(meteorobs) perverse weather

[kramer at sria.com]

With a storm heading towards the northeastern United States for a  
Sunday arrival, I figured that tonight was my best opportunity to log  
some Geminids.

As I startled to settle in to observe around 1 AM local time, thin  
cirrus was beginning to drift in from the west, obscuration was around  
30%. During the 5 or 10 minutes it took to prepare to clock on, the  
cirrus quickly progressed to covering 80$ of the sky. No point in  
clocking on at all. Since I was comfortably settled and dressed warmly  
enough for the 19 F temperature (winds NW 8 mph), I observed  
informally through the few gaps in the clouds and managed to see a  
couple of Geminids. The cirrus was thin enough that I would have been  
able to see a fireball, but none arrived.

The weather seems to have been particularly contrary this year. It can  
only get better next year (it certainly couldn't get much worse).

Richard