CoralRed

Forkyfork, a met over at the NYC subforum posted a link to a tweet by someone who follows wildfires, The Hotshot Wake Up. He quotes a forest firefighter in Canada who says they often do nothing about the huge boreal fires in Canada. The firefighter says it's the same thing in Alaska and Siberia: let it burn is often the decision. Firefighter also says: "The only thing that is going to put out this fire out and many across the country is winter, 5 months from now. It’s going to be a long, smoky summer for everyone. You have a wide reach, it would be great if you can help people understand these dynamics in the Canadian wildfire scene when they’re bitching about the smoke." This is obviously not what we want to hear. We usually do not get their smoke so I wonder why he thinks "everyone" will this year. I will follow him to see what else he has to say in the future. https://twitter.com/HotshotWake/status/1666939633890934784?s=20

Like everywhere else, Williamsport has gotten better. Right before I went to bed around 5:30a I looked out and I could see the distant hills again which had disappeared and nearer things looked fairly normal. At 5:26 we had PM196 and visibility of 3 miles. Just now at 4:43p we had PM130 and visibility of 7 miles. Yesterday they said things will get worse later this evening. We shall see. I hope I never look out and see almost everything near and far look different and much covered up by smoke like yesterday. But the way things are going, I probably will. I think in the future I will think of fog in a different way. It will be a reminder of this week on the one hand but I will be so happy it isn't smoke on the other.

I saw NYC Mayor Adams on TV yesterday. He was talking about what people should expect. He mentioned that smoke prediction wasn't very good past 24 hours. I was surprised other people weren't pointing that out. Yesterday was just as bad if not worse for them yet I believe it had been predicted to be better. If smoke predictions aren't great, that would explain that, wouldn't it? I would be interested in hearing more about this if anybody knows.

The mulch will wait for him. I wouldn't do it today and probably not tomorrow either. I would say this to anyone: Just avoid activity and the air outside right now if you can.

Thanks for the link. I tried to save my results by downloading it on my phone but the map didn't save. Anyway, Williamsport is a crazy 473 and Bloomsburg is 505 as of 5:42.

This is not the rhetorical question that I thought it would be, after tooling around a bit just now looking for more info about this smoke: Will anybody here be able to meet or beat the Empire State building on smoke for yesterday, June 6? Now I am also wondering if NYC will beat itself today but we will have to see.

Thanks for putting the pictures up. I am in Williamsport. As I recall, you are in eastern Lycoming County. I was just curious where these were taken. We care going to be worse tomorrow. Earlier we were 120 something and now we are in Red at 164. Bloomsburg is worse in the 180s for the usual PM2.5 measurement and over 200 for PM10. Yipes! I went back to Wunderground and saw at 2:03a PM2.5 was 189 at Bloomsburg. At 2:15 it was 5 points higher in less that 15 minutes! 2:15 AM PM2.5 194.48 2:15 AM PM10 208.79

Oh Jesus. Looks like northern 3/4 of our state gets hammered today. I am not sure Williamsport is part of the orange-red bit sticking down from NY state on Thursday but we are too close for comfort for me. Thanks for putting these maps up. I will take out garbage tonight. I wonder how much smoke gets into the house when the windows are shut and door only opened briefly? It will be in 70s/40s next few days so I can keep windows closed. If this keeps happening when we hit humidity plus 80s/60 though, I will have to keep windows open. For many years I used to live in downtown Jersey City, only separated from the Wall Street area of Manhattan by 10 blocks and the Hudson River. Yesterday's pictures of NYC are wild. They were in purple for bad air, so my old building must have been just as bad. So glad not to have been there.

True. But farming is always a gamble, there is no denying it. Farmers in PA are all small guys and with our weather, they are not used to long periods of semi-drought or other things that happen much more in the Midwest. Plus the price of food has gone up like crazy but as usual, I am sure they got very little of that extra money even as their costs went up. It isn't just one year. The whole game of farming is getting harder and riskier for them and I am not sure they all will stay in the game. I don't want to see people forced out. Honestly I myself don't want to have the weather that would make them give up.

Weather guy on WNEP Channel 16 was just talking about the area's lack of rain. He noted Williamsport's "especially pathetic .44" for May and ended his segment by noting the record breakers (like us) as of today should stay where they are. There was a news segment about farmers over near Muncy on our county. The strawberry farmer cancelled Pick Your Own Strawberries and hopes to salvage half his crop. A lady farmer said the soil in her fields is like concrete and is getting dusty and blowing around. I really feel sorry for them, especially since we do not know when things will go back to normal long term. I realized in December we were no longer having lots more sunny days than normal but of course now we are again.

2:35a: It is 37 in Williamsport and not looking good to meet or beat our record of 31. In other news right now -- yes, there is some other news at this hour-- crews are out replacing four light poles that got pulled and twisted and are now leaning into street while building slowly being taken apart at the corner. Crews not only unlucky to still be out this late but it is cold out there, of course. People coming later to redo damaged concrete sidewalks will have a much easier job. I am sure glad I don't have to get up early tomorrow; my sleep would have been interrupted. Actually it is surprising it is not a lot noiser out there. I didn't hear any jackhammering.

We reached 61 in Williamsport today and are now 47. Our Area Forecast Discussion says: "Right now, we [sic] bottom readings out in the low-mid 20s for our far northern counties, but some lows near, or even a shade below 20, would not be unrealistic." So we may have places in PA that may get into the teens. I thought meeting or beating our record of 31 would be impressive. Teens would be amazing.

Here is a later Freeze Warning from the one above with extra counties. Williamsport-Southern Lycoming was added: FREEZE WARNING ISSUED: 6:32 PM MAY. 17, 2023 – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ...FREEZE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 8 AM EDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 31 expected. * WHERE...Clearfield, Northern Centre, Southern Centre, Southern Clinton, Southern Lycoming, Union, Snyder, Montour, Northumberland and Columbia Counties. * WHEN...From midnight tonight to 8 AM EDT Thursday. * IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops, other sensitive vegetation.

At what point is a devil with a pitchfork running around included in the graphics? I was going to say 110 but on second thought, isn't 110 pretty common? I hope we will stay comfy here for a few more weeks before the heat and humidity kick in and stay on for the next three months or more.

I thought people might be interested in this Texas weather story in which Penn State meteorologists play a role. I have followed this Traces of Texas old photos Twitter site for a few months. It is consistently interesting and tells me all kinds of things about America's past I did not know or appreciate like I should. I wish there was something like it for Pennsylvania. https://twitter.com/TracesofTexas/status/1649102190454226964?s=20

High of just 48 today here in Williamsport so the winter coat will come out of the closet again. Now I see this too: Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the morning. High 48F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60% Will we really get any snow? I am not counting on it. High of 65 on Wednesday, then 82 on Thursday.

Interesting. I wonder if they are using since 1970 because 50 years seems like enough or it is just convenient -- or because of climate change? I sure do not know but what do we make of weather history when we ourselves have apparently changed the weather overall but cannot point to individual events as definitely caused by climate change?

What a joke of a night, right? We had a third thunderstorms weather statement at 11:15 but still no show and hardly any rain. I suppose we will remember this time of constant disappointment someday when we are getting rain or snow all the time.

First round was a dud. One flash of light, no thunder. But wait! The weather gods who teased us so often this year are giving me a second chance to be left down: SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT ISSUED: 10:26 PM APR. 5, 2023 – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT CENTRAL LYCOMING AND NORTHWESTERN SULLIVAN COUNTIES THROUGH 1100 PM EDT... At 1023 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over Williamsport, moving northeast at 70 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and pea size hail.

It has been a long time since we had a Special Weather Statement here in Williamsport for a thunderstorm. Let's see if we have some weather excitement worth reporting on later. ISSUED: 9:57 PM APR. 5, 2023 – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT CENTRAL CENTRE... SOUTHWESTERN LYCOMING AND SOUTHEASTERN CLINTON COUNTIES THROUGH 1030 PM EDT... At 956 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near Lock Haven, moving northeast at 60 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and pea size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation possible.

Things kicking up in Williamsport. 8:54 update said Wind Speed NW 36 G 48 mph Out of the blue around 8:45 I heard the wind blowing hard, rain hitting windows and the windows singing their high wind song in the dining room. Then the ones in the living room joined in, at a higher pitch! I am not sure I have ever heard a peep from living room replacement windows before. Brief and eerie. Things quieted down quick but that may not be it for the night. We also have this Special Weather statement for snow squalls and cold front passing but it mentions places like Canton and Shunk which are not near here and nothing that is.

Pathetic ends up being in the eye of the beholder. Over here in Williamsport we had a pretty bad year for snow for sure but I wouldn't say pathetic. What was pathetic was to see big amounts in models decrease to almost nothing or actually nothing time after time. I think our many posters in the Southern part of PA would say pathetic and even worse about the little snow they got and by the persistent fantasy models that stubbornly continued to show so much more than they got, even the day before the nonevent. If you like wind though, PA has been the place and will be again tonight and tomorrow, at least up by me. Tree and mold pollen has been high too.

Well I sure hope you keep stopping by. You will be telling us things that nobody else will from your mountain perch in NEPA. When I lived in Jersey City I would post in the NYC forum occasionally and here too when I visited. I have been back in Williamsport permanently for a number of years now and wish we had at least a few more people closer to me. But it is all good; the more, the merrier wherever they come from.

Good to see someone else from northern PA here. There's me in Williamsport & another person from Lycoming County and that is about it I think. So tonight was your night over there. Good for you, something more than a few inches at last.

Well it looks like the people in NEPA will be getting snow worth talking about. My local TV stations here in Williamsport are all located in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre so I will be hearing all about it. I hope this verifies at least somewhat. I don't think anybody in PA will have another chance for double digit snow totals this winter, or probably even half of that. I am so sick of everything going down down down to nothing or the next thing to it.