*** Paul Piorek is editor and publisher of Paul's Local Weather Journal for southwestern Connecticut ... Paul is the on-air meteorologist at WICC 600 AM and 107.3 FM ... Paul is a New York Emmy award winner (2007), five-time Emmy nominee, and four-time winner of the Connecticut Associated Press Broadcasters' Association award for Best TV Weathercast (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012) ... Paul was voted Best Local Television Personality by the readers of Fairfield County Weekly Magazine (2012) ... Paul was inducted into the Housatonic Community College Hall of Fame and received the Distinguished Alumni Award (2012) ... The local weather journal is a two-time winner of the Communicator Award of Distinction (2012 & 2013) ... Paul is currently a full-time teacher of Earth Science and Mathematics in Fairfield ... Follow Paul on Twitter @PaulPiorekWICC ...

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Autumn Will Arrive a Week Early

Autumn officially arrives one week from tomorrow, Friday, September 23, at 5:05 in the morning. That's when the Autumnal Equinox happens, technically bringing "equal day and equal night" over the face of the Earth. However, Mother Nature is about to change the seasons a week early.

A strong cold front will arrive this afternoon, bringing showers and a possible thunderstorm to southwestern Connecticut. This morning began on a warm and humid note with a temperature of 73 degrees at daybreak. That's just about the normal high for this time of the year. Behind the cold front, though, the mercury will plummet into the 40s by tomorrow morning.

This will mark a stark contrast to what we've experienced this week. In fact, the daily high temperatures from Monday through Wednesday were 81, 83, and 86 degrees, respectively. Yesterday's high temperature broke the record of 85 degrees, which was established in 1995. The morning lows were 74, 75, and 79 degrees, slightly above the normal highs for mid September.


Now, it will look and feel more like Fall starting tonight through the upcoming weekend. Morning low temperatures wall fall 10 to 15 degrees below the 58-degree normal for mid September. I don't think we'll tie or break the record low temperatures for Friday (43 in 1964), Saturday (41 in 1950), or Sunday (42 in 1990), but it will come close.

The local high school football season starts this weekend, and the weather will be just about perfect for the gridders. My alma mater, Fairfield Warde, hosts Brien McMahon tomorrow evening at 7 o'clock at Tetreau Davis Field in the season lidlifter for both squads. Fans would be wise to wear their sweaters and/or jackets to the game.

If you're lamenting the end of the Summer season, don't worry. I'm sure there will be some warm days ahead. We always seem to have a mild stretch in October, and this year should be no exception. For now, though, you'll want to get outside and enjoy the crisp and cool Fall preview this weekend. I know I will.

Paul