Hurricane Agnes

Ended up with a high of 77 yesterday and low of 62 this morning and that slooooowwwww moving band has finally gotten here to give my plants a "natural drink" ahead of this weekend. Currently have light - moderate rain with a temp of 64 and dp 63. So far have 0.29" in the bucket.

I had a little passing shower yesterday that deposited 0.02" of rain, but other than that, had a low of 63 this morning and it has progressively clouded up and is a breezy 75 with dp 66.

I bottomed out at 59 around 2 am and the temps slowly crept back up to the 60s, dragging the dps up too. Did see some cool bubble-wrap stratus earlier this morning. It's currently an increasingly overcast 70 with a noticeably more humid dp of 58.

The people in the PNW whine about being unable to grow tomatoes there in summer because they normally have "cool" summers, punctuated by occasional heatwaves. Apparently many never bought ACs there because of that, so if they were "extra cold", it wouldn't be that much of a stretch from their norm. Meanwhile I did make it up to 81 today as a high and it's currently partly cloudy and 70 with dp 48 about 12 minutes before sunset.

When I was doing my deep dives, I discovered a possible reason why that year and month and I expected it was because of a HUGE blizzard dubbed the "Great Blizzard of 1888" that happened in March of that year! https://www.wfmz.com/features/historys-headlines/october-blizzard-sparks-memories-of-the-great-blizzard-of-1888/article_ada2716a-8ff8-5c0c-afde-160ef30e506b.html https://www.inquirer.com/philly/columnists/mike_newall/snow-storm-philadelphia-weather-mike-newall-20180322.html (Clipping from a page one story in March 13, 1888 Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia Inquirer) So if anything as a major weather event, that blizzard was probably the trigger for interest for people in this area.

Just yesterday I was reading about a newly-discovered polar bear population that was found in an odd location - SE Greenland - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/why-this-newly-identified-polar-bear-subpopulation-is-so-special and I think some of this anomalous chill may be coming from the glacial melt in Greenland. Did a quickie data lookup of the past 90 days and it's wild how PA stands out in the anomalous category!

This past year, I got more frozen in March than December! I can save on electric for the AC (I guess until September).

Fall will be the new "summer". The whole damn "met seasons" have shifted 3 months! Winter in spring, spring in summer, summer in fall, and fall in winter. I do remember a few somewhat "mild" July 4ths but they are very rare. The last were July 4, 2014 with a high @78 and July 4, 2015 with a high @77. Oddly enough, those years were El Nino years.

My final "low" was 54 about 10 minutes after sunrise this morning and I'm currently a mostly sunny 78 with dp 43.

Looks like the more northern parts of the CWA are getting those near-record low temps - That forest fire in S. Jersey is showing up on the radar too! So far, my low this morning has been 54, which is my current temp at post time.

Was surprised to still be at 55 at 4 am this morning and it could be because of the occasional puffs of breeze overnight and scattered clouds overhead. Currently 55 with some cirrus to the east, and dp 42.

Thanks to an active breeze overnight, I only bottomed out at 54 just before 6 am and the temp has been on the rise since. It's currently sunny with lots of blue sky and a temp of 61, along with a dp that is 42. Definitely a throw open the windows/make use of the screen doors day!

After a low of 64 this morning, my "high" was actually just after midnight at 75 and I was basically running in the upper 60s much of the rest of the day. It's currently clear about 15 minutes before sunset and 64 with dp now down to 45.

As a follow-up - this is what got to me the most back then... This was what was named the "Doodad Bridge", a rope/plank bridge that crossed a part of Swamp Creek back then - I In 1971 when I was first there, there was a wooden platform at the top of wood pylons, with a wooden ladder that would be climbed to access that bridge. Returning in 1972 after Hurricane Agnes, the entire assembly (pylons and platform) had been dislodged and overturned, leaving the bridge partially submerged in the creek, so it was completely unusable. When I returned 4 years later, the bridge had been repaired and the wood pylons and platform replaced with a "scout-enhanced" platform base of concrete (I think with a new wood platform for access via a ladder), where apparently after the main concrete footings and base structures were created, the attendees during the time of the completion, were each able to "add" to the base with a trowelful of concrete slapped onto the bottom where they then could add their initials (or whatever could fit) into the wet concrete "additions". Many years later out of curiosity searching for what it looked like today, I saw where apparently that whole structure was removed and replaced with what they call a "pedestrian bridge" (a "weathered" pre-fab steel structure) in 2008 - https://divingconstruction.com/girl-scout-bridge/ I did just spot a pic someone uploaded that appears to show it in the '80s before that above replacement was done (in the background at the top of the picture) - It was pretty obvious why they call it "Swamp Creek". And as an obs - It was 71 here this morning when I got up and eventually drifted down to 69 as a low before heading back up (although it is bopping back and forth between 69 and 70 with an apparent secondary cold front moving in). It's currently 71 with dp that is a more pleasant 53, and partly sunny, with lots of cumulus around.

LOL - Mt. Holly Climatology section went from possible "record highs" for today - to possible "record lows" for tomorrow!

Made it up to 93 as a high today with a HI (per my weewx) of 100.4. Thankfully the cold front moved through and dropped the dewpoint out of the 60s. In any case, it's still warm out and currently clear and 83 with dp 58.

Awww... I wasn't that much older but it was at the age when kids tend to lock onto certain hobbies and often stick with them for life (or even make it a career). Well I didn't just hit the 90 point but am now at 91. The winds have gotten gusty though and that was progged, so that has helped to drop the dp down to the high 60s/low 70s vs mid-70s. Think I'll pop out briefly and then run back in. Edit - yeah it's hot out although could have been worse as a steam bath. I think the breeze has helped a bit.

Whatever scattered storms came east overnight missed me for any measurable and the temp remained mild overnight and this morning with a low of 71. The clouds cleared out from earlier and aside from the few scattered cumulus that have now been whisked away, it is sunny and off to the races with a temp of 84 already, but also with a dp of 75. Haven't stepped outside yet this morning but I can imagine. One of my sisters texted to say it was just awful. As a side note, Mt. Holly tweeted this yesterday about my "namesake" - Although I was not personally impacted by it where I lived, I had coworkers who were including one who literally lost everything (he and his family including his parents lived upstate I think around the Wilkes-Barre area) and that is when he said they packed up and moved down here to Philly. But my experience with it was from seeing the "before/after" change at the Girl Scout camp (Camp Laughing Waters) I used to go to, where I was there the summer of 1971 and then returned the following summer of 1972 only about a month after the hurricane flooded the area, sending the large creek (Swamp Creek) that ran through the camp, completely out of its banks, and across much of the camp area. Seeing that transformation had a significant impact on this then-budding weather hobbyist. The camp is still there and located around the Gilbertsville area (between there and Perkiomenville although I think the "official" address is listed as Gilbertsville) in Montco. The amount of damage was notable, with standing water still left all over the camp during the 2 weeks I was there for overnight camp. I eventually ended up going back in 1976 and they had completed much of the cleanup and bridge replacement/building repairs by then.

Tornado Watch up for the furthest north counties of the CWA (and western counties under State College) - SPC SWDY1 has part of the area in "Enhanced Risk" with the rest as either "Slight Risk" or "Marginal" - I actually made it up to 78 for a high today and have 0.41" in the bucket from the early morning rounds. It's currently overcast and 75 with dp 69.

Round 2 gave me 0.29" for a total of 0.40" so far this morning. temp and dp currently 64 with drizzle.

Now getting under a heavier blob with almost 1"/hr rates and some loud thunder. Temp 64 with dp 64. Have 0.35" in the bucket at post time.

Lots of convection (guessing cloud-to-cloud) going on with these segments. Finally getting a little round 2 of rain and currently 65 with dp 64.

Got 0.11" from the initial round and there are returns over me bu not getting any measurable precip from it yet except possible some drizzle. There has been convection (plus a thunder). Temp is 64 with dp 63.

Getting under some broken lines of showers with about a 1/3" per hr rate. Currently 66 with dp 62 and 0.07" in the bucket.

After a 62 low this morning, I managed to make it up to 88 as a high. The dews have been running in the low - mid-60s and was right on the edge of uncomfortable. It's currently partly sunny with lots of odds and ends cirrus, and dp 64.