Along the Continental Divide Trail

Along the Continental Divide Trail - July 2017
Great Divide Basin, Wyoming
Photo by Dan Vardamis (and that's Elaine Vardamis walking ahead)

My brother and sister-in-law just passed the halfway mark on their spring-to-fall hike along the Continental Divide Trail from the Mexico/U.S. border to Canada. They're blogging the second half of their trek (link below), and just sent along these amazing cloud shots, taken from the Great Divide Basin in Wyoming. (Bottom photo is sunset - they've been hiking at night to avoid the heat.) Follow their journey at: https://altabackcountry.com/

Sunset, July 2016 - Great Divide Basin, Wyoming
Photo by Dan Vardamis

Chasing Saturday

This is a storm chasing day for sure - excited! A line of thunderstorms just sideswiped Amherst. More thunderstorms are forecast to follow during the afternoon and evening. This photo was taken from a Hadley farm, looking towards North Amherst. I just missed capturing a beauty of a cloud-to-ground lightning strike to the center-right of this scene - about 4 miles in the distance.

Saturday Storm Clouds - July 8, 2017
(looking towards Amherst from Hadley)
Photo by S. Vardatira

Jefferson, weather, and the temperature on July 4, 1776

Page from Thomas Jefferson's Weather Memorandum
Book showing his temperature observations for
the first two weeks in July 1776
(Library of Congress)

A little Independence Day Weather Trivia for you:

Thomas Jefferson, it turns out, was one of the most avid weather observers of his time. For more than 50 years, he kept careful, systematic records of temperature and other meteorological conditions, not only at his home in Monticello, but wherever he travelled. On July 1, 1776, while in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress, Jefferson purchased a thermometer from a local merchant, John Sparhawk, for £3–15 (the equivalent of more than $300 today). On July 4, 1776, Jefferson awoke to record a temperature of 68°F at 6:00 a.m. By 1:00 in the afternoon—about an hour before a final agreement on the Declaration of Independence was reached - the temperature had risen, most appropriately, to 76°F. It would cool down only two-and-a-half degrees by 9:00 p.m. Although local lore tends to recount the day as hot and sweltering, thanks to Jefferson we know that was not the case.

Jefferson continued his study of weather and climate, recruiting friends such as James Madison to take observations for comparison. (Both men lamented at the loss of their barometers to the hands of the British—Jefferson's was broken, and Madison's was stolen, along with his thermometer.) Jefferson’s efforts to establish a network of amateur weather observers laid the foundation for the current National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program (Coop), and one of the most prestigious awards NWS presents to local observers each year bears Jefferson's name.

Jefferson made his final entry in his weather memorandum book just six days before his death, which occurred on July 4, 1826—half a century to the day after he took perhaps his most famous temperature readings ever.

(Excerpt from: Weatherwise Magazine, "Retrospect: July 4, 1776: The Declaration of Independence," by Sean Potter)

Nature's Fireworks

Featured photo for July in the 2017 Head in the Clouds Amherst wall calendar. Photo by Marian Wolfsun (thanks, Marian!) Many of you will remember this sunset from last year's (2016) July 4th festivities in Amherst. Indeed, a number of photographers submitted variations of this scene for inclusion in the 2017 calendar. We went with this photo, which (unlike many of the others submitted) was completely untouched/unedited. No need for purples or deep crimson hues to enhance this sky - Mother Nature painted it perfectly.