Stormstown

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

April Snow

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Easter has come and gone. However, I got up this morning and saw this:

P1030536

The depth of the snow was 6 1/2 inches. Due to the insolation of nearly 1000 W/m**2, the surface air temperature rose to 45 F, and the snow rapidly melted. It was just about gone before sunset, with just a few piles remaining. There is still a chance of snow Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.

First Snowfall of the Season

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First snowfall of the season in Stormstown, PA. The forecast today called for a chance of snow showers (60%). Instead, there was moderate snow, starting around 10 AM EST. Later, the flakes started to fall in clumps.

Air temperatures remained well above freezing for most of the day, so there was little or no accumulation in the area. However, to the southwest, in The Laurel Highlands, travel was affected significantly.

Summer of 2017: Weather Summary

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IMG_0066Meteorological summer has ended. Here is a summary of the summer’s weather in Stormstown, PA.

Overall, it was a cooler than average summer, especially during August. June was about a degree Fahrenheit below normal, July was near normal, and August was 3.3 degrees F below normal. There was only one day at or above 90 deg. F (91 F on June 13).

Precipitation was below normal for the most part, even though July was an inch above normal. The maximum single day rainfall was 1.33 inches on July 14.

Highest wind speed was 40 mph on August 19.

Halfmoon Valley Rainfall

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After the rainfall from yesterday and early this morning (1.10 inches), the annual precipitation is now at a surplus of 0.17 inches. Monthly precipitation has been below normal for January, February, March and April. May is not quite over, but the rainfall for the month is 1.74 inches above normal.
Outlook
The outlook for the summer months of June, July and August indicates equal chances for a near normal amount of precipitation.

Spring Arrives in Halfmoon Valley

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Happy Easter!

Easter-3Easter-2

At last, Spring has arrived in Halfmoon Valley. After a long Winter, temperatures have become more moderate with highs in the 60s and 70s. Forsythia are blooming and local apple orchards, Bradford pear, and other deciduous trees are leafing out. Farmers in the valley are plowing and planting their fields.
My outdoor activities are becoming more frequent, too. I assembled my wife’s gardening cart, and I installed a vertical HF antenna. My radio shack is now complete.
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2016 Climatological Summary

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                            2016 ANNUAL CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY

CITY: Stormstown   STATE: PA  
ELEV:  1385 ft  LAT: 40.8  LONG: 77.87

               TEMPERATURE (°F), HEAT BASE 65.0, COOL BASE 65.0
                          DEP.  HEAT  COOL                                          
        MEAN  MEAN        FROM  DEG   DEG                        MAX  MAX  MIN  
 YR MO  MAX   MIN   MEAN  NORM  DAYS  DAYS  HI  DATE  LOW  DATE  >=90 <=32 <=32 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 16  1  34.3  17.3  25.9   1.3  1211     0  59.4  31   5.0    5    0   12   30 
 16  2  40.0  23.1  31.9   5.1   960     0  65.9  28   0.5   12    0    7   22 
 16  3  56.6  33.6  45.3   8.8   618     8  76.2   9  16.0    3    0    0   14 
 16  4  59.6  35.7  48.4   0.7   522    23  80.9  18  19.3    6    0    0   10 
 16  5  68.8  48.4  58.5  -0.1   273    71  88.6  28  36.6   19    0    0    0 
 16  6  79.1  56.5  68.2   0.9    70   166  87.7  11  43.2   10    0    0    0 
 16  7  86.2  62.0  73.6   2.4    28   295  95.7  25  49.6    3    9    0    0 
 16  8  85.3  62.7  73.2   3.6    24   278  92.7  12  50.8   23    3    0    0 
 16  9  76.9  53.9  65.1   2.9   127   131  89.0  10  39.8   25    0    0    0 
 16 10  63.9  43.4  53.2   2.1   388    22  79.6  18  28.4   26    0    0    3 
 16 11  54.1  34.3  43.9   3.1   636     2  73.6   2  23.2   23    0    0   13 
 16 12  37.6  24.6  31.2   1.4  1047     0  52.1  27   5.9   16    0    7   24 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        61.9  41.4  51.6   2.7  5905   997  95.7 JUL   0.5  FEB   12   26  116 

                                PRECIPITATION (in)

               DEP.   MAX        DAYS OF RAIN 
               FROM   OBS.          OVER
 YR MO  TOTAL  NORM   DAY  DATE .01   .1   1
---------------------------------------------
 16  1  1.58  -0.92  1.12   10    7    2    1
 16  2  2.99   0.29  1.23    3    9    3    1
 16  3  1.92  -1.38  0.55   13   10    6    0
 16  4  1.85  -1.15  0.50   28   12    5    0
 16  5  3.52  -0.28  0.73   21   17   10    0
 16  6  2.12  -2.08  0.60    5   11    8    0
 16  7  1.16  -2.64  0.26   30    8    7    0
 16  8  5.61   2.31  3.47   10   11    8    1
 16  9  3.49   0.09  1.41   29   10    7    1
 16 10  6.95   4.05  3.62   20   13    7    2
 16 11  1.22  -2.18  0.62   30    5    3    0
 16 12  2.07  -0.73  0.76   18   12    4    0
---------------------------------------------
       34.48 -4.62  3.62  OCT  125   70    6

                                WIND SPEED (mph)
                          DOM
 YR MO   AVG.  HI   DATE  DIR
---------------------------------
 16  1   4.7  42.0   10     W
 16  2   4.5  38.0   25    SW
 16  3   4.1  54.0   28    SE
 16  4   4.0  43.0    3    NW
 16  5   2.7  34.0    8    SW
 16  6   2.9  34.0   12    SW
 16  7   2.5  26.0   15    SW
 16  8   2.2  35.0   16     S
 16  9   2.1  24.0    8    NE
 16 10   2.9  49.0   20   WNW
 16 11   3.9  41.0   20     W
 16 12   5.4  34.0   12     W
---------------------------------
         3.5  54.0  MAR    W

Indian Summer

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Some would say that our area is now in the midst of Indian Summer (is that politically correct?). Yesterday morning, the temperature in Stormstown fell just below 32 deg F (31.6 F at 6:00 AM EDT), the first recorded freezing temperature of the season. There was frost on the lawns as seen below:

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As the sun rose, the frost that was in full sunlight dissipated, while the frost in shadow remained.

The foliage has some color. However, it is not expected to be spectacular this year as the region has suffered a drought over the summer.

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It is definitely jacket weather here, nonetheless.

BloomSky Weather Station

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Over the weekend, I installed a BloomSky weather station at my home in Stormstown. The installation was simple. The only tool required was a Phillips screwdriver.

First, the mount was simply clamped to the backyard fence. Then a mounting plate for the solar panel was screwed onto the mount. The solar panel simply clipped to the plate. Before mounting the sensors, it had to be configured for the WiFi by using the iOS app. This was an easy process after plugging it in using the supplied AC adapter.

bloomsky

Lastly, the weather station itself only had to be dropped in place into the mount, and then plug in the solar panel. The only issue was the the air pressure didn’t report at first. This was resolved by unplugging the solar array and cycling the power from the internal battery. Then plug the solar array back in.

Data and camera imagery are located here:

https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KPAPORTM15#history