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 9th through October 16th, extracted from a weekly summary prepared by the U.S. Naval Observatory:

• Moon – The moon continues to wane in the morning sky. It will be new (dark) on Monday.
• Mars – Mars is visible in the southwest during the late evening twilight. It’s close to Antares in the constellation Scorpius.
• Jupiter – Jupiter rises before 9:30 p.m.
• Venus – The planet is bright in the eastern sky at dawn.

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

Storms are possible along a nearly stationary boundary from western Kansas through western Kentucky. Snow is forecast for areas of Utah and Colorado.

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:

• Winter storm watches, warnings and advisories – Much of Utah and Colorado.
• Red flag warnings – Areas in Minnesota, Wyoming and the Dakotas.
• Frost and freeze watches, warnings and advisories – Michigan and most of the Northeast.
• Flood and flashflood watches, warning and advisories – Counties in New Mexico, Kansas and Missouri.

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):

• Tropical Storm Patty – Patty is about 230 miles east-northeast of the Central Bahamas and moving to the south-southwest at 3 mph. It is not threatening any land areas and is expected to become a remnant low by the weekend.
• Typhoon Prapiroon – The typhoon is south of Okinawa and tracking to the north-northeast. It will have no impact on any NPS areas.

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 12, 1826, the Franklin, Missouri, Intelligencer ran a notice offering a one-cent reward for the return of Christopher Carson, who had been bound to learn the saddler's trade in Franklin.  Kit Carson went on to become a premier mountain man and would figure importantly in the stories of the Santa Fe National Historic Trail and Fort Union National Monument. 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:

Glen Canyon NRA – Two boats were racing on the lake near Lone Rock Beach on July 2, 1988, and had reached speeds of about 75 miles per hour when one of the operators, thinking the race was over, turned to the left into the path of the second, which hit him amidships. He’d not seen the second due to the large rooster tail of spray sent up by his own boat. He was killed instantly. Alcohol was a contributing factor.

Contact Information
Name: Bill Halainen, Editor