Our resident meteorological expert Dr. Owen Bateson checks in this morning with current moisture totals and a tip for viewing some beautiful celestial objects.
According to Dr. Bateson we received only 1.05 inches of precipitation during February – only 32% of average.
“It’s interesting to note that the biggest storm occurred on ‘leap day’ February 29th,” says Bateson, “Without that storm and extra day, February’s precipitation would have only been .5 inches, or 15% of average.”
This brings the yearly total to only 6.08 inches instead of the normal average of 15.1 inches yielding only 40% of average for the year.
Skywatching Tip
Astronomically, the planet Jupiter is slowly disappearing to the west in the evening sky and will soon pass the very bright planet Venus.
Dr. Bateson says that both planets can easily be seen in the western sky as night approaches as they are the two brightest objects in sky except for when the moon is up. Jupiter will be passing closest to Venus today and tomorrow, March 12th and 13th.
Dr. Bateson recommends a good pair of binoculars or small telescope for revealing Jupiter’s four moons and showing Venus in its gibbous phase at approximately 60% illumination by the sun.
