Wet Cloudy Waterbury
I really enjoy astronomy and viewing the night sky but, damn, I live in Waterbury.
Most of the state could be clear and sunny but if you drive down in between Stowe, Sugarbush and Bolton Resorts... down into Waterbury... we are almost always covered in clouds and, usually, there is some sort of precipitation falling from those clouds. This description of Waterbury reminds me of Harry Connick Jr's "Bluesville" in The Happy Elf. The clear skies are rather brief.
I honestly don't think that Seattle has anything on Waterbury as far as overcast and wet days go. I've lived here for about 23 years now and my first few years made it obvious that Waterbury was aptly named 'Water'bury for a reason. I keep saying that I'm going to track and record climate conditions daily in Waterbury for a solid year just to see how it differs from the rest of Vermont and, especially, how it compares to Seattle. Naturally, I haven't done it yet. Perhaps I've been too busy shoveling snow and fixing water damage around the house.
I worked in Burlington in these first half a dozen years. No matter what time of year it was... I would usually be leaving the house in rain or snow or dark, overcast skies... However, the moment I drove out of this valley nestled between three ski resorts, I would be in clear skies. Coming back home was the reverse. It is not the northeast US that has this problem... it is not even Vermont that has this problem... it is Waterbury.
Sheila and I have been driving to and from Burlington on most days since her cancer returned last August. It is the same thing on most days... we're dressed for rain or snow because our home is covered by dark clouds... the moment we zip northward and move out of this valley, we are in sunshine and clear skies!
Now, when you are itching to get outside with a telescope or two to view the night sky, this climate pattern becomes abundantly noticeable... and a bit frustrating!
We've had mostly cloudy skies at night for the past week and tonight was supposed to be a beautifully clear night here so I was hopeful to get outside with the telescopes. The first thing I did this morning when I got up out of bed was to check the weather and skies for tonight...
Each of these blocks are local hours in military time. Our days are getting longer so the dark skies are rather short this time of year. This particular app is geared toward astronomers so it is all about the condition of the sky... red is bad, green is good. Obviously, looking at the hours of darkness for tonight, 21 to 04, the forecast has again changed to complete cloud cover. It appears as though I'll need to wait until Monday night and Tuesday night next week for some nighttime viewing.
When you click on a date (the first column), the day expands into more specific information about the skies, temperature, dew point, sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset. Looking at this summary, however, it does not look good for astronomers in Waterbury.
This might not be the wisest hobby for people living in Waterbury. Fortunately, I have far too many interests and hobbies to keep me busier than I want to be everyday of the year.
Most of the state could be clear and sunny but if you drive down in between Stowe, Sugarbush and Bolton Resorts... down into Waterbury... we are almost always covered in clouds and, usually, there is some sort of precipitation falling from those clouds. This description of Waterbury reminds me of Harry Connick Jr's "Bluesville" in The Happy Elf. The clear skies are rather brief.
I honestly don't think that Seattle has anything on Waterbury as far as overcast and wet days go. I've lived here for about 23 years now and my first few years made it obvious that Waterbury was aptly named 'Water'bury for a reason. I keep saying that I'm going to track and record climate conditions daily in Waterbury for a solid year just to see how it differs from the rest of Vermont and, especially, how it compares to Seattle. Naturally, I haven't done it yet. Perhaps I've been too busy shoveling snow and fixing water damage around the house.
I worked in Burlington in these first half a dozen years. No matter what time of year it was... I would usually be leaving the house in rain or snow or dark, overcast skies... However, the moment I drove out of this valley nestled between three ski resorts, I would be in clear skies. Coming back home was the reverse. It is not the northeast US that has this problem... it is not even Vermont that has this problem... it is Waterbury.
Sheila and I have been driving to and from Burlington on most days since her cancer returned last August. It is the same thing on most days... we're dressed for rain or snow because our home is covered by dark clouds... the moment we zip northward and move out of this valley, we are in sunshine and clear skies!
Now, when you are itching to get outside with a telescope or two to view the night sky, this climate pattern becomes abundantly noticeable... and a bit frustrating!
We've had mostly cloudy skies at night for the past week and tonight was supposed to be a beautifully clear night here so I was hopeful to get outside with the telescopes. The first thing I did this morning when I got up out of bed was to check the weather and skies for tonight...
Each of these blocks are local hours in military time. Our days are getting longer so the dark skies are rather short this time of year. This particular app is geared toward astronomers so it is all about the condition of the sky... red is bad, green is good. Obviously, looking at the hours of darkness for tonight, 21 to 04, the forecast has again changed to complete cloud cover. It appears as though I'll need to wait until Monday night and Tuesday night next week for some nighttime viewing.
When you click on a date (the first column), the day expands into more specific information about the skies, temperature, dew point, sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset. Looking at this summary, however, it does not look good for astronomers in Waterbury.
This might not be the wisest hobby for people living in Waterbury. Fortunately, I have far too many interests and hobbies to keep me busier than I want to be everyday of the year.
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