Hot and muggy again with two kid-friendly hot weather treats

Good Morning Augusta

This morning we have mostly sunny skies with a high of 86 ºF. Winds are from the W at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight we’ll have isolated thunderstorms with partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 63 ºF. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.

The readings from my weather instruments are:

Humidity is 67%, the dew point is 64ºF and outside it’s  75.2ºF.

The wind direction is  East Southeast between 0.0 MPH and 0.0 MPH, with a heat index of 79ºF.

The Relative pressure is 29.78, the Absolute pressure is 29.58 and rising with a weather graphic indicating sun.

The UV rating is 2 out of 16, Sunrise is 5:13 a.m. Sunset is 8:16 P.M. Moon rise is 2:28 a.m., Moon set is 5:31 p.m., and the moon phase is waning crescent being 12% illuminated.

The RAW METAR readings from Augusta’s airport are:

METAR KAUG 201053Z AUTO 28003KT 10SM CLR 22/18 A2994 RMK AO2 SLP136 T02220183

Visibility is 10.0 Miles / 16.1 kilometers with clear skies.

    We didn’t receive any  rain here over the past 24 hours.

Space Weather for this morning is:

Today’s Solar flux is 74, the solar wind speed is 388 Kilometers per second and the chance of a solar storm is 5%.

Getting baqck to a hot weather treat that includes kids, try one of these:

FRESH FRUIT ICE CREAM SODAS

·         3 cups fresh fruit (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, peeled/chopped peaches, nectarines, mangoes, or apricots

·         ¾ cup sugar

·         4-5 Tblsp. lemon juice

·         Vanilla ice cream

·         Club soda or lemon-lime soda

To make fruit syrups:

1.      In a blender or food processor, combine desired fruit, sugar, and lemon juice.   Blend or process until smooth.  Strain through fine-mesh sieve.  Chill syrup, covered, for 4 hours or up to 3 days.

2.      For each soda: Add ¼ cup chilled fruit syrup and half a scoop of ice cream to a tall glass.  Blend with spoon.  Fill glass three-quarters full with soda.  Add two scoops of ice cream.  Serve immediately.

Or:

ORANGE CREAMSICLE DESSERT BARS

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons butter, melted

½ cup orange juice

1 3-oz. package Jell-O Orange flavor gelatin

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened and divided

1 8-oz. container Cool Whip, divided

½ cup cold milk

1 3.4-oz. package Jell-O instant vanilla pudding

2 teaspoons orange zest

·         Mix graham cracker crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of an 8-inch square pan.

·         Refrigerate until ready to use.

·         In a small bowl, microwave juice for about 1 minute on high.

·         Add to gelatin mix in small bowl; stir 2 minutes until completely dissolved.

·         Gradually add to half the cream cheese in a medium bowl, beating with mixer after each addition until blended. 

·         Whisk in 1 cup Cool Whip.  Spread over crust.  Freeze.

·         Beat remaining cream cheese and milk in a separate medium bowl until blended.  Add dry pudding mix; beat 2 minutes.

·         Stir in remaining Cool Whip and orange zest.  Spread over gelatin layer.

·         Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.