Seasons

Listening to Cat Stevens’ The Wind and pondering the lyrics on this bleak winter day

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Listening to Cat Stevens’ The Wind and pondering the lyrics on this bleak winter day …

I listen to the wind, to the wind of my soul
Where I’ll end up, well, I think only God really knows
I’ve sat upon the setting sun
But never, never, never, never
I never wanted water once
No never, never, never

I listen to my words but they fall far below
I let my music take me where my heart wants to go
I swam upon the Devil’s lake
But never, never, never, never
I’ll never make the same mistake
No, never, never, never

I have this record from back when I was in college and could connect to other shared music archives over the college network. I used to listen to it a lot while I was sitting down by the Saranac River. At least it’s not very cold out but hardly a day to spend outdoors longer then necessary.

https://youtu.be/hMg-fFnVqqo

Cloudy Day in Upstate NY

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As you can see it's a pretty cloudy day in Upstate NY. Downstate though and Connecticut they're seeing a bit more sun and it's expected to clear out tonight through next week with high pressure building in.

Snowy start to the winter

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According to the National Weather Service in Albany…

The Albany International Airport has had 32.0″ of snow this season (beginning July 1st 2020 technically). We are 13.0″ above normal to date. The seasonal normal is 60.3″ (based on 1981-2010 normal period).

https://www.facebook.com/252838241394735/posts/5289351224410053/?sfnsn=mo

What is the Polar Vortex?

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What is the Polar Vortex?

The polar vortex is a large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of the Earth’s poles. It ALWAYS exists near the poles, but weakens in summer and strengthens in winter. The term "vortex" refers to the counter-clockwise flow of air that helps keep the colder air near the Poles. Many times during winter in the northern hemisphere, the polar vortex will expand, sending cold air southward with the jet stream (see graphic above). This occurs fairly regularly during wintertime and is often associated with large outbreaks of Arctic air in the United States. The one that occurred January 2014 is similar to many other cold outbreaks that have occurred in the past, including several notable colder outbreaks in 1977, 1982, 1985 and 1989.

Polar vortex shifting southward due to spiking temperatures around North Pole

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Polar vortex shifting southward due to spiking temperatures around North Pole

Rising temperatures in the North Pole are causing parts of the polar vortex to split off and move southward, leading to the possibility of a particularly harsh winter in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

The polar vortex, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) defines as "a large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding the Earth's North and South poles," generally remains strong and stable, as it did last winter.

As reported by The Washington Post, when it remains stable, cold air stays within the area over the Arctic, with snow chances much less in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.