ITHACA, N.Y. -- The average high temperature for the Fourth of July in Ithaca is a comfortable 79 degrees Fahrenheit, although it did hit 102 degrees once that day in 1911. Snow bunnies, skiers, sledders and skaters will love to hear that Ithaca's average high temperature for January is 31.2 degrees.

Fun facts like these are available in the 2004 Ithaca Weather Calendar, prepared by Cornell University's Northeast Regional Climate Center and Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. In the calendar, the climatologists provide Ithaca weather data for every day of 2004, a leap year.

By reading the calendar, Ithacans will learn that they can enjoy drinks on a porch a little longer in the summer, as the sun officially will set here at 8:47 p.m. from June 21 to July 2. Conversely, morning runners will enjoy early sunrises, as the sun ascends the eastern horizon at around 5:30 a.m. throughout June and into early July.

The 2004 calendar also features historical information on sites around Ithaca that were used to gather climate data. The calendar was compiled and written by Cornell undergraduate student Katherine Nunn '04; Keith Eggleston, Cornell senior climatologist; Mark Wysocki, senior lecturer in atmospheric sciences; Kathy Vreeland, extension support specialist; and Pamela Vitale, climate center administrative assistant. It features local photographs from Joseph Vitale, Pamela's husband; Brian Flannigan, facilities manager in crop and soil sciences; and Joy Sovocool, a Groton resident. Jillian Vitale, a junior at Groton High School, provided the front cover photograph. And Cornell's Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections provided historical photographs for the calendar.

The calendar costs $9 and can be purchased on campus at the Cornell Store, the Cornell Orchards and the Cornell Dairy Bar and in Ithaca at Ithaca Agway, The Bookery and Ludgate Produce Farms. The calendar is a nonprofit venture, and proceeds go to next year's calendar.