Random Friday thoughts.. Equinox and rain

Happy Autumnal Equinox!  

Is everyone planning a party to celebrate? 

The equinox only occurs two times a year, so it’s worth a party – almost like a birthday but twice as often!  The autumnal equinox is one of only two days that a person standing on the Equator could see the sun passing directly overhead. 

Further during the equinox, the length of night and day across the world is nearly equal.  I didn’t really believe this fact, so of course, I checked.  And it’s true!  Today, in NY, sunrise was at 6:44am and sunset at 6:53pm; almost 12 hours.  In Japan today, sunrise was 5:27am and sunset at 5:36pm, again, only 9 minutes off a 12 hour day.  In Moscow, the sun rose at 7:15am and set at 7:29pm.

So the Autumnal Equinox occured in NY at 5:05am today. 

But partying at 5am is a bit tough, so have a drink tonight and raise it to the sky and celebrate!  (see http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/09/110923-autumnal-equinox-northern-hemisphere-first-day-fall-2011-science/ for an interesting article on the equinox).

Rain, rain, rain.

Our part of the world has been getting deluged with rain over the last month or so.  First there was Hurricane Irene which dropped about 10 inches of rain in Monroe NY in a day or two.  Then a week or so later was Tropical Storm Lee which dropped another 4 or 5 inches of rain.  Highways that have never been closed in my lifetime were closed.  Getting from one county to another or one town to another was a real ordeal.

It’s now September 23rd and the ground is still soaked, so any time it rains, puddles form immedately since the water simply has no place to go.  Houses that were flooded during Irene get flooded again.  Driveways are washed out.  You get the picture.

This week has been grey and drizzly.  It rains softly for a while, then a little harder, but nothing really horrendous.  But tonight the weather forecasters are predicting up to 2 inches of additional rain. 

That might not sound like much after the 10 inches from Irene, but I wouldn’t be surprised if roads are flooded once again tomorrow morning.

So let’s raise another glass of something yummy tonight to celebrate that the East will not have a drought in the foreseeable future!  Whoo hoo!

Anything else we should drink to?