Saturday, September 23, 2023; The Autumnal Equinox

A honey bee works some New England asters

Happy Equinox!

Morning Observation:

This morning in North Hero at 6:50AM it’s currently 60 degree under mostly cloudy skies. Winds are out of the south at 7-10 mph. Relative humidity is 85%, dewpoint 56, barometric pressure 30.29”. Yesterday’s high was 70, and yesterday’s low was 55. The overnight low got down to 60.

This morning in Huntington it’s currently 45 degrees under mostly cloudy skies. Winds are calm. Relative humidity is 97%, dewpoint 44, barometric pressure 30.33”. Yesterday’s high was 75, and yesterday’s low was 40. The overnight low got down to 44.

Forecast Discussion:

High clouds will be on the increase today as what is now Tropical Storm Ophelia slowly moves northward up the Atlantic coast and then hooks eastward into the Mid Atlantic on Sunday. This system is expected to remain well to our south through the weekend with the only expected impacts in Vermont being high clouds and a slight chance for some showers or sprinkles in far southern Vermont later tonight into Sunday. High pressure will build onto the eastern US Monday and dominate our weather clear through to next weekend with dry and seasonable conditions expected.

3-Day Forecast:

We’ll see partly sunny skies today with a high near 70 with south winds 6-11 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon. Tonight should be mostly cloudy with a low around 54 and light north winds.

Sunday should be mostly cloudy with a high near 69 and northwest winds around 5 mph. Sunday night should be mostly cloudy with a low around 52 and north winds 5-10 mph.

Monday should be mostly sunny with a high near 71 and north winds 5-10 mph. Monday night should be mostly clear with a low around 45 in Huntington and 52 in North Hero with northeast winds 6-13 mph.

Almanac:

Last year on this date in Huntington we had a high of 49 and a low of 36. We picked up 0.02″ of rain.
Last year in North Hero we had a high of 54 and a low of 45.

Burlington averages for this date are a low of 50 and a high of 69.
The record low was 29 in 1963.
The record high was 86 in 2021 (we had a high of 81 in Huntington and 78 in North Hero).

The Lake Champlain lake level in Burlington is 97.06′.
The water temperature is 68˚.
Last year’s lake level was at 94.63′.

Sky Notes:

Sunrise: 6:40AM
Sunset: 6:47PM
Length of day: 12:07:50
Today will be 3:02 shorter than yesterday.

The Autumnal Equinox occurred early this morning at 2:50AM. This marks the point in the earth’s orbit around the sun when earth’s axial tilt is perpendicular to the sun and day and night are just about equal in length (but not quite. Click here for more on this…) It marks the first day of astronomical fall for the northern hemisphere (spring for the south). Here’s a handy graphic showing the axial tilt of the earth’s pole and its relationship to the sun.

NASA has also released a neat satellite compilation showing the equinoxes and solstices. You can see it here.

The Moon is waxing gibbous, 8 days old with 55% illumination.
Moonrise: 3:53PM
Moonset: 11:59PM

About Today’s Photo:

New England asters are cranking out the blossoms now, and you’ll find these native perennials in fields and along roadsides providing a burst of color. Asters and other late season flowers provide an important source of food for pollinators before winter arrives. Note the pollen-laden “jodhpurs” or corbicula on the bee’s hind legs.

Sony A7II, Sony 90mm macro lens,  ISO 1250, f/13, 1/500″ exposure