Wednesday: Sunrise @ 7:18am ... Sunset: 7:18pm. Yes -- there's a lag between astonomical fall & the day when we truly have 12 hours of daylight, 12 hours of night. That's because the earth's orbit around the sun is not a perfect circle bur rather an elipse helping to cause the lag.
Our onshore flow is well underway but will gradually weaken by Thu./Fri. The winds will help increase humidity so there will be scattered occasional showers the rest of the week but plenty of dry hours. However, where east-west bands manage to set up, there will be locally heavy rain. It's much the same story through the weekend but an approaching upper level trough of low pressure by later Sun. into early next week will enhance showers & possibly a few t'storms. Highs will be pretty close to avg. -- in the 80s.
Water temps. near the equatorial Pacific continue to warm pointing to development of the long expected El Nino. Once the avg. temp. is at least 0.5 degrees above avg. for 3 consecutive months, the El Nino will be "official". If the El Nino comes to fruition, the rest of our hurricane season (through Nov. 30) should have low numbers. We should also expect above avg. rainfall. Maps below take into consideration the possibility of an El Nino in the 3-month forecast. Click here for the NOAA discussion.
SA’s Goddard Space Flight Center will have a Ceremony of 'Earthscapes' Forever Stamps Mon., Oct. 1st:
GREENBELT, Md. -- The U.S. Postal Service kicks off National Stamp Collecting Month in October by issuing "Earthscapes" Forever stamps at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Earthscapes" depict America's diverse landscapes in perspectives from several hundred feet to several hundred miles above the ground, from photos taken from ultra-light planes to data obtained by Earth-orbiting satellites.
Two of the stamp images -- "Volcanic Crater" and "Center-Pivot Irrigation" -- were taken by the NASA/U.S. Geological Survey Landsat 7 satellite. The Landsat program celebrates 40 years of observing Earth this year as Goddard prepares to launch the next satellite in the Landsat series, the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). For nearly 50 years, Goddard has been at the forefront of looking at Earth from the vantage point of space. During this unique dedication ceremony, NASA scientists join the U.S. Postal Service in celebrating "Earthscapes" stamps and will discuss why viewing our Earth from above is so valuable for understanding our ever-changing home planet.
Joining NASA and the U.S. Postal Service is Alexandria, Va.-based photographer Cameron Davidson, who will tell his story of creating the "Inland Marsh" stamp image by photographing the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Maryland's Eastern Shore near Cambridge, Md.
NASA uses a fleet of satellites to study Earth and to better understand the changing climate, its interaction with life, and how human activities affect the environment. Through partnerships with national and international agencies, NASA enables the application of this understanding for the well being of society.
To preview the Earthscapes stamps visit ** here **.
