Click to ENLARGE. Ice-outs this century. From an Excel spreadsheet I maintain. Wow. This is special. As I explain below Leap Years have significance. Makes this record SPECIAL.
I take LEAP YEARS into account. This year is a LEAP YEAR. So, March 17 this year, in terms of days since Jan. 1, is day # 76. If it had NOT been a Leap Year it would have been day #75. {Get that. Leap years make a difference}
Click to ENLARGE. EARLIEST Ice-Outs going back to 1887.
Wow. Wow. Wow.
This is amazing. Yes, warmest winter ever. This is crazy.
If this hadn’t been a Leap Year this would have been Day #75!
Evenings have already started getting longer — as I pointed out in this post. Funnily enough (if it can be construed as funny) mornings DO NOT START getting earlier until 2024! Then, we really getting into the stride of things. Within a month of the solstice we would have gained in excess of 30 minutes!
Click to ENLARGE. I send you my blessings.Page 4 of my ‘Christmas’ book — talking of THE Winter Solstice. Click to ENLARGE.
As I do most years I give YOU, in peace, ‘Dona Nobis Pacem‘ (Grant us peace) for the Winter Solstice.
Kind of a strange concept to grapple with. The EARLIEST SUNSETS in New Hampshire happen around NOW — i.e., about 2-weeks ahead of the Winter Solstice.
That doesn’t mean we have as yet seen our SHORTEST DAY (my favorite day of the year) as yet. That still happens on December 21 — the Winter Solstice.
So, what gives.
Sunrise is still getting LATER & LATER. That is what SHORTENS the overall hours of daylight.
You can see this from the above table — with my annotations.
The shortening (or the lengthening) of days are NOT symmetrical — i.e., sunrise & sunset are not in lock steps. So, after December 14 sunsets start becoming LATER, but so do sunrises. Sunrises don’t start to get EARLIER till mid-January! So, the increase in daylight, post the solstice, is all due to sunsets happening later. Weird, but that is how it works.
Click to ENLARGE. Ice-outs this century. From an Excel spreadsheet I maintain. 2016 record highlighted & as is the last time it was on the 96th day. Notice below ‘100’ the last 4 years.
I take LEAP YEARS into account. This year was NOT a LEAP YEAR. So, April 7 this year, in terms of days since Jan. 1, is day # 96. If it had been a Leap Year it would have been day #97. {Get that. Leap years make a difference}
One day earlier than last year. But, BOTH on Fridays. {Kind of neat.}
What is noteworthy is that the last 4 years have all been early April. Prior to that we had 3 months when it was later in April — & that was after the near record 2016
Not bad. Kind of middle of the road. Nothing to really get that excited about.
The ice-outs days really don’t tell us anything about Global Warming per se! Temperature is obviously the key factor — BUT winds play a HUGE role too. Once the temps get up past say 36F or 38F the winds start breaking & grinding up the ice. Just sharing that with you.
Evenings have already started getting longer — as I pointed out in this post. Funnily enough (if it can be construed as funny) mornings DO NOT START getting earlier until 2023! Then, we really getting into the stride of things. Within a month of the solstice we would have gained in excess of 30 minutes!
Click to ENLARGE. I send you my blessings. Click to ENLARGE.
As I do most years I give YOU, in peace, ‘Dona Nobis Pacem‘ (Grant us peace) for the Winter Solstice.
Kind of a strange concept to grapple with. The EARLIEST SUNSETS in New Hampshire happen around NOW — 2-weeks ahead of the Winter Solstice.
That doesn’t mean we have as yet seen our SHORTEST DAY (my favorite day of the year) as yet. That still happens on December 21 — the Winter Solstice.
So, what gives.
Sunrise is still getting LATER & LATER. That is what SHORTENS the overall hours of daylight.
You can see this from the above table — with my annotations.
The shortening (or the lengthening) of days are NOT symmetrical — i.e., sunrise & sunset are not in lock steps. So, after December 14 sunsets start becoming LATER, but so do sunrises. Sunrises don’t start to get EARLIER till mid-January! So, the increase in daylight, post the solstice, is all due to sunsets happening later. Weird, but that is how it works.
Click to ENLARGE. EARLIEST ice-outs going back to 1887. From an Excel spreadsheet I maintain.
Click to ENLARGE. Ice-outs this century. From an Excel spreadsheet I maintain. Earlier dates highlighted.
Click to ENLARGE. Ice-outs this century as a graph. Dotted red line shows this year, i.e., 97 days into the year, April 8 (if it is NOT a leap-year).
↑↑↑↑
I take LEAP YEARS into account. This year was NOT a LEAP YEAR. So, April 8 this year, in terms of days since Jan. 1, is day # 97. If it had been a Leap Year it would have been day #98.
Not bad. Kind of middle of the road. We have had some early ice-outs of late, 2016 the EARLIEST as of 1887 (when they started keeping records).
Last two years were also earlier, but just. I was expecting this year to be as early — i.e., one or two days earlier than what happened.
The ice-outs days really don’t tell us anything about Global Warming per se! Temperature is obviously the key factor — BUT winds play a HUGE role too. Once the temps get up past say 36F or 38F the winds start breaking & grinding up the ice. Just sharing that with you.
Ah! Today, I managed to make sure that I stopped my walk at 10:59am — precisely. I observed a moment of silence & reflection. It all felt so good.
As far as I am concerned we are now heading into Spring. Days are getting longer. Within a month it will be noticeable. We will have 30 minutes more of sunlight.
Welcome YULE.
Us heathens live for today. Favorite day of the year.
Evenings have already started getting longer — as I pointed out in this post. Funnily enough (if it can be construed as funny) mornings DO NOT START getting earlier until January 7, 2022. Then, we really getting into the stride of things. Within a month of the solstice we would have gained in excess of 30 minutes!
Click to ENLARGE. I send you my blessings. Click to ENLARGE.
As I do most years I give YOU, in peace, ‘Dona Nobis Pacem‘ (Grant us peace) for the Winter Solstice.
Yes, yes, yes, the SHORTEST DAY is still on THE Solstice (i.e., December 21, 2021). You can see that, clearly, in the above table (from trusty ‘timeanddate.com‘).
But, the shortening of the days (or for that matter the lengthening of them post the solstice) does NOT happen symmetrically, i.e., from both ends (meaning sunrise & sunset). Yes, we kind of think it does, i.e., sunrises getting later & sunset getting earlier, BUT it is never symmetrical.
As you can see from the table above, sunsets will start to get later as of Monday, December 13. But, the shortest day is still 8 days further. Why? How? Sunrise keeps on getting later — until the solstice.
So, starting Monday evenings will slowly, very slowly, start getting later & later. Look forward to that. Today, sunset was way too early.
