Author: Bill

October 2025 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment
Taken from my quadcopter drone over Halfmoon Valley.

October was 0.3 deg F below normal for temperature. The high for the month was 81.6 deg. F recorded on October 6. The low for the month was 27.2 deg F, recorded on Oct 27. The first freeze of the season, 31.4 F, was recorded on October 10. There were 0 days at or above 90 deg F and 5 days at or below 32 deg F. There were 436 heating degree days and 20 cooling degree days.

October was below average for precipitation with 3.26 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.20 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.47 inches recorded on October 30. There were 8 days of rain >.01 in, 6 >.10 in and 1 > 1 inch.

High wind speed of 32 mph on October 31.

October 2025 Data

Drought Status

September 2025 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment

September was near normal for temperature. The high for the month was 88.5 deg. F recorded on September 19. The low for the month was 36.5 deg F, recorded on September 8. There were 0 days at or above 90 deg F and 0 days at or below 32 deg F. There were 138 heating degree days and 104 cooling degree days.

September had 3.46 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.49 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.94 inches recorded on September 25. There were 6 days of rain >.01 in, 5 >.10 in, and 1 > 1 in. There were 15 consecutive days without measurable precipitation (Sep 7-21).

High wind speed of 28 mph on September 5.

September 2025 Data

Summary Of Summer 2025

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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: 12

Max T: 95.0 F – June 24, 2025

Min T: 36.0 F – June 2, 2025

Jun Dep from Normal: 2.1 F

Jul Dep from Normal: 2.3 F

Aug Dep from Normal: -3.1 F

Heating Degree Days: 159

Cooling Degree Days: 682

Jun Precip: 5.81″, 1.72″ above normal  

Jul Precip: 5.30″, 1.51″ above normal

Aug Precip: 1.84″, 2.32″ below normal  

August 2025 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment

August was 3.1 deg F below normal for temperature. The high for the month was 90.8 deg. F recorded on August 12. The low for the month was 39.4 deg F, recorded on August 30. There was 1 day at or above 90 deg F. There were 93 heating degree days and 165 cooling degree days.

August was a below-normal month for precipitation with 1.84 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 2.32 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.78 inches, recorded on August 20. There were 7 days of rain >.01 in, 3 >.10 in, and 0 >1 in.

There are areas of abnormally dry conditions in The Commonwealth:

High wind speed of 23 mph on August 29.

August 2025 Data

Shrimp Radioactivity Test

Bill1 Comment

There was recent news item about radioactive material contaminating frozen shrimp that was being shipped to Walmart stores.

The FDA recalled the shrimp after finding elevated levels of Cesium-137 in shipping containers at 4 U.S. ports. At least one shrimp sample contained a higher-than-expected level of Cs-137. It is likely that radiation was due to contaminated containers, not because of contaminated food products. The origin of the shrimp was Indonesia.

Cs-137 as a flexible, soft, and silvery-white metal that liquifies near room temperature. The radioisotope is a byproduct of nuclear reactions. Trace amounts of Cs-137 are detectable around the world in our food, soil, and air,

I decided to test a package of frozen shrimp I bought at a local Wegmans store. First, I checked the background reading: 0.07 microSieverts per hour, or 0.007 millirems per hour.

I then checked the shrimp package. I detected no significant change from the background reading.

The results are anecdotal, indeed, but interesting.

Clearwater Conservancy Groundbreaking Ceremony

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On August 5, 2025, Clearwater Conservancy held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of The Hamer Community Conservation Center.

The center is named after Donald Hamer (1925-2016), who cared deeply about the preservation of natural resources and generously donated his time and resources to environmental groups, including ClearWater Conservancy. Construction of the 10,392-square-foot, two-story center is scheduled for completion by mid-August 2026. The 10-acre construction site is located at 1601 Houserville Road in Houserville, PA.

Construction Site
Barbara Fisher

Clearwater founder Barbara Fisher explained how the organization originated from citizen efforts to stop a mall from being developed on farmland in Ferguson Township, which set the stage for the Tudek family to purchase and donate the land that became Tom Tudek Memorial Park. 

Speakers also included:

Clearwater President Donnan Stoicovy
Clearwater Executive Director Elizabeth Crisfield
State Representative Kerry A. Benninghoff

Also present were Centre County PA Senior Environmental Corps (CCPaSEC) Members: President William Smith, Vice President Carolyn Hatley, and Equipment Manager David DeCapria.

WTAJ News Coverage

July 2025 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment

July was 2.3 F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 93.7 deg. F recorded on July 30. The low for the month was 52.2 deg F, recorded on July 22. There were 6 days at or above 90 deg F. There were 15 heating degree days and 311 cooling degree days.

July was an above-normal month for precipitation, with 5.30 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 1.51 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.79 inches recorded on July 26. There were 9 days of rain >.01 in, 9 >.10 in, and 1 >1 in.

High wind speed of 25 mph on July 17.

July 2025 Data

Texas Flash Flood Tragedy

Bill1 Comment

In spite of what some irresponsible newscasters are reporting, along with some political figures, the tragedy of the flash floods in Texas was not due to budget cuts, nor was it due to lack of staffing at The Weather Forecast Office (WFO) for Austin/San Antonio. The cuts were not in place and there were more people on duty than normal at the WFO during the event.

The first notification from the WFO was issued 12 hours in advance of the first warnings. Timely notifications also followed. The flood watch that was issued at 1:18 PM CDT on July 3, 2025, appears below:

038 
WGUS64 KEWX 031818
FFAEWX

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Flood Watch
National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX
118 PM CDT Thu Jul 3 2025

TXZ183>187-202>204-041200-
/O.NEW.KEWX.FA.A.0003.250703T1818Z-250704T1200Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Val Verde-Edwards-Real-Kerr-Bandera-Kinney-Uvalde-Medina-
Including the cities of Del Rio, Leakey, Brackettville,
Kerrville, Bandera, Hondo, Uvalde, and Rocksprings
118 PM CDT Thu Jul 3 2025

...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...

* WHAT...Locally heavy rainfall could cause flash flooding across portions of South Central Texas. Rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches with isolated amounts of 5 to 7 inches are possible.

* WHERE...A portion of south central Texas, including the following counties, Bandera, Edwards, Kerr, Kinney, Medina, Real, Uvalde and Val Verde.

* WHEN...Through Friday morning.

* IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...
  - A moist tropical airmass combined with a slow moving storm system will bring rounds of scattered to widespread showers and storms with heavy rain rates possible.
  - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.

&&

$$

TRAN

June 2025 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment
Not weather-related. I just wanted to include our newest pack member, Toliver.

June was 2.1 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 95 deg. F recorded on June 24. The low for the month was 36 deg F, recorded on June 2. There were 51 heating degree days and 206 cooling degree days.

June was an above normal month for precipitation with 5.81 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 1.72 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.43 inches recorded on June 14. There were 14 days of rain >.01 in, 10 >.10 in, and 1 > 1 in.

High wind speed of 35 mph on June 18.

June 2025 Data