December 3, 2018 Evening
Good evening! Cold, dark and 43 degrees in Delmar. β It’s the first Monday night of December. Its particularly cold not because of the mercury but because of the wind. There is a west breeze at 15 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 2 am. βοΈ
Bus left the plaza right at 5:12 and was right on time.🚍Good, I didn’t have to wait for long. State Christmas Tree, well actually the Capitol is all lit up.🎄Looks really pretty although it seems a bit crooked and those LED lights, especially the blue are a bit garish. I’m sure once those lights are in the landfill, people will look back and say gosh that was tacky.
Tonight will have a chance of rain showers, possibly mixing with snow after 8pm, then gradually ending. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 30 degrees at 5am. Four degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical night around November 23rd. Northwest wind 10 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. In 2017, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 21 degrees. The record low of -9 occurred back in 1940.
Tonight will have a Waning Crescent Moon 🌘 with 10% illuminated. The moon will rise at 4:04 am. The New Moon is on Thursday night with mostly cloudy skies. The Cold Moon 🌝 is on Friday, December 21st. The sun will rise at 7:08 am with the first light at 6:37 am, which is one minute and 2 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 14 hours and 47 minutes of darkness, an increase of one minute and 14 seconds over last night.
Once I get home, I am leaning towards fish sticks, onion rings and corn. 🍤 I think that would be a good dinner. Running low on milk, I might run to the store while dinner is in the oven. It’s literally two doors down to Stewart’s and their milk is cheaper than the grocery store. 🐄
I think most likely after dinner I’ll walk down to library. 🏃 Maybe hop on the internet for a bit, and return my library books. 📚 I guess there is stuff I could work on around the apartment but I figure it’s good to get a few more steps in today. Probably also listen to Marketplace before the library. 📻 When I get home from the library, I’ll probably put Mountain Stage on the radio and listen to it. I was listening to a show about Appalachia today and thinking about how much I miss West Virginia.🎻 I don’t think I should try to drive down there next week but maybe next year. Beautiful state, beautiful people although it really is a mix of beauty and ugliness as all things are in our world. Those strip mines up by Mount Storm coal plant aren’t that pretty. 🏭
At lunch today, 🏃I got in a good mile or two in walking around the plaza. It is easy to rack up the miles if you walk in the tunnels to each agency building, to the museum basement around the base of the Egg, 🍚and the Justice building lobby. I’m trying to walk as much as possible as I know it’s good for health although I really need to think about replacing my boots as multiple holes are now in the soles of the boots. 👞 Eventually I guess.
Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 32 degrees at 2pm. Eight degrees below normal, which is similiar to a typical day around December 27th. Northwest wind 10 to 14 mph. It might be a nice day except for the wind. It will certainly be good for snow in the lake effect belt. I don’t know how they do it up in the Tug Hill.β Those snowy commutes with the big hills must be miserable. A year ago, we had cloudy skies, clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 39 degrees. The record high of 63 was set in 1998. 6 inches of snow fell back in 1901.β
Cool this weekend with temperatures running 8 degrees below normal but otherwise sunny. π Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 29. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 32. Typical average high for the weekend is 38 degrees.
I am still thinking about going out to the Finger Lakes next week. I haven’t made a final decision yet, but it could be a full week if the sunny forecast out there continues. I don’t mind the cold so much if it’s sunny. I have almost a full propane tank and the heater can take the chill off the tent quickly. I’ll also bring lots of tarps to block the wind. βΊ Not sure if I will take the full week off, but I might. Snow is the big concern this time of year but I believe the road where I’m thinking of camping has town plowing in the winter and no real snow is forecast for next week although that’s still a long way off.
The long nights could be fun with a good sized fire, the Christmas lights, some music and podcasts. 🔥Lots of time for cooking after dark and listening to the radio. Then maybe retire to the tent around 8 or 9 o’clock but not too early as it’s dark out there until like 7:30 in the morning this time of year. At least if there are blue skies, it won’t be so dark in the morning. And if I’m cold I can always warm up next to the heater. βYeah, I’ll keep my knife and carbon monoxide alarm ready case of an emergency although I only really turn the heater on briefly.
In four weeks on December 31 the sun will be setting at 4:32 pm,🌄 which is 9 minutes and 48 seconds later then tonight. In 2017 on that day, we had snow, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 8 and -2 degrees. Ducking cold last year on New Years Eve. 🐦Typically, you have temperatures between 32 and 16 degrees. The record high of 61 degrees was set back in 1895.
Looking ahead, 7:15 AM Sunrise βοΈ is in 1 week, New Years Eve 🎆 is in 4 weeks, Latest Sunrise of the Winter 🌄οΈ is a month away, Coldest Week of the Year 🌬 is in 6 weeks, Martin Luther King Day 🖤 is in 7 weeks, Presidents Day 👴 is in 11 weeks, Average High is 40 βοΈ is in 13 weeks, April Fools Day 🤡 is in 17 weeks, Tax Day 💰 is in 19 weeks, Earth Day 🌎 is in 20 weeks, Memorial Day 🇺🇸 is in 25 weeks, July 🏊🏿 is in 30 weeks, Last Sunset After 8 PM 🌆 is in 36 weeks and Election Day 2020 🗳οΈ is in 23 months.