Bethlehem Public Library

Bethlehem Public Library values its responsibility to enhance the general welfare and quality of life in the community and region it serves. The library pursues excellence in its mission: to provide equal and uncensored access to resources and services that encourage lifelong learning, cultural enrichment, and professional growth.

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December 11, 2016 Night

Good evening! Light snow and 27 degrees in Delmar. There is a south-southeast breeze at 13 mph. The current wind chill is 16. We have about an inch of snow on the ground in Delmar with about two more inches on the way. Warming up to 41 tomorrow so it won’t last. 

Tonight will continue to have some  light snow before midnight, then snow after midnight. Low of 27 degrees at 10pm. Four degrees above normal. South wind 10 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. Probably an inch on top of the existing inch by 2 AM, then may be one more by 5 AM. In the city I expect few impacts for commuters by day break. In 2015, it got down to 34 degrees under mostly cloudy skies. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1988.

Waxing Gibbous Moon tonight with 87% illuminated. When the snow lets up the moon light is peaking through an illuminating the snow covered landscape. The moon will set around 7:12 am. The Full β€œCold” Moon is on Wednesday night with mostly cloudy skies expected and chance of snow.

Tomorrow will have a mix bag of rain, snow, and sleet, becoming all rain after 10am. High of 41 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees above normal. That should melt all the slop away.  South wind 8 to 14 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than one inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies and a high of 57 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1979. 6.6 inches of snow fell back in 1970. Tomorrow won’t be like 1970. The sun will rise at 7:16 am with the first light at 6:44 am, which is 49 seconds later then yesterday.

Mostly fixed the video problems with watching videos on my laptop. Ended up getting two DVDs from the library, one about the geology of America. It was a NOVA special, and quite well done. Watched it for several hours this evening, while I was working on maps with the October 2016 local area unemployment statistics. Interesting stuff. Should have some good maps to post later. 

Picked up the groceries I need for the week, took some sinus medication and drank a lot of water (to help avoid getting plugged sinuses), and I’m feeling better. Hopefully I caught it in time and the minor discomfort and aching I had this morning is done and won’t come back come tomorrow after sleeping in bed with my neck back. We’ll see. 

Looking ahead, Christmas is in 2 weeks, New Years Day is in 3 weeks, My 34th Birthday is in 7 weeks, Daylight Savings Time is in 13 weeks, Palm Sunday is in 17 weeks, Easter is in 18 weeks, Mother’s Day is in 22 weeks and Father’s Day is in 27 weeks.

One Year Ago Was Much Warmer

Compared to last year, this weekend is darn cold. Below is a look back to the weekend weather from this weekend, one year ago. This week was unusually mild for December, with typical temperatures between 38 and 21.

Saturday 12/12/15. Mostly cloudy, a high of 57 and a low of 34.

Sunday 12/13/15. Cloudy and rain, a high of 52 and a low of 43.

Monday 12/14/15. Cloudy and rain, a high of 61 and a low of 44.

Tuesday 12/15/15. Mostly cloudy and rain, a high of 61 and a low of 42.

Wednesday 12/16/15. Mostly cloudy, a high of 46 and a low of 35.

Thursday 12/17/15. Cloudy and fog-rain, a high of 52 and a low of 44.

December 10, 2016 Morning

Good morning! Happy Saturday. It’s a pretty frigid start to our the weekend! Two weeks to Christmas Eve. Mostly sunny and 23 degrees in Delmar. There is a west-northwest breeze at 7 mph. Lots of sun but that occasional breeze makes it feel colder. 

Today will have a slight chance of snow showers after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high of 31 degrees at 2pm. Seven degrees below normal. Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had rain and a high of 58 degrees. Nothing like today. The record high of 64 was set in 1966. That said, 6.1 inches of snow fell back in 2014.

The sun will set at 4:22 pm with dusk around 4:53 pm, which is 5 seconds later than yesterday. Sunsets are getting later. That said, today will have 9 hours and 6 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 45 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 16 degrees at 6am. Seven degrees below normal. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming light and variable. A bit cold for mid December. In 2015, it got down to 39 degrees under partly cloudy skies. The record low of -8 occurred back in 1988.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Christmas Eve when the sun will be setting at 4:27 pm with dusk at 4:59 pm. On that day in 2015, we had fog, rain and temperatures between 72 and 43 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high that year. Doesn’t that just warm your heart? 

December 1, 2016 Morning

Good morning! Happy December! Only 30 days and 15 hours of 2016 left. The State of New York sent me a letter reminding me I have only a few weeks left to give to my niece’s 527 account and deduct it from my 2016 state taxes. It’s not like an IRA, you can’t back date contributions up to April 15th.

This morning is still mostly cloudy and 47 degrees in Delmar. Breezy, 16 mph breeze from the west. The skies will clear around 7 pm.

Today will have a slight chance of showers after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high of 49 degrees at 12pm. Eight degrees above normal. West wind 13 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had rain and a high of 43 degrees. The record high of 67 was set in 1934. 3.7 inches of snow fell back in 1969.

I woke up at 6:30, went downstairs and took a piss and subsequently fell back asleep until quarter to eight. Last Thursday was Thanksgiving so I had turned it off. Evidently I’m taking the Route 18 Yokel Local bus to work. The weather looked kind of threatening to walk down to the express from the Park and Ride. 

The sun will set at 4:22 pm with dusk around 4:54 pm, which is 18 seconds earlier than yesterday. Today will have 9 hours and 15 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 1 minutes and 21 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 35 degrees at 6am. Eight degrees above normal. West wind 7 to 11 mph. In 2015, it got down to 41 degrees with periods of rain. The record low of -2 occurred back in 1875.

There is 1 month until New Years Day when the sun will be setting at 4:33 pm with dusk at 5:05 pm. The average high temperature is 32 degrees, with a record high of 61 in 1895. Then we will have to remember to date all those memorandums with 2017. Time goes by so quickly. 

Today in 1824, the Electoral College picks the winner of the presidential race. Since no candidate received a majority of the total electoral college votes in the election, the United States House of Representatives is given the task of deciding the winner in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

November 28, 2016 Morning

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Mostly sunny and 23 degrees in Delmar. Calm wind. Temperatures really dropped with those clear skies, although honestly its not that cold for the last week of November when the average low is 28. No wind helps. 

Today will be sunny, with a high of 47 degrees at 2pm. Two degrees above normal. Light and variable wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. Should be a pretty nice day. Maybe not record breaking or as warm as last year but the sun will feel good. A year ago, we had rain and a high of 58 degrees. The record high of 68 was set in 1990. 6 inches of snow fell back in 1985.

November 27, 2016 Night

Good evening! Partly clear and 35 degrees in Delmar. There is a northwest breeze at 7 mph.

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 31 degrees at 4am. One degree above normal. Northwest wind 3 to 7 mph. In 2015, it got down to 35 degrees with periods of rain. The record low of 6 occurred back in 1951.

Waning Crescent Moon tonight with 8% illuminated. The moon will rise around 4:44 am. The New Moon is on Tuesday night with slight chance of showers expected. The Full β€œCold” Moon is on Wednesday, December 14th.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny, with a high of 42 degrees at 1pm. Typical for tomorrow. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had rain and a high of 58 degrees. The record high of 68 was set in 1990. 6 inches of snow fell back in 1985. The sun will rise at 7:02 am with the first light at 6:31 am, which is 1 minutes and 8 seconds later then yesterday.

The rest of the week looks to be quite cloudy and seasonable cool. Not really bad weather but hardly bright and sunny weather. Then again, clouds are common in late autumn in the Albany area. 

Looking ahead on the calendar, Christmas is in 4 weeks, New Years Day is in 5 weeks, My 34th Birthday is in 9 weeks, Daylight Savings Time is in 15 weeks, Palm Sunday is in 19 weeks, Easter is in 20 weeks, Mother’s Day is in 24 weeks and Father’s Day is in 29 weeks. Lots of Sunday holidays to look forward to in the coming weeks. 

Gave up on restoring my old PostGIS database. I’m just going to create a new one. No need to waste my time on this old data, I’ll freshen it up with new data from the respective sources. It will take the machine a while to update things but I can either leave it working during night or just nice the process. Hopefully I’ll be back in the map business by tomorrow evening. 

Big Red finally got his bath. He is mostly free of rain and mud now. It was fine at the car wash, now I’m sure they’ll start applying road salt like there is no tomorrow. 

Well stocked up on groceries. I shouldn’t have to go shopping until at least Sunday. That’s good as I don’t like to drive during the weekdays. Tons and tons of waffles now in my freezer.