Thematic Map: Percentage of Municipality Forested

I grew up on 4.8 acres of land in Dormansville … 🚜

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Neighborhood I Grew Up

That probably seems like a lot to the city or village dweller, but it’s really not compared to many other parts of country. It means having neighbors nearby and having restrictions on your freedom as your neighbors are close enough to hear you shooting your guns, smell your livestock and burn barrel. Or smelling their hogs or poop-filled diapers in their trash fire. Or the pow-pow of their AR-15 or the roar of the pickup truck without a muffler.

When I own my own land, I want have more acreage, less house and material stuff and more freedom to do what I want on my land. Less of a chance to be a nuisance to them, or have to put up with their nuisances that come along with rural life and freedom to live one’s life as you should. Land is expensive, but the farther you are out in the country, the cheaper it is. And if you give up a nice house for a shed-to-cabin or a trailer, you can afford much more land that can provide a buffer from between you and the neighbors. Live and let live.

Dormansville

Terrain Map: Mahanoy Mountain
Map: Diamond Notch Trail
Map: South Mountain State Forest

El Nino and Upstate New York

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A strong El Niño typically leads to warmer-than-average temperatures and highly variable rainfall during the summer months in Albany, NY. While El Niño’s strongest atmospheric effects on North America occur during the winter, its decaying or lingering phases in summer alter the jet stream, frequently pushing hotter air masses into the Northeast. 

Untitled [Expires July 27 2024]

Historical summer data from the National Centers for Environmental Information during past strong El Niño cycles shows a clear upward trend in average summer temperatures:

  • Higher daily maximums: Recent strong El Niño summers (such as 2016) saw average daily highs climb to 83°F, compared to cooler maximums like 79°F in 1998.
  • Warmer nights: Average summer minimum temperatures have steadily risen, staying around 60°F to 61°F, which reduces overnight cooling relief during heat waves.

Rainfall during an El Niño summer in upstate New York is less predictable and depends heavily on regional jet stream patterns, alternating between dry spells and sudden heavy downpours: 

  • High variability: Total summer precipitation has historically fluctuated from a dry 6.71 inches in 1983 to a much wetter 12.69 inches in 2016.
  • Storm risks: A stronger southern jet stream can fuel localized, intense thunderstorm systems, increasing the risk of flash flooding even during otherwise dry summer stretches. 
Map: High Falls Reservior