Time to make peace with the coming of winter
After above normal temperatures and lots of sunny days in October and November, it appears the weather is changing.December so far has been cool, wet and dreary, and the extended forecast is for a period of much colder weather.
The cold air should also produce some snow for the Uniontown and southwestern Pennsylvania area. Very little snow fell in October, November and the first week of December with most areas just having a few flurries. Colder air crossing the Great Lakes should set up some lake effect type snows. Accumulations from these types of snow are usually heavier north of our region and in the mountains south and east of Uniontown.
The fall season was also very warm in Alaska and Canada this year and the cold air did not have a chance to build up; however, now that it is dark nearly 24 hours a day, cold air is quickly taking hold.
This past week saw temperatures reach -35 below zero in Fairbanks, Alaska. A few of those days saw afternoon temperatures stay in the -10 to -15 range. As this cold air builds, it looks for places to go. Some of it reached down into the Dakota蘑菇视频 and helped spawn a blizzard.
Winter is also the season of a very active jet stream and this river of air will frequently pick up the cold from the Arctic regions of Alaska and Canada and drive it southward across the United States sometimes all the way to the Gulf Coast. This looks like what will happen over the extended period forecast for the next week or so, bringing a chill to a large portion of the Eastern and Southern United States.
Sunrise and sunset for today is 7:30 am and 4:54 pm. Over the next 10 days, daylight will grow even shorter and then after leveling off at the end of the December will begin a climb back to its summer peak in June. Average temperatures will continue downward until early February and then begin to climb.
A lot of the dreary days of December can be attributed to the lack of sunshine and the shorter days. The amount of possible sunshine reaches its low point for the year in December at just 28 percent.
The sunshine we do see is from a low angle and just not powerful enough to burn off the low clouds.
Average possible sunshine for November was 36 percent and for September and October the average is 55 percent. Of course, this past October and November, we were far above the monthly average producing all of those sunny days.
The good news is the dark dreary days won鈥檛 last.
By early January, days begin to lengthen and by early February the power of the sun begins to raise the average temperatures and we are on our way to spring.
Now is probably a good time to make peace with the coming winter and it蘑菇视频 always nice to take a walk on a sunny winter day just after a fresh snowfall.