Winter

One Year Ago During the Week of March 10

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This afternoon is 34 degrees, for the high. Tomorrow is only expected to reach 22 degrees with a below zero wind-chill. Sunday might reach 26 degrees, again with some bone-chilling windchills in the single digits. But it’ s not always that cold. Here is the weather conditions for this week, one year ago. 

Friday 03/11/16. Mostly cloudy and rain, a high of 55 and a low of 34.
Saturday 03/12/16. Partly cloudy, a high of 62 and a low of 25.
Sunday 03/13/16. Mostly cloudy, a high of 59 and a low of 42.
Monday 03/14/16. Cloudy and rain, a high of 47 and a low of 40.
Tuesday 03/15/16. Cloudy, a high of 58 and a low of 39.
Wednesday 03/16/16. Cloudy and rain-thunderstorm, a high of 64 and a low of 44.
Thursday 03/17/16. Mostly cloudy and fog-rain-thunderstorm, a high of 61 and a low of 38.

Blowing Snow

Record Breaking Warm Today

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Today is expected to reach 68 degrees in the City of Albany. If so, that will be 31 degrees above the normal high temperature of 37 degrees for February 23rd. That will the tie for the warmest February temperature ever recorded in Albany — 68 degrees on February 22, 1997. February 25, 1976 reached 67 degrees and is the second hottest February day on record.

Oddly enough, we’ve actually had a handful of 70 degree days in January — when the temperature is colder on average. On January 6, 2007 and January 13, 1932 it reached 71 degrees in Albany.

To put that in context, if today was in the dog days of summer — July 13 through the 24th when the average high is 83 degrees — the mercury would reach 114 degrees Fahrenheit.

That said, even the most very hot summer day rarely exceed 10-15 degrees above normal. There just isn’t enough warm air in the atmosphere to ever push the mercury above 100 degrees in Albany. The last time it hit 100 degrees in Albany was September 3, 1953. The hottest it’s ever reached in Albany is 104 degrees on Independence Day 1911.

February 15, 2017 – Next Sixteen Weeks

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Sixteen weeks from now will be June. There is hope for warmer weather and it’s in a foreseeable future. Already the sunsets have gotten much longer, and starting next week, we will be seeing sizable increases in the average high every week. Five weeks to calendar spring, in which the average high is 47 degrees in Albany.

In as few as four weeks, the weather might be nice enough to go to the park in the evening, and heck I’ve been truck camping in early March, although that’s usually something reserved for the warmest winters, not necessarily this winter.

Week Date Dawn Sun-
rise		 Sun-
set		 Dusk Day Avg High Avg Low Record Hi Record Low
0 February 15 6:21 am 6:50 am 5:27 pm 5:56 pm 10:37 35 17 55 (2006) -22 (1943)
1 February 22 6:11 am 6:39 am 5:36 pm 6:05 pm 10:57 36 19 68 (1997) -8 (1963)
2 March 1 6:00 am 6:28 am 5:45 pm 6:13 pm 11:17 39 21 61 (1991) -9 (1948)
3 March 8 5:48 am 6:16 am 5:54 pm 6:22 pm 11:37 41 23 68 (2012) -2 (1989)
4 March 15 6:36 am 7:04 am 7:02 pm 7:30 pm 11:57 44 25 72 (1989) 1 (1993)
5 March 22 6:24 am 6:52 am 7:10 pm 7:38 pm 12:17 47 28 81 (2012) 2 (1875)
6 March 29 6:12 am 6:40 am 7:18 pm 7:46 pm 12:38 50 31 85 (1946) 0 (1923)
7 April 5 5:59 am 6:28 am 7:26 pm 7:55 pm 12:58 54 33 82 (1928) 14 (2016)
8 April 12 5:47 am 6:16 am 7:34 pm 8:03 pm 13:17 57 36 84 (1977) 13 (1874)
9 April 19 5:35 am 6:05 am 7:42 pm 8:12 pm 13:37 60 39 92 (1976) 18 (1875)
10 April 26 5:24 am 5:54 am 7:50 pm 8:20 pm 13:55 63 41 90 (1990) 24 (1972)
11 May 3 5:14 am 5:45 am 7:58 pm 8:29 pm 14:13 66 43 89 (2001) 29 (1966)
12 May 10 5:04 am 5:36 am 8:06 pm 8:37 pm 14:29 68 45 92 (1970) 28 (1958)
13 May 17 4:56 am 5:29 am 8:13 pm 8:46 pm 14:43 70 47 89 (1977) 30 (1959)
14 May 24 4:50 am 5:23 am 8:20 pm 8:53 pm 14:56 72 50 92 (1964) 29 (1963)
15 May 31 4:45 am 5:19 am 8:26 pm 9:00 pm 15:06 74 52 92 (2013) 34 (1961)
16 June 7 4:42 am 5:17 am 8:31 pm 9:05 pm 15:13 76 54 95 (1999) 37 (1958)

Thin skim of ice on the deeper ponds

Today in AD 278 St. Valentine was beheaded.

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Today in AD 278 St. Valentine was beheaded.

"Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.

To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.

When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270."

Snow is Back On for Sunday

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Heads up on the weather for Sunday into Monday…

The National Weather Service in Albany has issued a Winter Storm Watch… which is in effect from Sunday morning through Monday evening.

* Locations…southern Adirondacks, Lake George-Saratoga region, Mohawk Valley, Capital Region, Schoharie Valley, Central Taconics, Berkshires and Southern Vermont.

* Hazard types…heavy snow.

* Accumulations…greater than 7 inches of snow is possible.

* Winds…wind gusts are expected to increase Sunday night through Monday that may result in blowing and drifting of snow.