Halfmoon Valley

December 2022 Weather Summary

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December was 1.4 deg F below normal for temperature. The high for the month was 59.3 deg. F, recorded on December 7. The low for the month was -2.3 deg F, recorded on December 23. There were 24 days when the minimum temperature was at or below 32 F, 6 days when the maximum temperature was at or below 32 F, and 2 days when the minimum temperature was below 0. There were 1061 heating degree days and 0 cooling degree days.

On December 23, the temperature plunged over 35 F in 12 hours.

The subzero temperatures caused the precipitation in the polycarbonate measurement tube of a rain gauge to expand and crack the tube.

Cracked measurement tube.

December was an above-normal month for precipitation with 3.32 inches of liquid precipitation recorded, which was 0.14 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.89 inches recorded on December 22. There were 13 days of rain >.01 in, 9 >.10 in and 0 > 1 in.

High wind speed of 43 mph on December 23.

Snowfall for December: 4.5 inches

December 2022 Data

Summary of Autumn 2022

Bill1 Comment

Meteorological Autumn is officially over. Here is a brief summary of September 1-November 30 in Stormstown, PA:  

Number of days Max T >= 90 F: 0

Number of Days Max T <= 32 F: 1

Number of Days Min T <= 32 F: 18

Max T: 83.0 F – September 4, 2022

Min T: 11.1 F – November 21, 2022

Sep Dep from Normal: -0.2 F

Oct Dep from Normal: -2.7 F

Nov Dep from Normal: 2.5 F

Heating Degree Days: 1284

Cooling Degree Days: 97

Sep Precip: 3.74″, 0.27″ below normal

Oct Precip: 2.05″, 1.41″ below normal

Nov Precip: 4.99″, 2.00″ above normal

July 2022 Weather Summary

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July was 0.8 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 91.2 deg. F recorded on July 23. The low for the month was 50.0 deg F, recorded on July 4. There were 3 days day at or above 90 deg F. There were 27 heating degree days and 275 cooling degree days.

July was a below-normal month for precipitation with 2.02 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 1.77 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.46 inches recorded on July 7. There were 8 days of rain >.01 in, 6 >.10 in, and 0 >1 in.

High wind speed of 26 mph on July 23.

July 2022 Data

December 2021 Weather Summary

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December was 6.9 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 65.9 deg. F, recorded on December 16. The low for the month was 15.8 deg F, recorded on December 20. There were 17 days when the minimum temperature was at or below 32 F and 0 days when the maximum temperature was at or below 32 F. There were 816 heating degree days and 0 cooling degree days.

December was a below-normal month for precipitation with 2.69 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.44 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.05 inches recorded on December 28. There were 12 days of rain >.01 in, 7 >.10 in and 1 > 1 in.

High wind speed of 40 mph on December 11.

Snowfall for December: 3.0 inches

December 2021 Data

Summary of Autumn 2021

BillLeave a comment

Meteorological Autumn is officially over. Here is a brief summary of September 1-November 30 in Stormstown, PA:  

Number of days Max T >= 90 F: 0

Number of Days Max T <= 32 F: 0

Number of Days Min T <= 32 F: 20

Max T: 85.7 F – September 18, 2021

Min T: 20.2 F – November 24, 2021

Sep Dep from Normal: 1.4 F

Oct Dep from Normal: 6.4 F

Nov Dep from Normal: -2.6 F

Heating Degree Days: 1146

Cooling Degree Days: 120

Sep Precip: 6.82″, 2.84″ above normal

Oct Precip: 3.40″, 0.06″ above normal

Nov Precip: 1.45″, 1.79″ below normal

PA 550 Speed Limit

Bill1 Comment

Someone has set up a petition on change.org to increase the speed limit on PA 550 to 55 m.p.h. The petition states:

“The speed limit on PA route 550 south is too low and should be increased to 55mph. A large portion of motorists already consistently drive over 50mph on 550 daily and by increasing the speed limit the road would be made safer as the speed limit would more closely resemble the speed motorists actually travel on the road. This would also likely eliminate most tailgating and strings of traffic behind someone going ‘exactly 45 THE WHOLE WAY DOWN 550.’”

As of this posting, 22 people have signed the petition.

PA 550 is a rural highway that runs from Zion, PA to near Tyrone, PA. The petition does not state which section of the highway it is addressing, or mention that the current posted speed limits are not consistent along its length (35 m.p.h. in Stormstown, 25 m.p.h. in Bellefonte, and above 45 in Huntingdon County). Nor does it mention the no passing zones for much of its length, the limited sight distances, sharp curves, the presence of slow moving farm equipment, or wildlife crossing the highway.

The argument stated in the petition is a logical fallacy. Just because “everyone” is exceeding the speed limit is not a valid argument for increasing it. As stated above there are too many potential hazards to warrant an increase to 55 mph.

July 2021 Weather Summary

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July was 0.4 deg F below normal for temperature. The high for the month was 91.8 deg. F recorded on July 7. The low for the month was 49.6 deg F, recorded on July 31. There was a single day at or above 90 deg F! There were 32 heating degree days and 224 cooling degree days.

July was a below normal month for precipitation with 3.08 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.38 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.69 inches recorded on July 7. There were 12 days of rain >.01 in, 7 >.10 in and 0 >1 in.

High wind speed of 43 mph on July 7.

July 2021 Data

December 2020 Weather Summary

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December was 0.8 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 55.3 deg. F, recorded on December 11. The low for the month was 12.9 deg F, recorded on December 19. There were 25 days when the minimum temperature was at or below 32 F and 5 days when the maximum temperature was at or below 32 F. There were 1003 heating degree days and 0 cooling degree days.

December was a near-normal month for precipitation with 3.03 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.10 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.88 inches recorded on December 24. There were 12 days of rain >.01 in, 5 >.10 in and 1 > 1 in.

High wind speed of 36 mph on December 2.

Snowfall on December 16-17: 15.5 inches

December 2020 Data

Outlook for January 2021

The drought in Centre County is essentially over.

Summary of Autumn 2020

BillLeave a comment

Meteorological Autumn is officially over. Here is a brief summary of September 1-November 30 in Stormstown, PA:  

Number of days Max T >= 90 F: 0

Number of Days Max T <= 32 F: 0

Number of Days Min T <= 32 F: 10

Max T: 85.9 F – September 8, 2020

Min T: 22.0 F – November 19, 2020

Sep Dep from Normal: -0.4 F

Oct Dep from Normal: 1.0 F

Nov Dep from Normal: 3.7F

Heating Degree Days: 1176

Cooling Degree Days: 117

Sep Precip: 2.61″, 1.37″ below normal

Oct Precip: 2.96″, 0.38″ below normal

Nov Precip: 3.44″, 0.20″ above normal

The outlook for Winter 2020:

November 2020 Weather Summary

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November was 3.7 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 76.0 deg. F, recorded on November 8. The low for the month was 22.0 deg F, recorded on November 19. There were 8 days at or below 32 F and 0 days when the maximum temperature was at or below 32 F. There were 593 heating degree days and 8 cooling degree days.

November was a above-normal month for precipitation with 3.44 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.20 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.24 inches recorded on November 11. There were 9 days of rain >.01 in, 8 >.10 in and 1 > 1 in.

High wind speed of 39 mph on November 1.

November 2020 Data

Outlook for December 2020