Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Summer ️⛱️ when the sun will be setting at 8:38 pm with dusk at 9:11 pm. On that day in 2021, we had mostly sunny but humid weather with thunderstorms and temperatures between 86 and 68 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 81 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1938.
"The central and Western United States will face elevated reliability risks this summer, as extreme temperatures, drought conditions and higher peak demands challenge grid operators, according to analysis published Wednesday by the North American Electric Reliability Corp.
Among those regions, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator is at highest risk and could face a resource shortfall during normal operating conditions, NERC officials said. Peak demand in the region is expected to be 1.7% higher this year than last, while resource commitments declined in the operator’s most recent planning auction.
Grid operators may also struggle with cybersecurity threats, supply chain issues and the potential for disruptive wildfires, according to NERC officials. But the biggest long-term risk may be the unexpected tripping of solar resources during grid disturbances, for which NERC is currently developing new rules, they said."
While I was on the fence, I decided to stay in town this weekend 🏡
With gas prices so high, I have to be a bit more selective about which weeks I head out of town. Plus my truck is due for an oil change and possibly other service — I should review the manual. I doubt I will have a chance to get out of town this month, but my hope is come June, July and August I can get away at least twice a month, preferring long-weekends so I can maximize my trip.
Probably will plan on places I can park, take advantage of solar and camp all weekend without running the truck, to save fuel. House Pond Campsite is a perfect example of that with the swimming hole. Or possibly do trips out to Schoharie and Burnt Rossman and the Mine Kill Pool, which isn’t quite so far out of town and then I can visit my parents house on Sunday when I get back home. I actually somewhat prefer not to head out of town on Fridays, as I’m often tired after a long week and just want rest up before the long drive up north or out west.
The Climate Prediction Center, the long-range forecasting arm of the National Weather Service, also says a warm summer is likely for Upstate New York – in fact, for the entire continental U.S. The center doesn’t forecast in degrees, but in percentages that the summer will be normal, above or below.
The odds of a warmer-than-normal summer in Upstate New York are up to 60%, the center said.
New York state climatologist Mark Wysocki said the Hudson Valley and Adirondacks have the best chance of being warmer than usual.
38 days until the start of the Memorial Day Weekend 🇺🇸
Fun fact, Memorial Day this year falls on the traditional, pre-National Monday Holiday Act (1970) day of May 30th. Back in the 1960s, Memorial Day often fell during the middle of the week. For example, Memorial Day ’68 was on a Thursday, and people had to go to work on the Friday after Memorial Day.
The summer of 1959 was the hottest summer ever in the history of Albany. There were 996 cooling degree days during the summer of 1959, compared to the normal of 550 cooling degree days. Cooling degrees are the number of degrees an air conditioning must lower the air temperature in a month to make the indoors a comfortable 65 degrees.
May 1959– 150 May Normal – 15
June 1959 – 293 June Normal – 97
July 1959 – 293 July Normal – 219
August 1959 – 281 August Normal – 183
September 1959 – 171 September Normal – 33
October 1959 – 12 October Normal – 3
If you aren’t convinced that Albany was hot during the summer 1959, consider the fact that the average high for September 1959 was 82 degrees in Albany. That’s ten degrees above the September average of 72 degrees most years.
