Laying back on the park bench on this chilly evening, looking at the clouds, listening to Otis Redding…
Look like nothin’s gonna change
Everything, still remains the same
I can’t do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I’ll remain the same…
March 17, 2016 Night
Certainly a nice evening, although I think a rain shower is about to chase me indoors as the temperature drops to 48 degrees. The spring peepers are out for the first time this year. Earlier this evening the stars and the moon were quite nicer. Cooler temperatures but with more sun coming for the weekend.
Indeed, tonight was the first time I’ve been down to the park after work since early fall. Granted it was fairly cool down there with the breeze and darkness came at 7:30, it still was nice. Also walked down to the library to get some more census data for mapping. Then came home and had a few beers out back. Went inside when the rain came, and watched the PBS News hour.
Tonight will have continued scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37. Light and variable wind becoming west 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Still mild for one more evening, 11 degrees above normal. The record low of -8 degrees was set back in 1900.
Tonight will have 11 hours and 54 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over last night. I’m glad the nights are getting shorter and days are longer. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:59 am with the first light at 6:31 am, which is 1 minutes and 45 seconds earlier then today.
Tonight we have a Waxing Gibbous Moon with 60% illuminated. It will set at 2:13 am. March’s Full Worm Moon is is on Tuesday. It was pretty until the shower started to come in.
Tomorrow will have a chance of showers, mainly before 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. West wind 9 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. The temperature is about normal for today. The record high of 69 degrees was set back in 2012.
The average high in four weeks on Friday April 15th is 58 degrees, and the record for that date is 83 degrees was set back in 1968. Nicer days can’t be that far away. I saw the grass is greening up in West Capitol Park and the trees already have some buds on them. Freezing temperatures over the next few days may slow that down a bit but I’m not seeing any long-term cold weather in the coming weeks. With an average high creeping up, spring is a certainty.
I hope you had a good day. Sleep well!
First time at Elm Ave Park
Down at the Elm Ave Park for the first time after work this year. We are just beyond sunset but there is still a fair amount of light. Currently partly clear and 56 degrees but with a bit of wind. Grass is starting to green up.
March 17, 2016 Evening
Good evening! Currently partly cloudy with occasional thunderstorms rolling through and mercury wise it’s 56 degrees with a 9 mph west-northwest wind. We are down a few degrees from the high of 59 degrees, which is still quite mild for mid March.
Tonight the sun will set at 7:05 pm with darkness around 7:33 pm, which is 1 minutes and 10 seconds later than yesterday. In four weeks on April 14 the sun will be setting at 7:37 pm, which is 32 minutes later then today. Not coming home to darkness in the evenings sure is nice.
Tonight we have a Waxing Gibbous Moon with 60% illuminated. It will set at 2:13 am. March’s Full Worm Moon is going to be on Tuesday. It should warm up a bit and be clear for it if the full moon.
Continued scattered showers and thunderstorms throughout the region tonight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Tonight will be about 11 degrees above normal. The record low of -8 degrees was set back in 1900.
After the cool down tonight, we will have temperatures that are more seasonable if not even a bit below average. Every day will get at least to the upper 30s and lower 40s but averages now are heading into the upper 40s for highs.
Looking ahead to the weekend cool but sunny conditions will prevail. Saturday will be sunny, with a high near 37. Northwest wind 7 to 9 mph. Saturday night will be mostly clear, with a low around 21. Sunday will have a chance of snow after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 36. Chance of precipitation is 40%. We will have to watch the forecast for Sunday night but my call is that it will be no more than a few inches of wet sloppy snow, if even that. I expect the roads to be fine by mid Monday morning and any snow to melt away by mid-day. I’m unconcerned with the potential snowstorm forecasts, I’m not seeing the cold or the energy to make it happen.
Feeling better this evening. A little achy but I think that has more about sitting at the desk all day. I will make sure to get out and do some walking this evening.
I hope your Thursday is going well. Have a great evening!
Saint Patrick’s Day 2016 Morning
Good morning! Did you remember to wear green? 50¢ ice cream cones at Stewart’s today. Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. Currently foggy and 45 degrees with a 6 mph south wind. We may see some clearing out mid day once the fog burns off.
This Saint Patrick’s Day will have scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2pm. Some of the storms could produce small hail and gusty winds. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 60. South wind 6 to 11 mph becoming west 13 to 18 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 34 mph. At least it will be mild. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. That’s about 15 degrees above normal. The record high of 75 degrees was set back in 1990.
Tonight the sun will set at 7:05 pm with darkness around 7:33 pm, which is 1 minutes and 10 seconds later than yesterday. Today will have 12 hours and 3 minutes of daylight, an increase of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over yesterday. Hopefully we will have more sun then clouds today. No guarantees on that.
Tonight will be scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. West wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. That’s about 17 degrees above normal. The record low of -8 degrees was set back in 1900.
There are 4 days until First Day of Spring when the sun will be setting at 7:09 pm. The average high temperature for First Day of Spring is 46 degrees, with a record high of 78 in 1921.
Feeling better this morning. Not perfect but better. Maybe it’s just the long days and stress of work that is making me sick. More fresh air and nicer spring days should help.
Tomorrow is Friday. I know that will make me happy. Going to be a cool weekend, a few degrees below normal but should be sunny especially on Sunday.
Happy Birthday to John Sebastian of the Loving Spoonful. Do you believe in magic in a young girl’s heart? He turns 72 years old today. Hopefully soon we can be talking about summer in the city.
On this day in 1776, British forces are forced to evacuate Boston following General George Washington’s successful placement of fortifications and cannons on Dorchester Heights, which overlooks the city from the south.
March 16, 2016 Night
Good evening! Currently on and off rain with occasional claps of thunder at 53 degrees with a 16 mph northwest wind.
Tonight continued showers are likely along with thunderstorms before midnight, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between midnight and 2am, then isolated showers after 2am. Patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. Northwest wind 9 to 14 mph becoming light and variable. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. That’s about 16 degrees above normal. The record low of -1 degrees was set back in 1916.
Tonight will have 11 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over last night. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 7:01 am with the first light at 6:33 am, which is 1 minutes and 45 seconds earlier then today.
Tonight we have the First Quarter Moon with 50% illuminated. It will set at 1:25 am. March’s Full Worm Moon is is on Tuesday.
Thursday will be isolated showers between noon and 1pm, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Some of the storms could produce small hail and gusty winds. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 58. Southwest wind 5 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. That’s about 13 degrees above normal. The record high of 75 degrees was set back in 1990.
The average high in four weeks on Thursday April 14th is 57 degrees, and the record for that date is 87 degrees was set back in 1977. Hard to believe that a month from now we will be halfway through April and if the mild late winter / early spring continues, things in the city will be greening up.
I was super impressed by Dan McCoy speaking at the Save the Pine Bush Dinner. He was a very articulate speaker and talked and answered questions for nearly two hours without talking points or staff assistance. He seemed to be incredibly knowledgeable about conservation issues and pretty sure passionate about it too. I thought his working class roots and tone combined with his knowledge of the issues was impressive.
All and all it was a pretty good Save the Pine Bush Dinner. We had good turn out and things got cleaned up in a prompt fashion despite having the speaker run a bit longer than expected.
I continue to have a bit of a cold/allergy. I don’t know what is wrong but I’m not getting better, or like it seems it comes and goes. Maybe it’s a weather thing. If I don’t improve, I may go and talk to my doctor. But usually it does improve after a few days.
But other than that it was a pretty good day. Looking forward to getting out of work at 5 pm on one of these days when the sun is shining and quite nice, so I can go down to the park.
I hope you had a good day. Sleep well!
March 16, 2016 Morning
Good morning! What day is it? Save the Pine Bush Dinner Day, of course. Currently partly cloudy, clearing to the east and 47 degrees with a 6 mph north-northwest wind.
More important than the weather is the fact that the Save the Pine Bush Dinner is at 6 PM at the First Presbyterian Church on Chestnut St in downtown, across the street from the Alfred E. Newman State Office Building. Tonight’s featured speaker is Albany County Executive Dan McCoy. Should be a very interesting couple of hours but I may be late due to work.
People ask why I spend so much time blogging about the weather. I think Simon and Garfunkel got it right with I can gather all the news I need on the weather report.
Today will have a chance of showers, mainly after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 64. That’s a little more optimistic then WNYT’s forecast. Light and variable wind becoming north around 6 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. That’s about 20 degrees above normal. This time of year I like days 20 degrees above normal but not so much mid-summer unless I’m at the Potholers. The record high of 82 degrees was set back in 1990.
Tonight the sun will set at 7:04 pm with darkness around 7:32 pm, which is 1 minutes and 10 seconds later than yesterday. For the first time this year, we will have more daylight then darkness with 12 hours and 1 minutes of daylight, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have occasional showers, mainly before 4am. Low around 45. South wind 9 to 14 mph becoming light after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. That’s about 19 degrees above normal. The record low of -1 degrees was set back in 1916.
There are 1 month, 6 days until Earth Day when the sun will be setting at 7:46 pm. The average high temperature for Earth Day is 61 degrees, with a record high of 86 in 1985.
Today in 1968, General Motors produces its 100 millionth automobile, the Oldsmobile Toronado. That front wheel drive car was the first American front wheel drive car of mass-production. It used a chain drive and was the basis of many airport limousines and the popular GM motor homes of the 1970.