Stewart’s

Cold as it gets

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This morning was negative 13 at the Albany International Airport, which is about as cold as it gets in recent decades in Albany.

Albany Aiport
Nights Negative 10 or Colder Since 2002
Negative 13 is about as cold as it gets these days.
DATE TMIN
Mon, Jan 1, 2018 -10
Sun, Feb 14, 2016 -13
Sat, Feb 21, 2015 -10
Fri, Feb 6, 2015 -10
Tue, Feb 3, 2015 -12
Wed, Jan 14, 2015 -10
Sat, Jan 4, 2014 -12
Fri, Jan 3, 2014 -11
Mon, Jan 24, 2011 -13
Fri, Jan 28, 2005 -16
Mon, Jan 24, 2005 -16
Sat, Jan 22, 2005 -10
Wed, Jan 14, 2004 -13
Sat, Jan 10, 2004 -11
Tue, Jan 28, 2003 -12
Sat, Jan 18, 2003 -12
Andy Arthur, 2/4/23.
Data Sources: National Weather Service Records,
January 2002 to Present, Albany Airport

That said, years ago it did much colder.

Albany Aiport’s Coldest Mornings
Back in the day it used to be a lot colder in Albany.
DATE TMIN
Tue, Jan 19, 1971 -28
Sat, Jan 31, 1948 -26
Fri, Jan 12, 1968 -26
Thu, Jan 11, 1968 -25
Mon, Jan 14, 1957 -24
Mon, Jan 19, 1970 -24
Sun, Jan 17, 1971 -23
Thu, Jan 27, 1994 -23
Mon, Feb 15, 1943 -22
Thu, Dec 25, 1969 -22
Tue, Jan 20, 1970 -22
Mon, Jan 19, 1948 -21
Tue, Feb 10, 1948 -21
Sat, Mar 6, 1948 -21
Sun, Feb 18, 1973 -21
Tue, Feb 16, 1943 -20
Fri, Feb 6, 1948 -20
Sat, Mar 4, 1950 -20
Tue, Jan 15, 1957 -20
Tue, Jan 9, 1968 -20
Fri, Jan 2, 1970 -20
Fri, Jan 23, 1970 -20
Thu, Dec 25, 1980 -20
Sun, Jan 22, 1984 -20
Andy Arthur, 2/4/23.
Data Sources: National Weather Service Records,
June 1939 to Present, Albany Airport

The World’s Biggest Bag of Lima Beans

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I often buy large sizes when I buy frozen food because I figure it’s saves money and cuts down on trash. I’m always very careful to get things with as little packaging as possible, because it’s expensive and a pain to take trash to the transfer station at $2 a bag, and a 8 mile round trip drive on a Saturday morning.

Every week I try to include a significant portion of vegetables in my diet. When I’m home and when it’s off-season, I get a lot of frozen vegetables in large packages which provide a healthy treat but produce minimal waste when the packaging is discarded. I often buy two or three pounds frozen bags of peas, corn, blueberries, etc.

Getting a little bored with peas as my green vegetable of choice the other day I bought a massive 3 lb bag of lima beans. I like lima beans, and they’re really healthy, but god I don’t know how I will ever get through three pounds of lima beans. There not something I would necessarily want with every meal, although I’m sure eventually they will go.

It will be kind of like the three pound bag of frozen brussel sprouts that I bought in November or December in one year, and they were gone by April. So be it.

February 1, 2023 Morning

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Good morning! Happy February. We made it through January. ❄ Now the real cold weather is heading towards us though not for long.

Clear except that the south 🌅 and 14 degrees for the morning walk 🚶 in Delmar. That’s normal for this time of year but seems cold after the January that was. Calm wind. There are 2 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 11 am. 🌡️Then really cold on Friday night relatively speaking.

As February gets underway the mornings are brighter 🔆 especially with the sun out like today. Needs to get a little brighter before I walk at 6:15 but I plan to change back to that time later in February. Early is nice as it’s calm and not a lot of traffic. Plus I generally prefer to walk 🚶 before breakfast.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 29 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees below normal. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 9 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 25 degrees. The record high of 65 was set in 1989. 15.0 inches of snow fell back in 1898.❄

Yesterday was a Tuesday. 🤯 I mean that’s mind blowing although that’s a pretty ordinary thing. Got home at six 6⃣ reheated half of the soup 🍲 and went for the evening walk 🚶. I was surprised, made it home by 6 pm. Continuing to cut meals 🍴 in half to save money and reduce calories and if I need a little extra I’ll add some veggies or fruit.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:10 pm with sun having an altitude of 30.2° from the due south horizon (-40.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:27 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (240°). 📸

The sunset is in the west-southwest (247°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:09 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 9 seconds with dusk around 5:38 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the east (91°) at an altitude of 44° from the horizon, 249,894 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:12 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 26 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 8 mph. Tomorrow will have 10 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 23 seconds over today.

I was thinking wow, how fast the year is going. 🗓 I got my third paycheck on Monday and was studying the paystub and I was like wow already saved $2,500 towards retirement that means like a 1/10th of the year is done though that’s just an artifact of it being a werid three paycheck month. Oh, well. 🤷‍♂️

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 16 degrees at 6am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 5th. Maximum wind chill around 15 at 6pm; West wind 5 to 8 mph becoming south after midnight. In 2022, we had snow in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 20 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1961.

Cold come Saturday then warm come Sunday. 😕 Saturday, sunny, with a high near 16. Blustery. Sunday, cloudy, with a high near 40. Typical average high for the weekend is 34 degrees. Get kind of everything this weekend.

One month 📅 from now will be March 🌨 when the sun will be setting at 5:45 pm with dusk at 6:12 pm. The average high temperature is 40 degrees, with a record high of 65 in 1991.

Cold but sunny ??

Forest Cover by Catskill Park Unit

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Forest Cover by Catskill Park Unit
Unit Deciduous Forest Evergreen Forest Mixed Forest
Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest 51.3% 1.7% 44.4%
Beaverkill Campground 48.2% 12.2% 29.9%
Belleayre Mountain Day Use Area 53.4% 0.3% 13.1%
Belleayre Mountain Ski Center 43.0% 1.1% 47.7%
Big Indian Wilderness 62.1% 0.7% 36.6%
Bluestone Wild Forest 47.2% 7.6% 37.2%
Colgate Lake Wild Forest 27.7% 19.2% 47.8%
Delaware Wild Forest 84.3% 1.8% 12.1%
Devil’s Tombstone Campground 87.8% 0.0% 0.4%
Diamond Notch Primitive Bicycle Corridor 56.5% 0.0% 43.5%
Dry Brook Ridge Wild Forest 61.4% 4.4% 33.5%
Dutcher Notch Primitive Bicycle Corridor 34.1% 2.9% 50.4%
Elm Ridge Wild Forest 62.4% 8.7% 24.9%
Esopus Creek Fishing Access 30.7% 0.0% 5.3%
Halcott Mountain Wild Forest 48.1% 1.1% 50.4%
Hunter-West Kill Wilderness 60.1% 5.0% 34.5%
Indian Head Wilderness 51.3% 8.1% 40.1%
Kaaterskill Wild Forest 53.3% 7.1% 38.6%
Kenneth L. Wilson Campground 9.6% 28.8% 25.5%
Little Pond Campground 79.5% 0.9% 10.8%
Mink Hollow Primitive Bicycle Corridor 66.8% 0.0% 32.7%
Mongaup Pond Campground 53.8% 0.8% 20.6%
North/South Lake Campground 12.9% 27.0% 42.7%
Overlook Mountain Wild Forest 65.1% 1.3% 33.3%
Overlook Turnpike Primitive Bicycle Corridor 37.9% 6.3% 55.7%
Phoenicia – Mt. Tobias Wild Forest 73.5% 1.6% 24.2%
Rusk Mountain Wild Forest 62.4% 2.8% 34.6%
Shandaken Wild Forest 90.7% 0.9% 7.5%
Slide Mountain Wilderness 64.3% 4.4% 31.0%
Sundown Wild Forest 64.5% 3.8% 27.9%
Unclassified 63.8% 2.6% 32.1%
Willowemoc Wild Forest 65.3% 3.6% 24.5%
Windham-Blackhead Range Wilderness 47.9% 5.3% 46.3%
Woodland Valley Campground 84.0% 0.7% 7.6%
Andy Arthur, 1/22/23.
Data Source: 2019 National Land Cover Dataset.

Today’s Almanac for Monday January 30

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Today’s Almanac

Night before dawn is 6 hours and 41 minutes,
Dawn starts at 6:41 am and runs for 28 minutes,
Sunrise is at 7:09 am which is 4 hours and 50 minutes before noon,
High noon, the transit of the sun, is at 12:08 pm,
From twelve noon to the sunset at 5:07 pm is 5 hours and 7 minutes,
Dusk lasts for 31 minutes concluding at 5:35 pm,
Leaving 6 hours and 24 minutes until midnight.

Downstream

January 30, 2023 Morning

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Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. We all knew it would happen but did we actually believe it on Friday? Mostly cloudy and 30 degrees in Delmar. ☁ There is a west-southwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around 10 am. 🌡️

Kind of a cold and damp morning. 🌅 Of course we can discuss the meaning of cold come the weekend when the first cold blast of the season really comes. Seems like in recent years the really cold weather happens after the Ground Hog 🐻 see his shadow.

Enjoy one more mild day. ☺ Today will have a slight chance of rain and snow showers between 1pm and 2pm, then a chance of rain showers. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a high of 37 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 18th. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with sunny skies in the afternoon. The high last year was 17 degrees. The record high of 56 was set in 2013. 11.0 inches of snow fell back in 1966.❄

Back to work after turning forty. It’s the usual Monday routine. 🧑🏻‍💼I boiled my muzzles yesterday while unpacking my camping 🏕 gear and I’m doing the morning walk 🚶 after having biscuits and oranges 🍊for breakfast. My jacket still smells like the weekend that was 🔥 but will air out as the week goes on. Shower, iron put on my politicians suit and take the local downtown to my office 🏢 and water the plants. 🌱 Work, work, work 📄 and get paid Tuesday and invest two thirds of that towards a better tomorrow.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 29.7° from the due south horizon (-41.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:24 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (239°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (247°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:06 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 10 seconds with dusk around 5:35 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇

At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the east-southeast (119°) at an altitude of 59° from the horizon, 245,505 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:10 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 36 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 9 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 19 seconds over yesterday.

The three day weekend that I invented was nice though nothing that special for my birthday. 🎂 The skiing 🎿 was great especially on Friday and it was mild and sunny 🌞 for Saturday but Rennselearville is only 32 minutes from home so it’s not that much of a trip. But I had my fires 🔥 burned up all that paper and burnables, had a few drinks 🍻 and some nice meals. 🍴 Did a lot of skiing and a nice hike on Sunday though nothing extraordinary.

My phone service keeps dropping out in Delmar 📱 which has been annoying. 📶 Not sure what the problem is though I heard Verizon has had capacity issues lately. I know my cheap service gets the lowest priority and I live on the outskirts of town where service is a bit spotty but it’s been good over the decade and a half I’ve had it. 🤷‍♂️

Tonight will have a chance of rain and snow showers before 8pm, then a chance of snow showers between 8pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 24 degrees at 6am. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 8th. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. In 2022, we had clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 7 degrees. The record low of -26 occurred back in 1948.

I don’t think today will be a good one to go to the car wash 🚿 but maybe tomorrow before it gets too cold out. Shopping 🛒 on Friday I tried to get everything I would need for the week but some things inevitably got left off the list 📃. I’ve misplaced my needles and need to pick some up to fix a shirt. 🪡 So maybe Tuesday after work.

Frigid weekend ahead. ❄ Saturday, sunny, with a high near 13. That’s cold. Sunday, a chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 34 degrees. I guess if I don’t want my pipes to freeze I’m going to have to turn the heat above 48 degrees feel like a husky on a hot summer day. 🐺 It’s been such a mild winter though no 70 degrees days like that year a few years ago.

Next Monday Save the Pine Bush Turns 45 🦋 when the sun will be setting at 5:16 pm with dusk at 5:44 pm. Makes me feel young. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 36 and 12 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 34 degrees. We hit a record high of 55 back in 1991.

Lake Champlain from Base of Tower