I heard yesterday that Joan Baez was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Twenty sixteen will be remembered as the year they Drove Old Dixie Down and the election of Donald Trump. I’m sure there isn’t much over lap between Trump supporters and those of us who like listening to old Joan Baez records. I’m shocked that Joan Baez isn’t part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame already. Blessed are the one way ticket holders on the one way street. 

There is definitely a lot of sun coming from south but this time of year the sun angle is quite weak so temperatures will only increase modestly. It’s winter after all. The mercury now reads 25 degrees. Some snow on the grass and patches of ice but the sidewalks are clear.

Today will be mostly sunny, with a high of 36 degrees at 2pm. Two degrees above normal. A fairly mild start to winter. West wind 5 to 7 mph. A year ago, we had rain and a high of 48 degrees. It was even warmer last year. The record high of 59 was set in 1957. 6.6 inches of snow fell back in 2008. We still set snow records from time to time.

The sun will set at 4:25 pm with dusk around 4:57 pm, which is 30 seconds later than yesterday. Today will have 9 hours and 2 minutes of daylight, an decrease of 1 second over yesterday. Tomorrow the days start to get longer as we make the long slog towards summer. Remember only three months until the start of calendar spring. That said the only thing spring like on March 21st in Upstate NY is the calendar.

Tonight will have a slight chance of snow after 2am. Cloudy, with a low of 26 degrees at 5am. Seven degrees above normal. South wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2015, it got down to 46 degrees with periods of fog and rain. The record low of -8 occurred back in 1955.

While we are down from thoughts of a cold and long winter, one should note that there, there are 10 weeks until March 1st when the sun will be setting at 5:46 pm with dusk at 6:14 pm. I’ll be glad to be commuting back home in the light. On that day in 2016, we had rain and temperatures between 38 and 21 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 39 degrees. We hit a record high of 61 back in 1991.

Yesterday I fixed my crampons, which are essential for hiking in the ice of winter.  Some of the rubber had cracked, in part from where the strap went over it and because I spilled gasoline on them a while back. But I was able fix them with some extra electrical wire, replacing the damaged rubber with some wire straps. It works perfectly and they fit snug. I saw some hikers without crampons up there hiking, but with all the ice, especially around the falls, I would be afraid of slipping and falling.