Here is an article that is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, it is a topic that is very popular these days.

A new website launched by the New York State Mesonet at the University at Albany will offer real-time access to weather data statewide around the total solar eclipse on April 8.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, completely blocking the sun’s face. In total, 55 NYS Mesonet sites will experience totality during the eclipse, and every site will be above 90 percent at the peak of the eclipse crossing the region. 

As the eclipse traverses New York, the Mesonet will be tracking weather data from each of its network sites, including environmental variables such as wind speed, solar radiation, temperature and relative humidity. 

The Mesonet eclipse website, which is now available to the public, offers live weather information and camera images from each of its 126 standard sites, with updates every five minutes, along with additional data from its specialized networks.

The entire Mesonet network will track weather data around the total eclipse in real time, including 55 sites in the path of totality.

“This new website will offer the first interactive Mesonet tool that allows people to see a full day of data from all 126 stations all at once,” said Nathan Bain, senior software engineer at the NYS Mesonet. “When people interact with the dashboard, they will see Mesonet stations of interest highlighted across the page, starting and ending times of the eclipse for each station, and photos taken every five minutes. As the eclipse traverses the state, markers on the graphs will indicate when the eclipse is starting and ending, allowing people to easily see how the eclipse impacts the weather.”

You can read more in an article by Mike Nolan published in the University of Albany web site at: bit.ly/3VHXQbI