Stormstown

Summary of Winter 2018-2019

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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:

2018 Stormstown Weather Summary

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2018 Weather Data

Overall, the year’s temperatures were normal. The annual mean of  50.5 F was just 0.3 F above normal. The record annual precipitation of 58.07 inches was a phenomenal 17.37 inches above normal.

Equally phenomenal is that, in 2018, there were no violent tornadoes recorded, EF4 or EF5, in the United States.

January

January was the coldest month of 2018 with a monthly mean of 26.2 F, which was 1.9 F below normal, with a high of 61 F and a low for the month and year of -5 F. Precipitation was about an inch below normal with 2.15 inches of liquid precipitation.

February

February was much warmer with temperatures at 6.1 F above normal. The high was 75 F and the low was 6 F. Precipitation was 3.3 inches above normal at 5.6 inches.

March

March temperatures were below normal with a high of 57 F and a low of 17 F. Precipitation was 1.5 inches below normal with 2.05 inches of liquid precipitation.

April

Much below normal temperatures this month. The high was 83 F and the low was 19 F. Rainfall was about normal at 3.6 inches. On April 4 the high wind speed for the month and year was 53 mph. There was also significant snow on April 2 and April 9. The last day of temperatures below freezing was April 22.

IMG_0243

May

Temperatures were about 6 F above normal with a high of 88 F and a low of 37 F.  Precipitation was 3.85 inches; about 0.6 inches above normal.

June

Temperatures for the month were about 1 F below normal. The high was 90 F and the low was 44 F. Precipitation was above normal with 4.7 inches of rainfall.

July

The temperatures were below normal. The high for the month and year was 91 F and the low was 49 F. Rainfall was 5.68 inches above normal with 9.14 inches of precipitation.

August

The month’s temperatures were 1.8 F above normal. The high was 90 F and the low was 49 F. Precipitation was 1.38 inches above normal at 5.52 inches.

September

Temperatures were above normal this month. The high was 91 F and the low was 42 F. It was also a wet month with 8.20 inches of rainfall. This was 4.22 inches above normal.

October

October was a near normal, just 1.5 F above normal. The high was 85 F with a low of 28 F. The first day with below freezing temperatures was October 25. There were a near normal 3.55 inches of precipitation this month, 0.21 inches above normal.

November

Temperatures began to drop in November and were 5.1 F below normal. The high was 68 F and the low was 15 F. Precipitation was 4.77 inches, 1.53 inches above normal. There were 11.5 inches of snow on November 16.

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December

The temperatures were 2.1 F above normal. The high was 57 F and the low was 13 F. Precipitation was 1.84 inches above normal at 4.97 inches.

December 2018 Weather Summary

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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:

July 2018 Weather Summary

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July was a normal month for temperature. The monthly mean was 0.7 deg. F below normal. There were only three daily maximums at or above 90 deg F. The high for the month was 91.3 deg. F recorded on July 3. The low for the month was 49.1 deg F, recorded on July 8. There were 37.9 heating degree days.

July was very rainy with over 9 inches of rainfall recorded. This was over 5.5 inches above normal for July and has contributed to an 8 inch surplus for 2018. There were 15 days of rain >.01 in, 13 >.1 in and 3 >1 in. Highest single day’s rainfall was 1.23 inches.

Stormstown July 2018 Weather Data

Toby’s Firework Anxiety

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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.

Summary of Spring 2018

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Meteorological Spring is officially over. Here is a brief summary of Mar 1-May 31 in Stormstown, PA:

Number of days Max T <=32 F: 1
Number of Days Min T <= 32 F: 40
Number of Days Min T <= 0 F: 0
Max T: 88.1 – May 26, 2018
Min T: 17.0 – March 11, 2018
Mar Dep from Normal: -3.0
Apr Dep from Normal: -5.4
May Dep from Normal: 6.1
Heating Degree Days: 758
Cooling Degree Days: 141
Mar Precip: 2.05″, 1.5″ below normal
Apr Precip: 3.57″, 0.18″ above normal
May Precip: 3.85″, 0.62″ above normal

Halfmoon Township Divided By Redistricting

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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.

Measurement of the pH of Rain

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Today, with precipitation in the forecast, I set up my mini-laboratory to measure the pH of the local rainfall in Stormstown, PA. First, I installed a standard rain gauge to collect rainwater.

pH-1

I calibrated my pH meter, prior to taking any actual measurements, using standard reagents of pH of 4.0 and 6.86. I used a pH 7.0 reagent to verify.

pH-2

After calibration, I waited for some rainfall and then collected my sample.

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It had rained 0.20 inches over the past two days.

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This was about 400 ml of liquid.

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I measured the pH to be about 5.15, which is in the normal range for rainfall but still acidic. It is not considered to be acid rain.

pH Scale