Today runs mostly sunny near 65 with a northeast wind of 10 to 15 mph, tonight clears to about 46, and Thursday is sunny near 66 with gusts to 20. Two dry days, then the pattern changes.
Friday carries a 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 2 PM, with 40 percent Friday night. Saturday and Sunday each hold a 50 percent chance with highs near 63 and 64, and that covers the Putnam County Pickle Fest at the Patterson Recreation Center on Sept 26 and 27. The two-day festival brings pickle vendors, Hudson Valley artisans, live music and food trucks, and the organizers expect thousands of people. Saturday also carries Carmel's Parks and Recreation fall concert, The Crew!, from 6 to 8 PM at Chamber Park, which sits inside the same 50 percent window.
One number from the county's own economy is worth holding onto. The United Way of Putnam-Westchester's annual ALICE report found that last year about 14,000 Putnam households, or 40 percent of the county, fell below the ALICE threshold, the line where a household earns more than the federal poverty level but less than what basic costs here require. Putnam's median household income is $121,000 against the state's $85,200, and the town figures still run high: Patterson at 44 percent, Kent 39, Southeast 38, Putnam Valley 36, Philipstown 35, and Carmel-Mahopac 34.
The questions Putnam searches this week, answer first, source after.
How many Putnam households are living paycheck to paycheck?
About 14,000 households, or 40 percent of the county, were below the ALICE threshold last year, according to the United Way of Putnam-Westchester's annual ALICE report. ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed: households that earn more than the federal poverty level but less than the basic cost of living here. By town the report lists Patterson at 44 percent, Kent 39, Southeast 38, Putnam Valley 36, Philipstown 35 and Carmel-Mahopac 34, in a county with a median household income of $121,000 and roughly 93,000 residents.
Not before Friday. The National Weather Service keeps today mostly sunny near 65 and Thursday sunny near 66, with Thursday night turning mostly cloudy near 49. Friday's chance is 30 percent, mainly after 2 PM, rising to 40 percent Friday night. Saturday and Sunday each sit at 50 percent with highs in the low 60s, Sunday night drops to 30 percent, and Monday clears to mostly sunny near 67.
Today's northeast wind runs 10 to 15 mph, and Thursday stays sunny near 66 with gusts to 20 through the afternoon. Friday's showers arrive mainly after 2 PM, so the morning drive stays dry and the evening one does not. Saturday and Sunday both carry a 50 percent chance with highs near 63 and 64, which makes the weekend the part of the week to plan around on Routes 6, 22 and 301.
Metro-North keeps the regular timetable on the Harlem Line out of Brewster and Southeast, and no road advisories are logged for the county. Monday returns to mostly sunny near 67, so nothing in this stretch looks like a washout.
AI Corner: one plain-English AI thing, every issue
This week: pull the three numbers that matter out of a long report.
The ALICE report runs dozens of pages of tables, and most readers need a handful of figures from it. Try: "Here is the town-by-town table from the ALICE report [paste it]. Which three towns have the highest share of households below the threshold, how far are they from the county average, and what does the age breakdown say about who is affected?" You still read the parts that matter to you, and you start with the county's own figures instead of a headline about them.
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