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. – See more at: http://www.centrehistory.org/abcs-of-centre-county/#sthash.RLS2TFw7.dpuf
April 2019 Weather Summary
April was 1.9 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 73.5 deg. F recorded on April 23. The low for the month was 22.2 deg F, recorded on April 2. There were 415 heating degree days and 10 cooling degree days.
April was an above normal month for precipitation with 4.24 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.85 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.45 inches recorded on April 19. There were 13 days of rain >.01 in, 9 >.10 in and 1 >1 in.
High wind speed of 45 mph on April 3.
Outlook for May 2019
Significant April 2019 Rainfall
Yesterday, on April 19, 2019, 1.45 inches was the maximum rainfall for a single day in 2019, in Stormstown, PA. April is now already 0.23 inches above normal for the month at 3.62 inches. However, 2019 is now 2.87 inches below normal for the year at 9.45 inches.
March 2019 Weather Summary
March was 0.8 deg F below normal for temperature. The high for the month was 70.4 deg. F recorded on March 30. The low for the month was 7.1 deg F, recorded on March 8. There were 888 heating degree days and 1 cooling degree day.
March was a below normal month for precipitation with 1.75 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 1.80 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.67 inches recorded on March 21. There were 10 days of rain >.01 in, 3 >.10 in and 0 >1 in.
High wind speed of 31 mph on March 15.
Climate Bullying
In a discussion of climate, one will encounter what Chris Martz has called “climate bullying.” The use of ad hominem attacks in a debate is a sure sign that the user is losing. See Chris’ blog article for more.
via Climate Bullying
Outlook For April 2019
The outlook for Stormstown in April appears to be warmer than normal and for precipitation to be normal. We’re probably done with snow for now.
Summary of Winter 2018-2019
Meteorological Winter is officially over. Here is a brief summary of Dec 1-Feb 28 in Stormstown, PA:
Number of days Max T <=32 F: 22
Number of Days Min T <= 32 F: 72
Number of Days Min T <= 0 F: 5
Max T: 58.3 – January 1, 2019
Min T: -8.5- January 30, 2019
Dec Dep from Normal: 2.1
Jan Dep from Normal: -1.9
Feb Dep from Normal: 1.9
Heating Degree Days: 3112
Cooling Degree Days: 0
Dec Precip: 4.97″, 1.87″ above normal
Jan Precip: 1.32″, 1.79″ below normal
Feb Precip: 2.76″, 0.49″ above normal
The outlook for Spring 2019:
February 2019 Weather Summary
February was 1.9 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 57.9 deg. F recorded on February 4. The low for the month was -3.0 deg F, recorded on February 1. There were 943 heating degree days. There 1 day when the temperature was at or below 0.
February was an above normal month for precipitation with 2.76 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.49 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.54 inches recorded on February 6. There were 11 days of rain >.01 in, 6 >.10 in and 0 >1 in.
High wind speed of 58 mph on February 24.
The outlook for March 2019
January 2019 Weather Summary
January was 1.9 deg F below normal for temperature. The high for the month was 58.3 deg. F recorded on January 1. The low for the month was -8.5 deg F, recorded on January 30. There were 1203.7 heating degree days. There were 4 days when the temperature was at or below 0.
January was a below normal month for precipitation with 1.32 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 1.79 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.42 inches recorded on January 5. There were 7 days of rain >.01 in, 5 >.10 in and 0 >1 in.
Maximum 24-hour snowfall was 8 inches during January 19-20.
The outlook for February 2019:
More Antenna Woes
Today, one leg of my G5RV antenna snapped off due to the extreme cold and windy conditions. The temperature now is 9 F with a windchill of -8 F. My HF system is now out of commission until I can install a new antenna, or install the new dedicated 80-meter antenna. Sunday it will warm to the low 40s so that is the earliest I can make the attempt. Temperatures will be above freezing from Sunday until at least next Tuesday.
Right now it looks as though my NTS production for January will be a total of 41 handled messages. That is a personal monthly record.
Update: G5RV antenna was replaced.
NTS Messaging
The National Traffic System (NTS) is an organized network of amateur radio operators sponsored by the American Radio Relay League for the purpose of relaying messages throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Normally, these messages are routine greetings (“Happy birthday Aunt Mary”) to keep the NTS operators active and well practiced in the event they are needed. When there is an emergency or disaster, NTS works closely with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) to provide emergency communications. The most common type of disaster-related messages are “health and welfare” inquiries and notifications into and out of the area affected by a disaster.
In a time of disaster, it is easy to expand the system by simply creating additional meeting times for the nets with high volume, or by setting up a specific “trunk line” between two points.
During 2018, I have sent over 200 routine messages using the phone and digital modes and during different conditions: summer heat, ice storms, rain, wind, etc. In order to be better prepared, my fellow operators and I would appreciate messages of 25 words or less. All that is needed is the message, a phone number and/or email address, plus the destination town and state. A street address is optional. You may initiate a message by sending the required information to wx2dx@arrl.net.
The Western Pennsylvania Phone and Traffic Net meets daily on 3.983 MHz LSB at 2200 UTC.
