Stormstown PA

July 2020 Weather Summary

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July was 3.8 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 95.1 deg. F recorded on July 18. The low for the month was 54.7 deg F, recorded on July 14. There were 12 days at or above 90 deg F. There were 13 heating degree days and 334 cooling degree days.

July was a below normal month for precipitation with 1.19 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 2.27 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.33 inches recorded on July 31. There were 9 days of rain >.01 in, 4 >.10 in and 0 >1 in.

High wind speed of 29 mph on July 19.

July 2020 Data

Outlook for August 2020.

My First Images of Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3)

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On July 13, 2020, I assembled my equipment to see if I could get images of Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3). I used my sturdiest tripod, remote shutter release, DSLR camera and binoculars. I set up on my deck, behind our house, which faces to the northwest. At about 8:45 PM EDT, I started by observation session.

Conditions were a little less than ideal. The sky along the horizon looked hazy and it was still twilight. The stars were not visible, which made it hard to find the comet without any points of reference. I scanned the skies with my binoculars to try to find it. Around 9:45 PM EDT, I thought it was a bust and began to break the equipment down for the night. I thought that it had already set behind Bald Eagle Ridge. However, I decided to scan the sky one last time. That’s when I spotted NEOWISE with my binoculars. I quickly set up again, pointed the camera in the general area, at 100 mm focal length, and got the following image.

2 sec exposure, f/4.7, ISO 1600, Focal Length 103

I centered the image in the viewfinder, zoomed in to 200 mm focal length, and took several more images before the comet faded in the haze and set behind the tree. The following images were the two best results.

2 sec exposure, f/5.6, ISO 1600, Focal Length 200
2 sec exposure, f/5.6, ISO 1600, Focal Length 200

The following night, I was able to take this image.

2 sec exposure, f/5.6, ISO 1600, Focal Length 200

June 2020 Weather Summary

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June was 0.1 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 88 deg. F recorded on June 9. The low for the month was 41 deg F, recorded on June 1. There were 71 heating degree days and 168 cooling degree days.

June was an above normal month for precipitation with 4.80 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.94 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.56 inches recorded on June 4. There were 8 days of rain >.01 in, 7 >.10 in and 1 >1 in.

High wind speed of 32 mph on June 3.

June 2020 Data

Outlook for July 2020

February 2020 Weather Summary

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February was 5.5 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 62.4 deg. F, recorded on February 3. The low for the month was 5.6 deg F, recorded on February 15. There were 19 days at or below 32 F and 3 days when the maximum temperature was at or below 32 F. There were 873 heating degree days and 0 cooling degree days.

February was an above-normal month for precipitation with 2.87 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.60 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.54 inches recorded on February 17. There were 14 days of rain >.01 in, 9 >.10 in and 0 > 1 in.

High wind speed of 40 mph on February 27.

February 2020 Data

Outlook for March 2020

Summary of Winter 2019-2020

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Meteorological Winter is officially over. Here is a brief summary of December 1, 2019-February 29, 2020 in Stormstown, PA:

Number of Days Max T <= 32 F: 10
Number of Days Min T <= 32 F: 65
Number of Days Min T <= 0 F: 0
Max T: 64.2 F – January 11, 2020
Min T: 5.6 F – February 15, 2020
Dec Dep from Normal: 1.8 F
Jan Dep from Normal: 5.1 F
Feb Dep from Normal: 5.5 F
Heating Degree Days: 2832
Cooling Degree Days: 0
Dec Precip: 2.69″, 0.44″ below normal
Jan Precip: 2.04″, 1.07″ below normal
Feb Precip: 2.87″, 0.60″ above normal
The outlook for Spring 2020:

January 2020 Weather Summary

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January was 5.1 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 64.2 deg. F, recorded on January 11. The low for the month was 9.1 deg F, recorded on January 21. There were 23 days at or below 32 F and 4 days when the maximum temperature was at or below 32 F. There were 986 heating degree days and 0 cooling degree days.

January was a below-normal month for precipitation with 2.04 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 1.07 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.55 inches recorded on January 25. There were 14 days of rain >.01 in, 6 >.10 in and 0 > 1 in.

High wind speed of 43 mph on January 8.

January 2020 Data

Outlook for February 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

2019 Stormstown Weather Summary

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2019 Weather Data

Overall, the year’s temperatures were normal. The annual mean of  50.6 F was just 0.4 F above normal. The record annual precipitation of 38.03 inches was 2.67 inches below normal.

January

January was the coldest month of 2019 with a monthly mean of 26.2 F, which was 1.9 F below normal, with a high of 58 F and a low for the month and year of -9 F. Precipitation was 1.79 inches below normal with 1.32 inches of liquid precipitation. Eight inches of snow fell during January 19-20. There was some ice accumulation on January 8.

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We were also treated to a total lunar eclipse on January 20.

February

February was warmer with temperatures at 1.9 F above normal. The high was 58 F and the low was -3 F. Precipitation was 0.49 inches above normal at 2.76 inches. The high wind speed for the month and year was 58 mph, recorded on February 24. Snowfall on February 11.

March

March temperatures were below normal with a high of 70 F and a low of 7 F. Precipitation was 1.8 inches below normal with 1.75 inches of liquid precipitation.

April

Temperatures were 1.9 F above normal in April. The high was 74 F and the low was 22 F. Rainfall was 0.85 inches above normal at 4.24 inches. The last day of temperatures below freezing was April 29.

May

Temperatures were about 3 F above normal with a high of 84 F and a low of 40 F.  Precipitation was 7.15 inches; about 3.92 inches above normal.

June

Temperatures for the month were about 1 F below normal. The high was 90 F and the low was 38 F. Precipitation was above normal with 4.18 inches of rainfall.

July

July was the warmest month of the year. The temperatures were 2 F above normal. The high for the month and year was 94 F and the low was 52 F. Rainfall was 1.61 inches below normal with 1.85 inches of precipitation.

August

The month’s temperatures were 1 F below normal. The high was 90 F and the low was 47 F. Precipitation was 0.72 inches below normal at 3.42 inches.

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A severe thunderstorm on August 18 caused some minor to moderate damage in the area with downed trees and power lines. There was also pea-sized hail and heavy rain as high as 10 in/hr. The maximum wind speed was 36 mph, the temperature dropped 22 F, and the total rainfall was 1.35 inches.

September

Temperatures were 2 F above normal this month. The high was 90 F and the low was 42 F. It was also a relatively dry month with 2.22 inches of rainfall. This was 1.76 inches below normal.

October

October was warmer at 2.2 F above normal. The high was 88 F and the low was 30 F. The first day with below-freezing temperatures was October 19. Rainfall was above normal at 5.42 inches, which was 2.08 inches above normal.

November

Temperatures began to drop in November and were 4.5 F below normal. The high was 61 F and the low was 18 F. Precipitation was 1.03 inches, 2.21 inches below normal. The first significant snowfall was recorded on November 24.

December

The temperatures were 1.8 F above normal. The high was 57 F and the low was 12 F. Precipitation was 0.44 inches below normal at 2.69 inches.

P1040356

Snow was recorded on December 2.

img_1212

An ice storm was observed on December 17.

2019 Insolation
2019 Solar

 

Summary of Autumn 2019

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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: 1
Number of Days Max T <= 32 F: 1
Number of Days Min T <= 32 F: 20
Max T: 90.0 F – September 11, 2019
Min T: 18.3 F – November 26, 2019
Sep Dep from Normal: 2.0 F
Oct Dep from Normal: 2.2 F
Nov Dep from Normal: -4.5 F
Heating Degree Days: 1318
Cooling Degree Days: 123
Sep Precip: 2.22″, 1.76″ below normal
Oct Precip: 5.42″, 2.08″ above normal
Nov Precip: 1.03″, 2.21″ below normal
The outlook for Winter 2019:

“Betsy Ross” Flag

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The following story caught my attention this morning:

Major League Soccer club bans Utah couple from waving ‘Betsy Ross flag’ at games

Since when has our country’s first flag become controversial?! I had no idea it had been appropriated by some hate groups until Nike recalled Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July shoes, which featured the flag, over concerns that the design glorifies slavery and racism.

1200px-Flag_of_the_United_States_(1777-1795).svg

In recent years, hate groups, such as the KKK, have attempted to adopt the Betsy Ross flag. Nike’s decision to recall the shoes seems to be not a result of excessive political correctness but motivated by making money.

Despite the flag’s name, Betsy Ross’ role in designing and creating the revolution-era flag “is largely fictitious,” according to the U.S. National Archives.

Nevertheless, I will fly my own “Betsy Ross” flag, as I see fit, to reappropriate the flag as what it actually is: a symbol of liberty, equality, and justice.

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