We can all say farewell to thunderstorms today

5:32 PM Saturday, November 7, 2009

There can never be enough scientists or humanists to gather the simple, quotidian facts of every existing thing, even though accurately understanding the world demands no less.

— William Least Heat-Moon

This week

The Buzzard Migration Moon wanes throughout the period, becoming the Sandhill Crane Migration Moon on Nov. 16 at 2:14 p.m. After the buzzards leave the North, the sandhill cranes follow, flying higher, harder and more purposefully than the vultures and reaching Clark County around the week of Thanksgiving.

At about 9 p.m., summer’s Hercules and Aquila are setting. Cassiopeia is moving east around Polaris, and the great Dog Star, Sirius, is visible at the tree line, its 1.4 magnitude making it the brightest light in the night sky.

The pointers of the Big Dipper point northeast-southwest.

The Leonids are the shooting stars of November. Watch for them after midnight on the 17th and 18th.

The weather

High temperatures are typically in the 40s and 50s now, but certain days bring a greater risk of biting winds than others. Nov. 11, for example, is the first day so far on which the chances for a day in the 30s jump from middle fall’s two or three percent all the way to 40 percent.

And the 13th, although often mild, brings the slight possibility for a high only in the 20s for the first time since April 6.

Daybook

Today, Nov. 9: The average wind speed increases to its winter level throughout the year’s eleventh month, and it will remain relatively high until early May. Chances for a thunderstorm virtually disappear in Clark County and in the northern half of the nation until February.

Nov. 10: Mulch strawberries with straw. Fertilize trees after their leaves have fallen.

Nov. 11: In the upper Northeast, snowshoe hares change color (to white) about this time, and today is the average date for the first snow in Springfield.

Nov. 12: Half of November accidents involving automobiles and deer happen between 6 p.m. and midnight — and almost all of them occur when weather conditions are mild and clear.

Nov. 13: Throughout the Miami Valley, bats hibernate after insects have been killed by frost.

Nov. 14: Under the late autumn sky, the sugar beet harvest is almost always done by now. Climbing bittersweet opens in the woods. Hardy forsythia leaves are giving way to the cold and rain and snow.

Nov. 15: Silver maples, burned by frost, gradually drop their foliage. Almost every junco has arrived for winter. Indoors, your Christmas cactus should be budding (or even blooming) as the sun reaches three-fourths of the way to winter solstice.

Mind and body clock

The day is close to its shortest length of the year, but cloud cover and the weather still have not reached winter levels. That means that the SAD Index (which measures seasonal stress on a scale of 1 to 75) will hover in the middle 50s throughout the period. New moon on the 16th, however, is expected to bring a sharp spike in seasonal affective disorders.

Moon and livestock

The moon will be overhead near the middle of the day this week, making late morning to early afternoon the best time to eat and feed, hunt and fish.

Low-pressure systems in advance of cold fronts arriving on Nov. 16 and 20 are expected to make feeding activity more intense.

Bill Felker has been watching local weather and writing almanacks since 1984. Contact him at wfelker@woh.rr.com or visit his Web site at poorwillsalmanack.com.

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