Halfmoon Township

December 2018 Weather Summary

BillLeave a comment

Happy 2019! December was above normal for temperature with a monthly mean that was 2.1 deg. F above normal. The high for the month was 57.4 deg. F recorded on December 21. The low for the month was 13.2 deg F, recorded on December 10. There were 965 heating degree days.

December was an above normal month for precipitation with 4.97 inches of rainfall recorded. This was 1.84 inches above normal and has contributed to a 17.37 inch surplus for 2018. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.87 inches recorded on December 31. The annual precipitation surpassed 58 inches, a record that is hoped to stand for a long time. There were 11 days of rain >.01 in, 9 >.10 in and 0 >1 in.

December 2018 Data

The outlook for January 2019:

My Personal Weather Station

BillLeave a comment

If you haven’t figured out by now, I am a retired meteorologist. I have installed my own weather instruments at my home in Stormstown. My primary station consists of a cluster of sensors for The Davis Vantage Pro 2 weather station.

Pictured is the tipping bucket rain gauge, thermometer, hygrometer, solar sensor, UV sensor and data transmitter. The transmitter has a battery that is charged by a small solar panel. The spikes are a deterrent to birds that can foul the rain gauge.

On a 30′ mast, near the instrument package, are a wind vane and anemometer.

Data are transmitted to my indoor displays. One of my displays has a data logger with a wired connection to an internet router.

With software, supplied by Davis, my data is downloaded to a PC for storage and analysis. My data are also uploaded to Davis WeatherLink, Weather Underground and The Citizen Weather Observer Program.

My secondary instrument cluster is a BloomSky package. On the left is a solar-powered barometer, thermometer, hygrometer and UV sensor package. It also has a fisheye WiFi camera. On the right are a solar-powered anemometer, wind vane and tipping bucket rain gauge. Data are sent to my router via WiFi and uploaded to BloomSky.

Data are displayed via The BloomSky App as shown.

Summary of Summer 2018

BillLeave a comment

Meteorological Summer is officially over. Here is a brief summary of Jun 1-Aug 31 in Stormstown, PA:

Number of Days Max T >= 90 F: 6
Number of Days Max T >= 95 F: 0
Max T: 91.3 – July 3, 2018
Min T: 43.5.0 – June7, 2018
Jun Dep from Normal: -1.0
Jul Dep from Normal: -0.7
Aug Dep from Normal: 1.3
Heating Degree Days: 131
Cooling Degree Days: 590
Jun Precip: 4.70 “, 0.84” above normal
Jul Precip: 9.14″, 5.68″ above normal
Aug Precip: 5.52″, 1.38″ above normal

August 2018 Weather Summary

BillLeave a comment

August was a slightly warm month for temperature. The monthly mean was 1.3 deg. F above normal. There were only two daily maximums at or above 90 deg F. The high for the month was 90.8 deg. F recorded on August 29. The low for the month was 49.0 deg F, recorded on August 24. There were 17 heating degree days.

August was rainy, but lower than July, with over 5 inches of rainfall recorded. This was over 1.38 inches above normal for August and has contributed to a 9 inch surplus for 2018. There were 13 days of rain >.01 in, 9 >.1 in and 1 >1 in. Highest single day’s rainfall was 2.01 inches.

Toby’s Firework Anxiety

BillLeave a comment

img_0358

Our Scotty, Toby Two, has had a rough few weeks. From June 24 until July 6, fireworks were launched almost every night. During the first few times, he would run to an enclosed space such as the laundry room, his crate, our dog’s toy box, or under a chair in my office. Now he looks for me and lies down in a dog bed next to me in my office or in the living room. Toby Two doesn’t like thunder either, and he exhibits the same behavior when a storm passes through.

Last October, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania rewrote the 80-year-old fireworks law, making them easier to purchase. That is what made it worse this year as far as Toby Two is concerned.

Halfmoon Township Divided By Redistricting

BillLeave a comment

District 12 Annotated

The recent redistricting of the Pennsylvania congressional districts caused some confusion during yesterday’s primary. The above map shows the boundaries of the 12th (in gray), 13th and 15th Districts. The gerrymander in the 12th District, to include State College, has divided my local township, Halfmoon, into two parts. Some of the people, that lived in the southern part of the township, that showed up at my polling place to be told that they were at the wrong polling station. This is because they are now in the 15th District.

Centre County is also divided by the new districts. For instance, Bellefonte, the county seat, is in The 15th District, while Centre Hall and State College are now in The 12th District.