March 10, 2017 Evening

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“The weather may have been cold in the past, but it’s very cold now.”

Happy Weekend! Got out of work by 6 PM, Daylight Savings Time on a Friday, so I’m not complaining. Maybe next week an hour earlier? Partly clear and 30 degrees in City of Albany. Breezy, 22 mph breeze from the west-northwest with gusts up to 34 mph. The current wind chill is 19. Cold enough even President Donald Trump wouldn’t approve. At least the 18 year old beat up old bus I’m taking home seems to have some good heaters. 

Once I get home, I’m not going anywhere until it warms up or at least not until tomorrow. And then I’m only planning on walking to the library. Sunday I’ll go to the store. I expect it will be a very quiet weekend. 

As much as I enjoy the sun in the evening now, it will be super nice with the additional sunlight come next week. Seven PM sunsets. Unfortunately, I do not see any kind of warm up I’m the foreseeable future. But eventually winter must come to an end. Maybe once there is enough light in the evening to enjoy the park. 

Tonight will have a slight chance of snow showers before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low of 8 degrees at 6am. 16 degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around -10 at 6am; Northwest wind 15 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2016, it got down to 34 degrees with periods of rain. The record low of -10 occurred back in 1939.

Waxing Gibbous Moon tonight with 91% illuminated. The moon will set around 6:35 am. The Full “Worm” Moon is on Sunday night with partly cloudy skies expected. The sun will rise at 6:13 am with the first light at 5:45 am, which is one minute and 42 seconds earlier than yesterday. Tonight will have 12 hours and 15 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 56 seconds over last night.

It looked like there was major delays southbound on Interstate 787 but they were only delays heading into the city and not out. Apparently there is some kind of concert or event tonight at the Palace Theater. Not that I’m in that much of a rush to get home on this very cold weekend. 

Super Cold this weekend with temperatures running 21 degrees below normal with bone chilling below zero wind chills but at least it will be sunny. Accentuate the positive for this weekend won’t bring anybody but natural gas traders joy. Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 19. Wind chill values as low as -10. Blustery, with a northwest wind 16 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 24. West wind 8 to 15 mph. Typical average high for the weekend is 42 degrees.

In four weeks on April 7 the sun will be setting at 7:28 pm (Daylight Savings Time), which is one hour, 32 minutes and 17 seconds later then today. In 2016 on that day, we had rain and temperatures between 62 and 42 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 55 and 34 degrees. The record high of 87 degrees was set back in 2010.

Looking ahead, St. Patrick’s Day is Next Friday, Good Friday is in 5 weeks, Arbor Day is in 7 weeks, Cinco de Mayo is in 8 weeks and Memorial Day Weekend is in 11 weeks.

One Year Ago During the Week of March 10

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This afternoon is 34 degrees, for the high. Tomorrow is only expected to reach 22 degrees with a below zero wind-chill. Sunday might reach 26 degrees, again with some bone-chilling windchills in the single digits. But it’ s not always that cold. Here is the weather conditions for this week, one year ago. 

Friday 03/11/16. Mostly cloudy and rain, a high of 55 and a low of 34.
Saturday 03/12/16. Partly cloudy, a high of 62 and a low of 25.
Sunday 03/13/16. Mostly cloudy, a high of 59 and a low of 42.
Monday 03/14/16. Cloudy and rain, a high of 47 and a low of 40.
Tuesday 03/15/16. Cloudy, a high of 58 and a low of 39.
Wednesday 03/16/16. Cloudy and rain-thunderstorm, a high of 64 and a low of 44.
Thursday 03/17/16. Mostly cloudy and fog-rain-thunderstorm, a high of 61 and a low of 38.

Blowing Snow

Dogs Use Deception to Get Treats, Study Shows

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Dogs Use Deception to Get Treats, Study Shows

"Researchers observed the pooches leading the cooperative partner to the box containing the sausage more often than expected by chance. They led the competitive partner to the sausage less often than expected by chance. And here’s where things get really interesting: the dogs took the competitive partner to the empty box more frequently than the cooperative partner, suggesting that they were working through their options and engaging in deliberate deception to maximize their chances of getting both treats."

Muskrats are a Lenten delicacy for some in southeast Michigan

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Muskrats are a Lenten delicacy for some in southeast Michigan

"While the Lenten season usually signals a break from guilty pleasures like red meat, social media or alcohol, some Downriver communities are counting their lucky stars that Muskrats don't fall on that list."

"Yes, Muskrats."

"In fact, Trinity Lutheran Church in Wyandotte still holds an annual Muskrat dinner to kick off the Lenten season. Don't worry, spaghetti is offered as an alternative. "

"The exemption for eating the semi-aquatic rodent falls under a Catholic notion dating back to the 1800s that since Muskrats live in the water, they should be viewed as fish. Hour Detroit Magazine reports the Archdiocese of Detroit said "there is a standing dispensation for Catholics Downriver" to the eat animal on Fridays, even though there is "no documentation."

America’s infrastructure isn’t as shoddy as it sounds

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America’s infrastructure isn’t as shoddy as it sounds

"Just about every profession has an interest group in Washington that lobbies for more government spending that will benefit its own people. The ASCE is probably more honorable than most, and to its credit, it advocates prudent spending based on rigorous analysis rather than the gimme-gimme grab bag some groups lobby for. But the well-meaning engineers are also making a legitimate problem sound worse than it is, which is very Trumpian and therefore timely—but not a very good reflection of how real Americans get to work, go shopping or visit their relatives."

March 10, 2017 8 AM Update

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Good morning, round 2. Around 32 degrees and cloudy this morning. There is a west-northwest breeze at 7 mph. The skies will clear around 2 pm. We are going to miss the snow but we will get sunnier later with Highs topping out around 35. It will feel colder as the wind picks up later in the afternoon. 

The sun will set at 5:56 pm with dusk around 6:24 pm, which is one minute and 12 seconds later than yesterday. Today will have 11 hours and 43 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a slight chance of snow between 10pm and midnight. Partly cloudy, with a low of 11 degrees at 6am. 15 degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around -5 at 6am; Blustery, with a northwest wind 15 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Cold enough that I left the heat turned up a bit at home, so it doesn’t get too far behind. In 2016, it got down to 34 degrees with periods of rain. The record low of -10 occurred back in 1939.

Today in 1969, in Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King, Jr. He later unsuccessfully attempts to recant.

As previously noted, next Friday is St. Patrick’s Day when the sun will be setting at 7:05 pm with dusk at 7:33 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2016, we had fog, rain, thunderstorm and temperatures between 61 and 38 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 45 degrees. We hit a record high of 75 back in 1990.

I was watching a YouTube video last night and learned that it’s not a big deal to pull the rear seat if I must to feed the new power wire back to the truck bed from the low voltage disconnect. Only five non corroded bolts (no road salt inside)  to remove the entire seat.  I continue to think about how I will hook up the switches in the truck cap. Not going to happen this weekend with the cold. 

I had to return my library books yesterday, but I’ll be back down to the library tomorrow to pick up more books tomorrow. I am sure I won’t be doing much outdoors things this weekend. It’s fine, I’d rather save the miles for hot summer days at the Potholers or Mine Kill. Tonight I’m going to set my clocks ahead an hour in preparation of the time change and continue to get up at a reasonable hour. 

And I’m going to hit post now, so I don’t forget to click post later and leave the morning update not posted to late. Have a great day. 

Area dodges disaster, but for how long?

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Area dodges disaster, but for how long?

"Get again, the Hudson Valley dodged what could have been a catastrophic accident on a rail line near the Hudson River."

"This time, a CSX train derailed near the Newburgh waterfront, in precariously close vicinity to an oil terminal and cargo holdings along the shore."

"The accident, which left several CSX train crew members needing treatment for minor injuries, demonstrates the grave danger that is occurring daily with shipments of hazardous materials through populated areas and by combustible sites — and by one of the area’s most precious environmental resources, the Hudson River."

"The 77-car train was carrying sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide, cardboard, corn oil and glass products."