February 18, 2011

There were 2 posts published on February 18, 2011 (this is page 1 of 1).

Warm, spring-like day!

A warm, spring-like day rolled into Raleigh today, pushing the temperature to a record level. Today’s official high at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport was 78°F, breaking a record that had stood for 68 years. The weather station at MT.Net was even warmer, reaching 79.2°F! The normal high for today is 55°F.

This warmth has been a nice reprieve from the dreary, cold winter we’ve been having (especially since I spent last week in below-zero temperatures in Chicago). We’re going to pay for this warmth, I’m afraid, by increasing our drought. The dry air and winds have also increased the fire danger this weekend. We were considering going camping tomorrow night but the fire danger might snuff our plans.

This taste of spring gives me hope that more comfortable days might be ahead.

ISS fades over Raleigh

ISS fades over Raleigh

I took this photo tonight of the International Space Station as it flew over Raleigh shortly after sunset. As the space station headed northeast it passed into Earth’s shadow, making it grow noticeably darker until it was almost completely invisible. It was pretty amazing to watch it fade out as it passed halfway through the sky.

The next, potentially spectacular pass is Sunday around 6:40 PM. Right now the weather forecast calls for partly-cloudy skies but we may get lucky with another good view.