The village that is now called Stormstown was located on one of the area’s earliest roads. Laid out in 1791-92, the road served as a main route for the shipment of Centre County iron west to Pittsburgh. First settler Abraham Elder’s tavern, on the east end of the village, was a stopping place for iron haulers. In 1812 David Storm recorded a plat of 30 lots, plus a school lot, that he named Walkerville, on the west side of present-day Municipal Lane in the middle of Stormstown. The origin of the Walker connection has not yet been tracked down. Some twenty years after Walkerville was established, Caleb Way slowly started selling off lots between Walkerville and the former site of Elder’ tavern, in an area that was briefly called Wayville. Eventually, by the time of the Civil War, the whole area was called Stormstown. The enterprises of the village included a gristmill, sawmill, distillery, tannery, wagon maker, and several craftsmen’s shops – blacksmith, weaver, potter, and chairmaker. An Easter fire in 1867 destroyed twenty-six buildings, many of which were never rebuilt.
Dog Ear Protection
Some dogs do not react well to the sounds of thunder and fireworks. This is true of our male terriers: Toby a Scottish Terrier, and Tripper, a West Highland Terrier. Tripper also doesn’t like the sounds from the TV during football games. We think it’s the official’s whistles and the crowd noises.
My wife, Marla, decided to try baby ear protectors to block those noises for them. She put them on Tripper before a football game (see below), and he napped through some of the game.
Marla got another pair of ear protectors and put them on Toby and Tripper during a thunderstorm. That seemed to work as well. They both napped during the thunderstorm.
Marla bought Alpine Muffy Baby from Amazon, ~$30.
9/11 Artifacts
On September 6, 2022, a local chapter of The U.S. Veterans Motorcycle Club escorted some artifacts recovered from the rubble at Ground Zero in NYC. They were escorted from The Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA, to The Port Matilda, PA, American Legion hall. A private collector had these items, and they were not available to seen by the public, until recently. The artifacts are pictured below.
Summary 0f Summer 2022
Meteorological Summer is officially over. Here is a brief summary of June 1-August 31 in Stormstown, PA:
Number of days Max T >= 90 F: 4
Max T: 92.6 F – June 22, 2022
Min T: 44.9 F – August 13, 2022
Jun Dep from Normal: 0.1
Jul Dep from Normal: 0.8 F
Aug Dep from Normal: 0.6 F
Heating Degree Days: 137
Cooling Degree Days: 668
Jun Precip: 3.40″, 0.69″ below normal
Jul Precip: 2.02″, 1.77″ below normal
Aug Precip: 3.20″, 0.96″ below normal
The main event of the summer was the abnormally dry conditions that developed.
August 2022 Weather Summary
August was 0.6 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 89.7 deg. F recorded on August 8. The low for the month was 44.9 deg F, recorded on August 13. There were 0 days at or above 90 deg F. There were 36 heating degree days and 222 cooling degree days.
August was a below-normal month for precipitation with 3.20 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.96 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.82 inches recorded on August 21. There were 13 days of rain >.01 in, 8 >.10 in, and 0 >1 in.
High wind speed of 26 mph on August 8.
Trisha Update
It’s been nearly 8 months since we brought our rescue Scotty, Trisha, home. She’s come a long way in that time and has come out of her shell. She can be impish with us and our other dogs. She loves belly rubs and running in the back yard. She also enjoys going on walks to explore. She’s warmed up to our friends but can still be shy around strangers. Her coat has also become darker. She knows she hit the lottery.
July 2022 Weather Summary
July was 0.8 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 91.2 deg. F recorded on July 23. The low for the month was 50.0 deg F, recorded on July 4. There were 3 days day at or above 90 deg F. There were 27 heating degree days and 275 cooling degree days.
July was a below-normal month for precipitation with 2.02 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 1.77 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.46 inches recorded on July 7. There were 8 days of rain >.01 in, 6 >.10 in, and 0 >1 in.
High wind speed of 26 mph on July 23.
Weather Forecasters Challenged by Helium Shortage
This article appeared in the July/August edition of Weatherwise (Vol 75, No 4, p 6)
The ongoing helium shortage has been worsened by the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, and the result could be challenging for weather forecasters, according to an investigation by KXAN-Austin, an NBC affiliate in Texas. The helium shortage, which began several years ago, is the result of multiple factors, including decreased production and increased demand. While the United States is a primary supplier of helium worldwide, Russia is also a large supplier, and the war in Ukraine has resulted in greater demand for U.S. helium.
This presents a problem for NWS forecasters who rely on helium to launch balloons twice daily in across the country to gauge weather conditions in the upper atmosphere. Several NWS sites in Albany, New York; New York City; Tallahassee, Florida; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina, have reported having to reduce the number of balloon launches from twice daily to once daily.
However, the NWS says fewer balloon launches won’t have a major impact on local forecasts because radars and other sensors will be able to fill the majority of the data gaps.
The NWS is planning to find ways to reduce their reliance on helium in the coming years as a result of the shortage.
June 2022 Weather Summary
June was 0.1 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 93 deg. F recorded on June 22. The low for the month was 47 deg F, recorded on June 5. There were 74 heating degree days and 171 cooling degree days.
June was a below normal month for precipitation with 3.40 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.69 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.13 inches recorded on June 22. There were 12 days of rain >.01 in, 7 >.10 in and 1 >1 in.
High wind speed of 33 mph on June 17.
Here is the latest drought summary for Pennsylvania:
Field Day 2022
Field Day has come and gone and I feel like I have had my best Field Day ever.
I made 80 unverified FT8 digital contacts with stations around The United States and Canada. Each of those contacts counts for 2 points for a total of 160 points. A 2x power multiplier makes that 320 points. I sent 59 and received 48 NTS formatted messages. Ten of those messages originated at my station and counted 10 points each. I also sent one to The Western Pennsylvania Section Manager which counted for 100 points during The Western Pennsylvania Phone Traffic Net. There are also 100 bonus points for submitting this post.
I have submitted my entry with a possible score of 670 points, which will be added to the results for my local radio club, The Nittany Amateur Radio Club.
Summary of Spring 2022
Meteorological Spring is officially over. Here is a brief summary of March 1 – May 31, 2022 in Stormstown, PA:
Number of Days Max T <= 32 F: 2
Number of Days Min T <= 32 F: 23
Max T: 89.2 F – May 31, 2022
Min T: 12.5 F – March 4, 2022
Mar Dep from Normal: 4.1 F
Apr Dep from Normal: -1.7 F
May Dep from Normal: 1.8 F
Heating Degree Days: 1465
Cooling Degree Days: 99
Mar Precip: 3.25″, 0.13″ below normal
Apr Precip: 2.84″, 0.67″ below normal
May Precip: 5.22″, 1.58″ above normal
Stormstown Dispatch 