A full week into winter and the change has been rather stark. Fall was mostly dry and fairly mild but since the solstice the pattern has changed and cold and wet has taken over. Today, Virginia shows just how it straddles the north/south boundary. The eastern portion of the state, while chilly is receiving only rain, the central regions a mix of rain and snow/sleet and the west mostly snow. This system is going to be a quick mover and we may well see the sun break through before we turn away from our star (it just did). The cold temperatures of winter are not looking to go away anytime soon and New Year's Day may well see a repeat of today's weather.
The earthquake list has no red numbers (above 6.0) on it for the entire week with no real surprises as to locations. The Ring of Fire is kickin' however with 20 volcanoes on the rumbling list. The Kamchatka peninsula and nearby islands are all fired up, Central and South America is well represented on the list and Indonesia...of course, it's got action. Kilauea continues to enlarge Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific. Need to visit an active volcano, lots of choices await.
Jupiter continues to rule the night sky after dark but has lots of bright and colorful company as the constellations of winter dominate the sky. If conditions are right, clear and dark, you can still catch the Milky Way spilled through the summer triangle in the northwest just as the sky gets fully dark. Venus and Saturn brighten the pre-dawn sky and will have encounters with the waning moon as it goes from gibbous to crescent the second week into the new year. Mercury made a bright appearance below Venus in early December but is hiding behind the sun for most of January, peaking out near very low Mars in the southwest late in the month. When the skies are clear, get out and check it out, today on earth.
