Latest news with #Almanac
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Learn about June's full moon, including how it got its name and when you can see it
The next full moon is nearly here, and it's the last full moon of spring. Here's what's to come this month. The next full moon, a strawberry moon, will be visible on June 11 at 3:44 a.m., according to Almanac. Ahead of the full moon, the first quarter moon will appear on June 2 at 11:41 p.m., followed by the last quarter moon on June 18 at 3:19 p.m. and the last quarter moon on June 25 at 6:31 a.m., according to Almanac. June's full moon is the strawberry moon, named after the small wild strawberries that ripen at this time of the year, according to Almanac. The strawberry moon is also known as the 'hot moon,' 'green corn moon' and 'berries ripen moon' to Native American tribes; the 'horse moon,' 'rose moon' and 'dyan moon' in Celtic culture; and the 'mead moon' to Anglo-Saxons, a nod to the moon occurring during a time of year meant for mowing the meads, or meadows, according to Around every 20 years, the strawberry moon coincides with the summer solstice, occurring on either June 20, 21 or 22. ICYMI: ChristianaCare to take on 5 Crozer Health outpatient locations with $50M bid Looking ahead, July's full moon is called the 'buck moon' and will be visible on July 10 at 4:36 p.m. It signifies the new antlers that emerge on a deer buck's forehead around this time of year after they shed their previous pair, Farmers Almanac reports. Embody your favorite Blue Hen at home: Want to play as a Blue Hen? Delaware added to EA Sports 'College Football 26' video game The buck moon is also known as the 'raspberry moon,' 'claiming moon,' 'salmon moon,' 'wyrt moon' and 'herb moon,' among other names, according to Native American and Celtic tradition, according to Some refer to July's full moon as the thunder moon, due to the frequent thunderstorms during the summer, or the hay moon, in honor of the hay harvest in July. Got a tip or a story idea? Contact Krys'tal Griffin at kgriffin@ This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: When is the next full moon? Details on June 2025 full moon
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
More storms expected in Central Texas. How much rain did Austin get over the weekend?
The holiday weekend began with clear, sunny skies on Friday, but severe storms quickly developed across Central Texas, offering a brief break from the region's unseasonably warm temperatures. While the storms posed minimal tornado risk, they brought heavy rain, strong winds, and localized flooding. Austin has already reached triple-digit temperatures — more than a month earlier than its average first 100-degree day since 2000, which typically falls around June 24. Severe weather is expected to continue in Austin this week, even as much of the Lone Star State cools off after a cold front swept through Sunday, dropping highs into the 80s. Here's what to expect. Another round of showers and storms is expected to develop late Tuesday along the Rio Grande and move eastward. Isolated to scattered severe storms are possible, with threats including large hail, damaging winds, and the chance of one or two isolated tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service office in Austin. These scattered storms are likely to continue with minimal impacts through Friday. Clear skies are expected to return by the weekend, with highs climbing back near triple digits by Sunday afternoon. Weekend rain totals: 2.31 inches Monthly rain totals: 3.95 inches 2025 rain totals: 11.48 inches Year-to-date normal totals: 14.23 inches Weekend rain totals: 19.2 inches Monthly rain totals: 5.56 inches 2025 rain totals: 13.45 inches Year-to-date normal totals: 14.42 inches Weekend rain totals: N/A Monthly rain totals: 5.35 inches 2025 rain totals: 12.36 inches Year-to-date normal totals: 14.56 inches Weekend rain totals: N/A Monthly rain totals: 3.35 inches 2025 rain totals: 8.53 inches Year-to-date normal totals: 12.91 inches Weekend rain totals: 2 inches Monthly rain totals: 2.50 inches 2025 rain totals: 8.11 inches Year-to-date normal totals: 12.28 inches Weekend rain totals: 3.05 inches Monthly rain totals: 5.60 inches 2025 rain totals: 10.61 inches Year-to-date normal totals: 12.62 inches Texans can expect a season of sizzling heat, scattered storms and heightened hurricane risk, according to multiple long-range forecasts. The Farmers' Almanac, which predicted a wet and stormy spring followed by rising temperatures, appears to have been accurate so far this year. After a cooler-than-average start to spring across Texas, Oklahoma, and the Great Plains, the region has transitioned into above-average warmth by May — just as forecasted. That warming trend is expected to continue into summer, with the Almanac now calling for hot and dry conditions across much of the state, punctuated by what it describes as a "sizzling, showery" summer. While much of the U.S. is expected to see near-average precipitation, the West will likely remain drier than normal — raising concerns about widespread wildfires. In contrast, the Farmers' Almanac predicts that Texas and other Southern Plains states, along with the Gulf Coast and Florida, are expected to experience wetter-than-usual conditions due to frequent showers and thunderstorms. Looking ahead to holiday weekends, here's what the Farmers' Almanac predicts: Fourth of July: Expect big thunderstorms in Texas and severe weather across the broader region, with a possibility of tornadoes in Oklahoma. Labor Day: Forecasts call for clearing skies, providing a brief reprieve from an otherwise active summer. As for hurricane season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued an especially active outlook, predicting 13 to 19 named storms in the Atlantic basin — well above the seasonal average of 14. Of those, six to 10 could become hurricanes, with three to five expected to reach major hurricane status (Category 3 or higher). Texas is likely to be in the path of some of this activity. According to researchers at Colorado State University, the Lone Star State faces a 70% chance of experiencing a tropical storm, a 44% chance of a hurricane, and a 19% chance of a major hurricane making landfall within 50 miles. AccuWeather has echoed these predictions, pointing to 'analog years' as a basis for an elevated risk of direct impacts in Texas. For context, 2017 saw Hurricane Harvey cause catastrophic flooding in Texas in August, and Hurricane Irma devastate parts of the Caribbean and Florida in September. Earlier this week, AccuWeather also emphasized a heightened risk of tropical impacts reaching well inland again this year. 'We witnessed tragic examples of just how far inland the impacts from hurricanes and tropical storms can reach. Hurricane Beryl spun up more than 60 tornadoes along its nearly 1,200-mile-long path from the Texas coast to This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Severe weather to continue in Central Texas: See Austin rain totals
San Francisco Chronicle
27-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
The Bay Area's geekiest craft brewery distanced itself from beer. It's never been more popular
Toddlers are climbing a plastic slide in the middle of a gigantic sandbox at Almanac Adventureland in Alameda, their parents slurping frosé at picnic tables nearby. Indoors, kids are springing up and down in a bouncy house, while adolescents are frantically twitching their wrists at the pinball machines. If it weren't for all the stainless-steel beer tanks, you might think this is Chuck E. Cheese, not a brewery. 'We don't view Almanac as a craft brewery anymore,' said Damian Fagan, CEO of what was formerly known as Almanac Beer Co. 'Those days have gone.' About a year and a half ago, he painted over the 'Beer Co.' part of the 25-foot logos that adorned the sides of this 30,000-square-foot building. He added 'Adventureland' to the logos a few weeks back. Fagan now prefers to view Almanac as a 'gathering place for the community,' a hub for families, birthday parties, baby showers, even live wrestling events. 'I hate the word taproom, because it's such a narrow concept,' Fagan said. The most popular order is the nonalcoholic kids' slushie. He's brought this same approach to Almanac's second location, which he calls the West Oakland Clubhouse, at the newly opened food hall Prescott Market. There, too, Almanac has installed a sandbox, plus kids' games and an Airstream trailer that frequently operates as a 'mimosa hydration station.' Fagan hopes to open six or seven Almanac outposts within the next few years. At a time when craft breweries are struggling and some of the Bay Area's most illustrious names are merging to stay afloat, Almanac presents a fascinating case study in total metamorphosis. Over its 15 years in business, Almanac went from one of the Bay Area's geekiest craft beer projects to possibly its most populist — with an approach that deliberately downplays the role of the beer. 'When Almanac first started, the beer was the moment,' said executive vice president of sales Kevin Scoles. 'And now we feel like we want beer to be part of the moment.' The approach appears to be working. Unlike many of its peers, Almanac is profitable, according to Scoles, and those profits are growing. In its first two months, sales at the West Oakland Clubhouse have been roughly double what Fagan had projected. Adventureland sees up to 3,000 visitors on Saturdays, Scoles said, which he believes could make it Northern California's busiest taproom — or, if not a taproom, whatever it is. Outside the echo chamber This is not the first time that Almanac has reinvented itself. Fagan thinks of Almanac as having three distinct life phases. The current phase, 3.0, is the one in which it stopped calling itself a brewery and installed the sandboxes. That's a response to the changing nature of the craft beer market, Fagan said. Nationwide, craft beer sales declined 3.3% last year, according to research firm Circana. 'A lot of craft breweries right now are scratching their heads saying, 'Gosh, what I was doing in 2016 isn't working,' but then they just double down,' Fagan said. They'll brew a beer with a new hops variety from New Zealand, 'but they don't understand that consumers are absolutely fatigued. They just don't want it.' The mission that drives Almanac now is to make beer for 'the 90%,' Scoles said, not the 10% of craft beer obsessives who care about IBUs (bitterness) and pH (acidity). That manifests in the family-friendly taprooms, but also in the beer itself: Where Almanac originally produced only barrel-aged beers, and mostly fruited sours, its calling card is now a hazy IPA called Love, which comprises 40% of its production. It once targeted high-end restaurants; now Fagan focuses on chains like Safeway and Costco (for whom Almanac is brewing a proprietary IPA, Gold Star Love). 'We're trying to play outside the craft beer echo chamber,' said Scoles. Almanac 1.0 The echo chamber looked like a fine place to be in 2010, when Fagan and a friend he'd met in a San Francisco homebrew club, Jesse Friedman, started making beer together. Both loved barrel-aged beers, especially Belgian styles. They also saw an opportunity to marry the then-surging craft beer scene with the Bay Area's farm-to-table ethos. Fagan and Friedman initially called their project Old Oak, but changed it once they learned that Angostura held that trademark for a Trinidadian rum. Almanac was a fitting replacement, an expression of their focus on farmers. For the first two years, they released a new beer every quarter, almost all of them incorporating fruit from a single California farm. They were buying blackberries from Sebastopol, blueberries from Chico, peaches from Fresno. It was still a hobby; they sold all of Almanac's beers in 750ml bottles, the standard size for wine, for $17-$20 — expensive for beer. They hosted beer-pairing dinners at Flour + Water and Lazy Bear. This was a brewery for the rarefied. It was successful enough that Fagan, the CEO, and Friedman, the brewmaster, quit their day jobs in 2013. While contract-brewing at Hermitage in San Jose, they began plotting the move to their own facility in Alameda, imagining a brewery dedicated exclusively to slow, thoughtful barrel-aged beers. Meanwhile, Almanac opened a taproom — really, it was a restaurant — in the Mission District in 2017. It was fully aligned with the ingredient-driven brewing philosophy, serving plum-infused farmhouse ale alongside housemade pork rillettes with pickled kohlrabi. The Mission restaurant 'was fun, but really it was a distraction, and certainly from a business perspective it was a resounding failure,' said Fagan. 'We've never lost more money than when we had that open.' Something needed to change, Fagan feared. The sour beer market had felt like it was theirs for the taking in 2010; now there were 30 other high-quality local sour beers on the shelves. Between the time Almanac signed its lease in Alameda in 2016 and opened the doors there in 2018, the brewery's sour beer sales plunged by around 80%. 'When we moved into Alameda there was this sudden realization that this is a completely different animal,' he said. They had a 10-year, $60,000-a-month lease, having raised millions of dollars from outside investors and borrowed a few more million from the bank. They were in over their heads. What drinkers wanted nowadays were fresh beers, the catch-all term for non-sours, Fagan thought. Two months after they opened the Alameda brewery to the public, Friedman left the company. 'Jesse and I had pretty divergent visions,' said Fagan, not only about the types of beers they should brew but also about the business structure. Friedman declined to comment for this story. This was Almanac 2.0: pivoting to IPA. 'If I hadn't made that decision, we probably wouldn't still be here,' Fagan said. 'Things were pretty dire for a while.' They closed the Mission restaurant in 2019. Fagan made some adjustments that he said were 'anathema' in the craft beer scene at the time: getting into chain stores, switching from bottles to cans and diminishing the number of one-off beers Almanac brewed. Now, the brewery would focus on a few perennially available products, like Love IPA. 'If you talked about flagships or core beers in 2018, you got laughed out of the room,' he said. It may not have been cool, but it worked. What was a 3,000-barrel production in 2018 grew to a 20,000-barrel output today. Almanac got out into the world, opening a 'Love Shack' stand at the minor league San Jose Giants ballpark and sponsoring new independent baseball team the Oakland Ballers. Things have really picked up in the last year with the Adventureland rebranding and the West Oakland opening — Almanac 3.0. Now, the menu above the bars is comprised mostly of 'light' (lagers and the like) and 'hoppy' (IPAs of various types) beers; flagships like Hugs, a creamy, banana-inflected hefeweizen, appear alongside taproom exclusives like Sandlot, a hoppy West Coast pilsner. 'Fruity and tart,' the sours, are almost a footnote. Almanac still sells a good amount of sour beer, Scoles said, especially its fruit-packed Sournova. It's in a can, not a bottle. But 'Love is what pays for our health insurance.' The defining feature of this era, however, is the increasing distance that Fagan is putting between Almanac and beer. Don't want to drink beer? There's plenty else to do and consume here. Fagan stopped drinking three years ago. 'The whole Adventureland concept,' he said, 'is designed to mentally cue people that this is not a taproom visit.'
Axios
15-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Corporate storytelling goes analog
Major U.S. companies and brands are investing in printed publications but not in the way you might think. Microsoft, Hinge and Costco have created their own print magazines to tell their corporate stories, enhance their reputation and engage with hard-to-reach audiences. Why it matters: It's part marketing and part strategic storytelling, communication executives from these companies told Axios. Driving the news: On May 15, Microsoft will publish its first-ever print magazine, called Signal, as a way to appeal to its most loyal customers. The 120-page magazine features a piece by Bill Gates, interviews with CEOs and experts from across Microsoft's businesses and thought leadership about AI and other tech innovations. 1,500 copies will be made available in printed form only. Of note, AI was not used to create any of the content inside the magazine, though it was used on occasion for "deep research," says Steve Clayton, executive editor and vice president of communication strategy. What they're saying: "We're always thinking about the most effective ways of reaching our most important customers," Microsoft chief communications officer Frank Shaw told Axios. "Why not create a magazine for the CEOs and the CXOs of [select] organizations, and have it be interesting and entertaining and still have great information about Microsoft and its customers?" Between the lines: There's a fine line between owned content and marketing materials. "It's not marketing," says Shaw. "This is journalistic-style storytelling. It's not case studies. It's about brand and reputation, as opposed to, let me tell you how great this one product feature is." The big picture: Specialty magazines and legacy publications like Complex, Swimming World, Sports Illustrated, Saveur, Ebony and Nylon have experimented with returning to print as a marketing tool and advertising opportunity. State of play: Costco Connection magazine — which Shaw points to as inspiration for Microsoft's Signal — reaches more households than Better Homes & Gardens, The New Yorker and The Atlantic combined, per the New York Times. Costco Connection's reach is usurped only by the AARP's magazine and bulletin. This would lead one to think that printed materials are appealing only to a certain generation. However, dating app Hinge has challenged that notion. Zoom in: Hinge recently launched the second installment of " No Ordinary Love," an anthology of dating stories published as a hardcover book — which will be distributed through book clubs in New York and London — and as a series on Substack. The first edition of "No Ordinary Love" led to a 10.5% increase in brand consideration in the U.S., according to the company. Day One Agency recently published the first edition of "The Day One Almanac," which offers cultural forecasts, content recommendations and monthly horoscopes. Releasing the Almanac exclusively in print was a deliberate choice, said Eli Williams, senior director of creative strategy at Day One Agency. "We wanted the audience experience to reflect the same care and thoughtfulness that went into creating it. Print invites pause: it's tactile, lasting, and demands a different kind of attention," he added. Yes, but: U.S. airlines have not found printed magazines — often found in the aircraft's seatback pocket — to be a worthwhile channel for grabbing attention. What to watch: It is hard to measure the success of print materials, so the team at Microsoft is relying on word of mouth and anecdotal evidence for now.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Will the May full moon be visible in Oregon and why is it called the flower moon?
Oregonians will be able to step outside to catch the monthly full moon, which will remain visible for nights of May 12 and 13. May's full moon, more commonly known as the flower moon, should be a welcome sight for stargazers who were most recently treated to back-to-back meteor showers. Here's everything to know about the full moon, including when to see it and how it got its nickname. A full moon occurs when Earth's celestial neighbor appears as a complete circle in the sky. From Earth, our natural satellite appears to be fully round because the whole side of the moon facing our planet is lit up by the sun's rays, according to Royal Museums Greenwich in East London. A full moon occurs nearly every 30 days as it completes one lunar phase cycle. The May full moon also a micromoon, meaning it will look a bit smaller and dimmer than usual. Micromoons occur when a full moon coincides with the point in its orbit when it's farthest from Earth, known as apogee. Full moon names were an integral ancient method to track the changing months and seasons, and many that are still used today came from Colonial Americans adopting Native American names into their calendars. The Algonquin tribes of what is now the northeastern United States called May's full moon "the flower moon due to the abundant flowers that bloom this time of year," according to the Almanac. Other nicknames for the full moon include the "corn moon" or "corn planting moon." The moon also has been referred to as the "milk moon." The moniker derives from the English and was apparently coined by a monk who claimed May is a month when cows could be milked three times a day, according to NASA. The full flower moon technically reaches its peak illumination at 9:55 a.m. PT on May 12. But it will appear bright and full for two consecutive nights, May 12, and May 13, according to the website TimeAndDate. On May 12, Oregon is predicted to have a 27-92% chance of cloud cover beginning at 11 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. The celestial wonder should be visible from across the U.S., provided clouds don't obscure the view. Spectators are advised to find a spot with unobstructed views of the horizon. Look for the moon rising low in the southeast after sunset on May 12 as it ascends to its highest point in the sky after midnight, according to EarthSky. Moonrise in Oregon on May 12 is at 9:11 p.m., according to Time and Date. The next full moon will be the strawberry moon, which appears on June 11. Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: What to know about the May 2025 flower moon in Oregon
