Halfmoon Valley

August 2020 Weather Summary

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August was 2.2 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 93.1 deg. F recorded on August 22. The low for the month was 47.0 deg F, recorded on August 20. There were 6 days at or above 90 deg F. There were 24 heating degree days and 259 cooling degree days.

August was a below normal month for precipitation with 1.48 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.72 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.75 inches recorded on August 28. There were 8 days of rain >.01 in, 3 >.10 in and 0 >1 in.

High wind speed of 30 mph on August 24.

August 2020 Data

Outlook for September 2020

Summary of Summer 2020

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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: 18  

Max T: 95.1 – July 18, 2020  

Min T: 40.9 – June 1, 2020  

Jun Dep from Normal: 0.1  

Jul Dep from Normal: 3.8  

Aug Dep from Normal: 2.2  

Heating Degree Days: 108   Cooling Degree Days: 761

The main feature of the summer was the moderate drought conditions that developed during July and August. All of Centre County experienced those conditions. Between June 10, 2020, when it rained 0.91″ and August 28, 2020, when it rained 0.75″, there wasn’t a single day when rainfall exceeded 0.50″. In fact, rainfall has not exceeded 1.00″ of rain, in a day, since June 4.

The outlook for September 2020 shows that the drought abatement is likely.

Precipitation amounts for the summer:

Jun Precip: 4,.80″, 0.94″ above normal  

Jul Precip: 1.19″, 2.27″ below normal  

Aug Precip: 1.18″, 2.66″ below normal    

The 3-month outlook for Autumn 2020:  

December 2019 Weather Summary

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December was 1.8 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 56.9 deg. F, recorded on December 23. The low for the month was 12.3 deg F, recorded on December 20. There were 23 days at or below 32 F and 3 days when the maximum temperature was at or below 32 F. There were 973 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 0.71 inches recorded on December 9. There were 12 days of rain >.01 in, 7 >.10 in and 0 > 1 in.

High wind speed of 34 mph on December 18.

December 2019 Data

Outlook for January 2020

Antenna Wear and Tear

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Stormstown is nestled in Halfmoon Valley. The valley is often windy, with the flow mainly from the southwest. The winds have been taking a toll on my outdoor equipment, mainly the flags and flagpole, and my G5RV HF amateur radio antenna.

Most of the damage has been minor. In the past six months, I have had to replace the dipole wires, resolder the ladder line connectors at the feed point, replace a section of coax due to a broken connection at the feed point, and replace two clamps and three sections for the collapsible mast.

During my latest repair, to replace the coax, I secured the ladder line with cable ties. That may reduce some of the wear and tear on the cables and connections.

I am a frequent check-in on the 3rd Region Net at 2100 UTC (3.918 MHz, LSB), and The Western PA Phone Traffic Net at 2200 UTC (3.983 MHz, LSB). My callsign is WX2DX.

nts_clInformation on the National Traffic System

If you’d like to send a radiogram, send me a comment.

Halfmoon Valley Rainfall

BillLeave a comment

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.