so much wildlife out and about, and a lot of sun before the area got overrun by noisy kids and yuppies as the morning progressed into mid-day. I really should do more early morning walks out to Five Rivers when I’m home on the weekends. I tend to sleep in a bit too late at times. Sunday dinner with the folks was good ๐Ÿฅฃ although at times listening to the elderly parents reminds me that all people start to sound like cranky old grandparents at some point on their lives. ๐Ÿง“ ๐Ÿ‘ต I’ll try to remain young as long as possible. ๐Ÿค  Maybe wear my cowboy hat more to cover my own gray hairs.

Today will have a chance of rain. Cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a high of 54 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 6th. East wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 64 degrees. The record high of 84 was set in 1977. 3.3 inches of snow fell back in 1962.โ„

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:57 pm with sun having an altitude of 56.2° from the due south horizon (-14.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 6:56 pm with the sun in the west (277°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (283°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:34 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 58 seconds with dusk around 8:03 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent ๐ŸŒ’ Moon in the west (281°) at an altitude of 3° from the horizon, 251,681 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:38 pm. At sunset, look for rain showers ๐ŸŒง and temperatures around 51 degrees. There will be a east breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 16 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 48 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a slight chance of rain before 1am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 40 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 22nd. East wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2020, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 49 degrees. The record low of 19 occurred back in 1874.

Tomorrow is the big COVID-shot. ๐Ÿ’‰ It should be a fun day, with lots of sun. Then to my talk therapist, which should be an adventure, and hopeful one where I learn a thing or two about myself, figure out how to be a better person and make more money. ๐Ÿ’ฐ Probably I’m writing off Wednesday for recovery from COVID-19 shot, and then Thursday I’ll pack for camping but in no rush to head north or west until Friday, because I think Friday might be quite wet. โ›บ But a few nights in wilderness should help restore my sleeping patterns.

Weekend looks like a pretty decent mid-April weekend. ๐Ÿ˜Ž Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 59. Sunday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 61. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 38 at 10am. Other forecasts aren’t as optimistic but I still have Friday off from work, and I am thinking either the ADKs or CNY at this point. ๐Ÿ• Need to renew my fishing license, probably at Wally World. ๐ŸŽฃ Typical average high for the weekend is 59 degrees. Spring is definitely, coming, I noticed a lot of greening up yesterday at Five Rivers. ๐ŸŒณ Posting pictures throughout the day.

Looking ahead, there are 5 weeks until Pack Rat Day ๐Ÿ€ when the sun will be setting at 8:13 pm with dusk at 8:45 pm. A good chance to clean stuff out. A man wiser then me once said, “You can burn anything with a hot enough of a fire.” ๐Ÿ”ฅ That and “if it’s dark enough out, they won’t see the black smoke”. On that day in 2020, we had mostly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 74 and 54 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 70 degrees. We hit a record high of 92 back in 2017. I remember that day, it was a pretty warm spring day and I was wearing my suit and tie in air conditioned office downtown. ๐Ÿ•ด Walked through the park to the Capitol.

Turn

Ground Hog

The Ground Hog that makes the void under Radley Barn was hanging out there again.

Taken on Sunday April 11, 2021 at Education.