The Skies

Sun and Moon Data

To find sun and moon rising and setting times for your park or office, go to the U.S. Naval Observatory’s Complete Sun and Moon Data for One Day webpage.

Night Skies

An update on the moon, planets and night skies for the week of October 2nd through October 9th, extracted from a weekly summary prepared by the U.S. Naval Observatory:

• Moon – The moon is waning in the morning sky. It will be at last quarter on Monday.
• Mars – Mars is near the stars that form the head of the constellation Scorpius.
• Jupiter – Jupiter rises in the evening sky before 10 p.m.
• Venus – The planet is bright in the eastern sky at dawn. It has a magnitude of – 4.1, bright enough to cast shadows in very dark locations when the moon isn’t around.

For more information on stars, planets and other night sky phenomena, go to “The Sky This Week” page at the U.S. Naval Observatory page at http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/tours-events/sky-this-week

The Weather

A strong cold front will continue to dramatically change the weather in much of the northern and central states. This cold Canadian air will bring a hard freeze as far south as the Central Plains by Saturday morning.

Watches and Warnings

The principal watches and warnings posted as of early this morning were as follows. Note that these change over the course of a day and represent only initial daily forecasts. Click on this link for a full-sized map showing these hazards:

• Red flag warnings – Western Washington and Oregon, central Utah.
• Winter storm watches, warnings and advisories – Parts of Wyoming and Nebraska.
• High wind watches, warnings and advisories – An area north and west of Los Angeles.

For additional information on severe weather, go to the NOAA Storm Prediction Center at http://www.spc.noaa.gov/ .

Tropical Cyclones

Today’s reports from the National Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (western Pacific):

• Hurricane Oscar – The hurricane is well out into the Atlantic and expected to dissipate today.

For additional information on Atlantic and eastern Pacific tropical cyclones, go to the National Hurricane Center web page at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/. For information on western Pacific tropical cyclones, go to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center at http://www.usno.navy.mil/JTWC/.

This Day in NPS History

In The Parks

On October 5, 1818, Nancy Hanks Lincoln died when her son Abraham was nine years old. The site of their home at the time, containing Nancy Lincoln's grave, is now Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. Click here for other park anniversary dates.

In Memoriam

There were no NPS line of duty deaths on this date. Click here for a full list of on-duty deaths.

From The Morning Report Archives

The 25th anniversary of the National Park Service Morning Report is being commemorated with the reprinting of incidents from the Morning Report archives:

Big Cypress NP – DEA agents contacted the park on June 24, 1988, and asked for their assistance in the seizure of 400 kilograms of cocaine that was to be flown into the park. A plane from the Bahamas landed, dropped off the cocaine, and departed. DEA agents, rangers and county deputies then arrested the four foreign nationals who were waiting to pick up the drugs. The cocaine and three vehicles were seized in the incident.

Contact Information
Name: Bill Halainen, Editor