Items tagged with 'weather'
This is February?
Just before 4 pm on Wednesday.
The high temp for today was 59. That's short of the record for the date (65 in 1989) -- but it's still 27 degrees higher than the normal for the day. [NWS]
The forecast for the rest of the week: highs in the 35-40 range, no snow.
Earlier on AOA: Where's all the snow?
Icy, Snowy Apocalypse Watch
So this is what it's come to this winter: the Icy, Snowy Apocalypse Meter slumming it. On a rain storm. It's just embarrassing. For everyone.
Here's the situation: a "potent" storm system is moving from Mississippi Valley toward the Northeast. it's likely to bring a lot of precipitation, but the forecasts are currently project much of that precip will fall as rain here. Rain is more likely to the south of Albany, and snow/ice more likely to the north and east.
The paraphrased forecast:
Thursday night: Rain and sleet, switching to all rain overnight, and then sleet mixing back in. Little accumulation expected. Lows around 33.
Friday: Rainy and warm. Rainfall of about half inch or more possible. Temps in the low 40s.
Friday night: The storm is spent. Wind gusts. Lows in the upper 20s.
Saturday: Sunny and highs around 40. Jack Frost filing for unemployment.
Sunday: Chance of rain and snow in the morning, then sun in the afternoon. Highs around 40.
Those warm temps should keep things liquid. But if the temps drop and the rain/snow line shifts farther south... things could go a bit badly. All that rain could switch to the ever popular freezing rain and/or snow. And there will be plenty of moisture available. That said, it doesn't sound likely.
In other news: The absurdly warm and easy winter has led to penguin hatchlings being born about three months early in Syracuse. Their cuteness arrived on time, though. Syracuse has gotten just 27.7 inches of snow this season -- that's only about 40 inches behind where it's usually at by this point. [Post-Standard] [NWS]
Necessary note: You should take this all with an enormous bag of rock salt. AOA has absolutely no weather forecasting expertise. At all. That said, the world will probably not end because of some snow. Most likely.
Earlier on AOA: Where's all the snow?
The winter of our discontent
Not this winter.
When snow accompanied Halloween I was ecstatic. Fall masquerading as winter.
Soon it would lower its disguise and candy corn would give way to candy canes. Skiing and sledding and snowmen were sure to follow.
To love winter you must learn to play in it, or so I've been told.
After testing the theory over the past I-don't-know-how-many-winters, I've become a believer.
The problem is always talking yourself into a little faith. Talking yourself into bundling up and leaving the warmth of your house.
Winter is coming. Winter is coming. Winter is ...
Where's all the snow?
Yep, something's definitely missing.
This winter has been... unusual. November was really warm. And December? Yeah, not really that cold, either.
But the most conspicuously unusual thing about this winter is the snow. Or, rather, the fact that there's been almost no snow. It's like winter is falling down on the job.
So, what's going on? We bounced a few questions to WNYT meteorologist Jason Gough -- and he had answers about historical snow totals, the subtropical jet stream, rare weather, the unreliability of weather memory, and his prognostication for how much snow we might end up with...
2011 weather: wet, snowy
Winter, spring, summer, fall.
The National Weather Service's climate summary for 2011 is out. Here are a few of the highlight from the wet, snowy year...
(normals in parenthesis)
average temperature: 50 (48.3)
highest temp: 99, on July 21
lowest temp: -13, on January 24
precipitation total: 53.68 inches (39.35) -- the third wettest year on record
largest 24 hour precipitation total: 4.81 inches, August 27-28 (that would be Irene)
snowfall total: 80.3 inches (59.1) -- 14th snowiest on record
largest 24 hour snow total: 12.8 inches, January 12 (some spots recorded much higher totals)
days with precipitation: 142 (137.8)
days with rain: 64
days with snow: 76 (34.8)
While we're on the subject of weather... This recent cold snap aside, winter is totally falling down on the job this year (so far). A few quick facts about this winter and it's less than impressive effort...
Icy, Snowy Apocalypse Watch
Despite many recent indications otherwise, it is actually December. And you know what that means -- yes, we are now firmly in Icy, Snowy, Apocalypse Watch season.
Today has been generally icky, cold, and wet. Tonight is apparently going to be generally icky, cold, and snowy.
The paraphrased National Weather Service forecast for the Albany area:
Tonight: Rain and snow, switching over to snow around 3 am. Lows around the freezing mark. Snow could be heavy a times -- maybe 2-3 inches per hour. Snow accumulation of 1-3 inches. More snow to the southwest, south and east.
Thursday morning: Sunny, but cold. Highs in the upper 30s.
So, all the action is expected to be overnight. And while that 1-3 inch prediction doesn't seem like much, these things can go the other way very easily -- in this case, it looks like the speed of the storm will be important. The forecast discussion mentions that "higher total snowfall amounts could easily be reached...perhaps almost double what is currently indicated." And Steve Caporizzo is predicting 3-6 inches.
If the totals are around 3 inches, it shouldn't be too bad. But it sounds like wet snow. And the timing could make the commute less than fun. So we're pegging this as an annoying+ icy, snowy apocalypse.
Necessary note: You should take this all with an enormous bag of rock salt. AOA has absolutely no weather forecasting expertise. At all. That said, the world will probably not end because of some snow (despite how much they say it will on TV). Most likely.
The best November ever?
Something's missing from picture. Oh, right, cold. And snow.
As far as the weather goes, this is one of the best Novembers we can remember in some time -- warm, with only a few traces of snow.
Or, to put it another way: It was 63 today! And 60 yesterday!
Curious about how unusual this warm November is, we looked up the temperature data.
Are there charts and graphs? Oh, you know there are charts and graphs...
Icy, Snowy Apocalypse Watch: It's Winterween.
We're not sure this is really happening. It's October -- and we've had to pull out the Icy, Snowy Apocalypse Meter.
This weekend's forecast: messy. The NWS has issued a winter storm warning for the area, and says there's a possibility of "major societal impact." We understand that's forecaster-speak for: there are a lot of the leaves on the trees, we're going to get a lot of heavy snow, be prepared to kiss your power goodbye.
The paraphrased forecast:
Saturday: Rain and snow. Accumulation up to 2 inches. Highs in the upper 30s.
Saturday night: Snow. Additional accumulation up to 5 inches. Lows around 30. #$%^&@&
Sunday: Cloudy, then sunny. Highs in the mid-40s.
If you're counting, that's a possible 7 inches of snow.
The amounts in this storm could end up being less than impressive, and it may end up melting relatively quickly. But with those temps, the snow is bound is to be wet and heavy, which could be a serious pain. So we're tagging this as a solid "Winter's Making an Effort." Even though it's not actually winter, yet.
* Credit to WNYT's Jessica Layton for tagging the storm "Winterween."
Necessary note: You should take this all with an enormous bag of rock salt. AOA has absolutely no weather forecasting expertise. At all. That said, the world will probably not end because of some snow (despite how much they say it will on TV). Most likely.
Dark Sky
Check it out: Troy-based web developers Jack Turner and Adam Grossman have launched Kickstarter funding for a new app called Dark Sky. From the blurbage:
Dark Sky is an app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch that predicts the weather.
Using your precise location, it tells you when it will precipitate and for how long. For example: It might tell you that it will start raining in 8 minutes, with the rain lasting for 15 minutes followed by a 25 minute break. ...
Using the same techniques we've developed for predicting rain, we can show you what the storm looks like in between the individual radar snapshots. We replace the jerky slideshow with a beautifully smooth interactive animation. And it's not just pretty... it's easier for your brain to process and understand a smoothly flowing video than a series of images that jump from point to point.
Be sure to watch the video embedded above. It's a good, quick intro to what they're planning.
Jack and Adam are aiming to raise $35,000 (there's a lot of stuff necessary behind the scenes to make this sort of thing work). The pledge levels include a pre-order of the app and various other whatnot.
It snowed.
Sebastien took this photo at Occupy Albany Thursday night. Whatever the message is, sticking it out through the winter would make a statement.
You might have heard that it snowed Thursday.
Sure, you could have looked out the window, or walked outside. But why do that when you could listen to everyone else as they looked out the window.
Photographic evidence! Surprise! Denial! Disappointment! ... Joy!
The first, last, most, and least snow
Yep, there's snow in the forecast for Thursday. From the National Weather Service:
Thursday Night: Rain and snow showers, becoming all snow after 11pm. Low around 29. North wind between 6 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Thursday sounds generally unpleasant. Highs in the 40s. Rain. Then snow. So it goes.
Anyway, the question came up the other day about what's the average day for the snow of the season around here. Here's the first, last, most, and least...
Rainbows everywhere
Katie (@KTesque) snapped this pic of a rainbow over 787. It turned out to be a double.
The sporadic late afternoon thunderstorms on Friday produced just about perfect conditions for spotting rainbows -- rain, then sun, and dark clouds as backgrounds.
Around 5 pm Twitter was full of local pics of rainbows. Here are a bunch of them.
Video of the tornado near Amsterdam
"I'm a little freaked out because I'm pretty sure I just saw a tornado form and cross the Thruway."
Check it out: this is video shot by YouTube user linalia of the apparent tornado that touched down near Amsterdam Sunday. The clip should start at the tornado -- if not, it's at about 5:48.
The National Weather Service says it looks like the tornado crossed the Thruway near the Mohawk service area, headed north into Cranesville, and then northeast into west Glenville. [Recorder]
Update: The National Weather Service has confirmed it was a tornado.
Historic floods in Troy
The 1913 flood in Troy.
Flooding from Irene was bad in parts of the Capital Region. Really bad. But in Troy and Albany, the flooding has been worse -- though not by a lot.
The Hudson River reached crested at 27.05 feet at Troy this past Monday afternoon, which ranks as the fourth highest flood on record in the Collar City.
Here's the story behind the worst.
August 2011: historically wet
The top 10 wettest Augusts on record in Albany since 1826.
August 2011 was one of the wettest Augusts (by total precipitation) on record in Albany. In fact, this past August ranked #2 all time (or, at least, going back to 1826).
The rain from Irene made up a good a portion of that total. The NWS reported 4.69 inches of rain in Albany on August 28. Even without Irene, the month would have been unusually wet -- though not in the top 10.
Of course, your Irene total probably varies depending on where you were measuring. The NWS precipitation map reports heavier rainfall to the south -- especially in parts of central/south Greene County (probably one of the reasons the flooding was so bad there).
The map might even underestimate a bit -- its total for much of Albany County seems a bit low compared to the official report. And the Gazette reported this week that a rainfall total of 13.3 inches was recorded in East Durham (northern Greene County).
The rainfall map is after the jump.
(Thanks, Justin)
Photos of Irene flooding in Troy
The Hudson was very wide today.
Downtown Troy was among the many local spots to get hit with flooding from all the Irene rain. The Hudson hit major flood stage there today -- running up against the backs of buildings, consuming parks, turning parking lots into beaches, and stranding boats. All the while odd and random things floated by.
It was a sight.
Here are a bunch of photos.
Hurricane Irene updates (updated Mon AM)
The Cohoes Falls late Sunday afternoon.
7:45 am Monday
The NWS reports Irene dropped 4.69 inches of rain on Albany Sunday (yep, a record for the date).
The rain has largely moved through the area -- the big concern now is flooding, though it appears the water won't rise as high as originally expected.
The National Weather Service is predicting moderate along the Mohawk River at Schenectady. That estimate is down from Sunday evening, when record flooding was projected. There's also moderate flooding projected for Cohoes, moderate flooding on the Hudson at Troy, and flooding on the Hudson at Albany.
+ Schenectady police are asking evacuated the Stockade Sunday night. [@TUCapCon]
+ Residents of Green Island were "strongly advised" to evacuate the village. [YNN Facebook]
+ Residents of Cohoes and Colonie near the Mohawk were advised to evacuate. [City of Cohoes]
+ Flooding in Troy along the Hudson and Poestenkill prompted a mandatory evacuate of some streets -- that mandatory ordered has been canceled after new flooding projections. [Troy Facebook] [@TroyMayor]
+ If you're having storm-related problems in the City of Albany call the Storm Command Center at 434-4522.
+ The Mohawk Hudson River Humane Society is open to hold pets for people who are evacuating. [MHRHS Facebook]
A local death
+ The Albany County Sheriff's Office says a New Scotland woman was swept away by the Onesquethaw Creek and died. [TU]
+ A mudslide did "significant damage" to multiple buildings in Troy near the Poestenkill (map). Said a resident of one of the buildings: "My kids were playing their games and all of a sudden I heard a bunch of screaming and then the house just started shaking, the walls started cracking, the windows started, like, tilting - they didn't bust or anything - and the floor started to, like, slide forward." [Troy Record] [CBS6]
Power outages
The wind kicked up again Sunday night, more trees and branches came down, and there were numerous reports on Twitter of new power outages.
National Grid is reporting about 69,000 customers without power in the core Capital Region. That's about 19 percent of customers in the four counties. (That'd down from about 23 percent Sunday night.)
Here is the page to report a power outage -- or call 1-800-867-5222.
Roads closed
There are a bunch of local roads that have been closed or narrowed because of flooding or down trees. You can map them on 511NY. [YNN]
Farther afield
In Schoharie County, the Gilboa Dam experienced "unprecedented" water levels -- but the NYC Department of the Environmental Protection (which manages the dam) says it's holding. The Catskills are in bad shape -- many villages have been deluged. The Watershed Post is all over it.
So long, summer
Coming soon to a lawn near you.
Ironically, as I sit down to write about how great this part of the country is for having four seasons, there's a hurricane spinning out there with the Northeast in her cross hairs. C'est la vie.
When the warm weather arrives in Albany it seems like it's taken YEARS to get here, so each year, as summer approaches, I promise to have more BBQs, see more crap films at the drive-in, and make more road trips to the mountains. But it's the end of the summer, and, as is often the case, I'm left with more than a few regrets.
Keeping track of Hurricane Irene
The path as projected by the National Weather Service.
So, about this Hurricane Irene: it's expected to hit North Carolina Saturday and then head up the East Coast, probably hitting land again somewhere in the New York City metro area Sunday.
What's that mean for the Capital Region? Rain, and lots of it. The National Weather Service is currently projecting 4-6 inches of rain in this area. (Normal amount of rain for the entire month of August here: about 3.5 inches. So, yep, that is a lot of rain.) Also: wind gusts as high 55 mph.
Some of this will depend on the track of the storm. If it veers more to the east, the less we'll probably see. But this storm is enormous -- NASA reported today that Irene is 600 miles across. So barring some major course change or development, we will see significant rainfall. (RPI already canceled the first day of class on Monday because of concerns about students traveling in the weather. Update: And so has Sage.) [@RPInews] [Sage]
The last hurricane to have a significant effect on this area was Floyd in 1999, which (who?) dropped six inches of rain and included 50 mph winds. [TU]
We generally try to take a "let's not freak out" approach to this sort of situation, but that doesn't mean sitting back and doing nothing. It's probably a good idea to store or tie down stuff like deck furniture (question you should ask yourself: do I want this hitting the house at 40 mph?). And it wouldn't be surprising to see power outages, so make sure you know where your flashlights and associated whatnot are located.
A few links for keeping track of the storm:
+ Storm trackers: Weather Channel | NYT | Google | NWS
+ NOAA's Hurricane Irene page
+ NASA's been collecting satellite images.
Barack Obama said today following a briefing from FEMA that "all indications point to this being a historic hurricane." Things could be pretty bad in the New York City area. NYC has already started some evacuations of hospitals and nursing homes in low-lying areas, and it looks like the transit system will be shut down. There's also concern about storm surge possibly swamping parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The storm damage total could be in the billions. [White House] [NYT] [Wunderground] [Five Thirty Eight]
Update:
State of emergency in Albany: Jerry Jennings has declared a state of emergency in Albany. Starting Sunday, storm-related issues that require immediate attention should be directed to 434-4522. (Full press release embedded below.)
Federal emergency declared in New York State: The White House has declared an emergency in New York State and is directing federal agencies to coordinate responses to the counties in the New York City metro area.
image: NWS
More quakes!
The trio of recent earthquake spots in Berne.
The folks at theNew York State Museum and Geological Survey confirmed that there was yet another earthquake in the Hilltowns this morning, this time a 2.8 magnitude. So that makes three recent little quakes and one big one (from far away).
Dr. Chuck Ver Straeten at the State Museum said that this morning's quake, which happened in Berne at 9:13 this morning, was the biggest of the three that have gently rocked the area in the past four days. Earthquakes in the Hilltowns are common. Between February of 2009 and March of 2010, there were 37 of them! But Dr. Chuck says they don't have anything to do with each other -- they are all coincidental and all from deep in the earth. More people are just paying attention to earthquakes this week because of the one in Virginia that was also relatively mild.
Earlier on AOA: From 2009: More shaking in the Hilltowns
Earthquake!
People waiting outside the Smith Building in Albany after the earthquake. Twitter was full of reports of people leaving office buildings after the quake. Near the Capitol, State Police were going around telling people it was OK to return to their offices.
Updated at 3:04 pm
At about 1:54 this afternoon there was an earthquake felt in the Capital Region. Reports all over Twitter -- from people both here in Albany (@ElizabethEss at the Smith Building in downtown Albany), to Brooklyn (@MimsieSky), to DC (@jdb820).
The USGS is reporting a 5.8 magnitude quake with an epicenter in central Virginia (apparently a rare event for that area). The epicenter is about 395 miles from Albany. [USGS] [Washington Post]
We felt it shake for a good 30 seconds in Albany. Floor lamps were swaying noticeably. Our wheeled office chair rolled back and forth a bit. Did you feel it? Where?
After the jump, a bunch of reports, reactions -- and jokes -- from people on Twitter.
The sunset summer
Buckingham Pond in uptown Albany.
For whatever reason, this summer seems like it's had a lot of good sunsets.
Maybe it's all the blue skies, sun, and fluffy clouds. It's like every time we look toward the west at dusk there's a scene that gives us the urge to pull out the iPhone and snap a pic (the modern world is nothing if not mediated).
There's should be a sunset forecast. "Tuesday: sunny, high in the mid-80s, 70 percent chance of a stand-and-watch-worthy sunset..." The weather people should really get on this.
Tuesday's sunset wasn't especially great -- we'd call it league average for this year. But we still appreciated it.
Rainbow over Lark Street
Because everyone loves a big rainbow -- here it is in large format.
Jess sent along this rainbow pic:
Spotted the most lovely rainbow yesterday evening while at happy hour at the Lionheart!
A happy hour special.
photo: Jessica Pasko
Yep, it's hot.
You might have heard: it's hot.
Because this will no doubt come up, whether you want to talk about it or not, the table above lists the records and normals for this time of year.
Conclusion: you can't complain about the heat until it's at least 90. Anything below that is pretty much a condition we like to call... July. Also known as: summer.
The hottest day on record for this area: 104 -- on July 4, 1911.
The predicted high temps for the rest of the week:
Today: 92
Thursday: 96
Friday: 95
Saturday: 92
Sunday: 87
You'll also hear about heat index -- that figures temp and relative humidity together to give an estimate of how hot it feels. The higher the humidity, the hotter it feels because sweat evaporates more slowly.
The City of Albany will be opening "cooling stations" Thursday and Friday. Details embedded after the jump.
Summer interrupted
Damp.
Tuesday had perfect weather. Then Wednesday happened. And it's like it's still happening. When will the rain stop? The paraphrased forecast:
Today: Heavy rain, possibly a thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-70s.
This evening: More of the same.
Friday: Waterlogged.
Saturday: Tapering to a sprinkle.
Sunday: Partly sunny, 78 -- and clear for the next few days.
Blerg.
image: National Weather Service
... said Jenna about The quintessential Capital Region food?