Friday, October 24, 2014

Looking up in the beech woods

Morning Observation:

This morning in Huntington at 6:45AM it’s currently 40 degrees and raining lightly under overcast skies. Winds are out of the SW at 3-5 mph. Relative humidity is 98%, dewpoint 40, barometric pressure 29.84” and rising. We picked up 0.84” of rain in the past 24hrs. Yesterday’s high was 49, and the overnight low was 40.

Forecast:

The upper level low pressure system that’s been rotating Atlantic moisture into the region will slowly pull away from the region today. Morning showers or periods of light rain will taper off as the day wears on and we should see a brief period of dry weather tonight into Saturday before a cold front swings through the region Saturday night into Sunday bringing more showers. We’ll see cloudy skies today with a chance of showers mainly this morning. Highs will be in the upper 40s with northwest winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain is 50%. Tonight should be cloudy until midnight, then become partly cloudy. Lows will be in the mid 30s with north winds around 10 mph until midnight, becoming light and variable.

Saturday should start off partly sunny with a slight chance of rain showers in the afternoon. Highs will be in the mid 50s with light and variable winds. Chance of rain is 20%. Saturday night should be cloudy with a 50% chance of showers. Lows will be in the lower 40s with west winds around 10 mph.

Sunday’s looking cloudy with a 50% chance of showers. Highs will be in the upper 40s with west winds 10 to 15 mph. Sunday night should be mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of rain showers and lows in the upper 30s.

Almanac:

Last year on this date we had a high of 43 and a low of 29.

Burlington norms for this date are highs of 54 and lows of 37.
The record high was 75°F in 1963.
The record low was 21°F in 1969.

Sky Notes:

Sunrise: 7:18 AM EDT
Sunset: 5:53 PM EDT
Length of Visible Light: 11h 34m
Length of Day: 10h 34m
Tomorrow will be 2m 50s shorter.

The Moon is a waxing crescent (barely!) 13h old with 0% illumination.
Moonrise: 7:55 AM EDT
Moonset: 6:29 PM EDT

About Today’s Photo:

I love beech trees. Their smooth “elephant skin” bark is a pleasure to touch, and their leaves last long into the fall—often clear through winter—gradually bleaching from green to paper white. These trees are up past the beaver pond off the Mailbox Trail. Still worth a visit even on a rainy day!

Nikon D600, Nikon 50mm lens, ISO 200, f/1.8, 1/4000″ exposure.