Today Marks 27th Anniversary of Warmest May Day on Record

Today marks the 27th anniversary of the warmest May day on record. The mercury soared to 97 degrees at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford on Monday, May 20, 1996, nearly 30 degrees higher than the average high temperature for the date. In fact, only one other Spring day has been as warm, and that happened on June 9 of 2008. What made the record high of 1996 so memorable was that it happened just 40 days after nearly a foot of snow capped the snowiest Winter on record, and just days after much colder-than-normal temperatures.

“Just over a week ago, the climate got rewound to Winter,” wrote N. R. Kleinfield of The New York Times in an article dated May 21, 1996. “Six inches of snow coated parts of upstate New York (as if the year required more snow). In the city last week, the high temperature dipped to the 50s. Spring, you might have noticed, either got lost or just forgot to come. Then came yesterday (May 20, 1996). It all got fast-forwarded to August. Bathing suits instead of ski parkas,” he continued.

“Turn off the heater and turn up the air-conditioner. What’s going on? Is this Earth or is this Mars? People could be excused for being mystified, discombobulated, distraught, furious, dazed, crazed, tentative, dizzy and, of course, just plain really, really hot.” The temperature reached a record high of 96 degrees in Central Park, eclipsing the previous record of 91 set in 1959, and a new record was established in Newark, where it was 99 degrees. Incredibly, just over a week earlier, on the weekend of May 11 and 12, 1996, it snowed in upstate New York.

Remember, the first two-and-a-half weeks of May in 1996 were unseasonably chilly. The record heat and outages at two power plants, one in Westchester and one in upstate New York, reduced the electricity reserves of New York state’s power pool, leading Consolidated Edison to ask customers to curtail electricity consumption. With air-conditioners thrumming away, demand in New York City reached around 9,000 megawatts, well above the normal 7,000 to 8,000 megawatts for this time of year.

Twelve years later, a late Spring scorcher, which included another 97-degree Spring day, forced area schools to dismiss early and close in early June of 2008. Temperatures soared to 90 degrees or hotter on Sunday, June 8 (90 degrees), Monday, June 9 (97), and Tuesday, June 10 (96). The normal high temperature for the first week of June is 74 degrees. It’s the first time in recent memory that school systems shut down due to the oppressive heat.

Paul

Chirping Birds Communicate in the Middle of the Night in May

Do you hear the birds chirping in the middle of the night? I do. The birds began chirping shortly after 3 o'clock this morning. Yes, it happens every May. The birds are chirping their melodious songs in the middle of the night. Although sunrise is a few hours away, the birds are already in midday form.

Hearing the birds chirping loudly at that hour is nothing short of shocking. Obviously, the days are getting longer, but is that the only reason the birds are up so early in the morning this time of the year? My curiosity got the better of me. I just had to find out.

No doubt you’ve heard the old adage about the early bird catching the worm, but there had to be more to it than that. According to Yahoo Answers, “The birds chirp and sing to communicate,” it states. “What you may not know is that, with few exceptions, it is the males that are doing all the chirping and singing. They chirp and sing to attract a mate and to announce their territory.”

But why are they chirping in the middle of the night? “Each day, as soon as possible, the males want to make sure that everyone knows that they are alive and well and ready to defend their territory. What is interesting, although it may all sound the same to us, is that there is some evidence suggesting that each bird has its own unique song and other birds know it.”

As for the modern scientific viewpoint, it is devoid of any romantic, religious or aesthetic aspects. It states that the pre-dawn chorus this time of the year signifies the warning signals given by each bird as it announces the re-establishment of its territory for the purpose of courtship, nesting, and food getting. All of these are the fundamental and basic steps to breeding, and the early chorus is just a way to warn other counterparts to keep away from their respective territories.

Paul

Rare May Snowstorm Affected Northeast 46 Years Ago Today

A "Winter" storm system brought snow and record-cold temperatures to much of New England on this date 46 years ago, May 9, 1977. In fact, at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, a trace of snow fell, and the temperature dropped to 37 degrees that morning, establishing a record low for this date. Other than a trace of snow which was reported May 27, 2010, it's the latest Spring day on which any snow has ever fallen in southwestern Connecticut.

The storm was quite shocking for this time of the year. Consider the normal high temperature for May 9 is 65 degrees, and the normal low temperature is 48. Snow in southwestern Connecticut is almost unheard of seven weeks after the Vernal Equinox. The coldest temperature ever recorded this month was 31 degrees on March 10, 1966.

According to the Naugatuck Daily News, "A Spring storm dumped several inches of snow on some parts of Berkshire County in Massachusetts. The area hardest hit by the storm was Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where police reported 10 inches of snow on the ground. Similar amounts were reported in parts of Vermont. Great Barrington police said there 'were about 100 trees down, wires are down, and we've got reports of accidents we can't get to.'"

Residents in the northwestern Connecticut rural communities of Goshen and Cornwall reported unofficial snow depths of up to five inches. The snow began to fall heavily in the Hartford area at the height of the commuter rush, slowing traffic considerably on most roads. The National Weather Service said a deepening area of low pressure over Connecticut produced a variety of weather conditions across Western Connecticut.

I consider myself a local weather history buff, but I honestly don't remember this storm. Special thanks to viewer Ralph Fato for recalling it and bringing it to my attention. It certainly had to be memorable for those who had to dig out of nearly a half-foot of snow in the northwestern corner of the state. I'm sure they were wearing their Winter coats, too, with the mercury plunging into the 30s.

Paul

Snow, Record Cold, and Blustery Winds Offered Winter Feel Three Years Ago Today

As difficult as it may seem to believe, it snowed in Fairfield three years ago today. In fact, snow fell several times throughout the day. Strong gusty winds produced afternoon wind chills in the 30s, giving a Winter feel to the Spring day. The trace of snow which was recorded at Sikorsky Memorial Airport also happened on the same date in 1977.

The official low temperature at Sikorsky Airport was 35 degrees at 5:52 a.m., which broke the previous record low of 37 degrees last established in 1977. The high temperature of 49 degrees at 2:50 p.m. was well below the 65-degree normal high temperature for the date and one degree above the record low maximum of 48 degrees established in 1966.

Paul

Lawn & Garden Tips for May

Although Mother Nature can deliver some surprises in Spring, such as unseasonably cold temperatures in March and frosty nights in April, May is generally quieter. For gardeners, this means there's almost no limit to the gardening activities that can be done this month. Here are a few photos I took from my neighborhood recently.

According to Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor at the University of Vermont, the first order of business in May is to finish up any chores that didn't get done in April, such as removing wraps from trees and shrubs. Also, rake out flowerbeds and remove last year's stalks from perennial plants. If you can't break them off easily, cut them with a pair of sharp shears. Be careful not to remove new growth from plant crowns.

Pruning shrubs, small trees, and bushes is also a top priority this time of the year. Prune broken branches from trees and shrubs before they fall and injure someone. You also can prune Summer flowering shrubs, hedges, and evergreen trees now. But by May it's too late to prune fruit-bearing trees like crabapple, plum, and cherry and too early to cut back spring-flowering varieties such as forsythia and lilacs. Wait until flowering is through for the year.

May is a good month to work on your lawn. I've already thoroughly raked my lawn to remove dead grass and give it room to breathe. Top dress bare areas with a mix of topsoil and peat, then reseed. Use a quality grass seed mix containing Kentucky bluegrass, red fescue, and perennial ryegrass. Water seeded areas, keeping them moist as the grass starts to grow.

This is also a good time to fertilize your lawn to encourage healthy growth. Use a balanced fertilizer, one containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash. However, a soil test is recommended as it will tell you if your soil already contains enough potash and phosphate, in which case you may only need a light application of nitrogen. Many lawns also need lime to grow well. A soil test will tell you how much to apply.

This is the primary planting month for vegetable gardens. Early this month you can plant cool-season crops such as peas, spinach, herbs, onions, and lettuce. Plant root crops, cole crops, and beans next. Wait until Memorial Day or later, depending on the last frost, to put in tender crops such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and melons.

If you are thinking of putting in a new flowerbed, prepare the bed by working the soil to a depth of one foot. Mix in lime if needed and organic matter in the form of peat moss or compost. Pay attention to flower color and placement. If a bed is to be viewed from one side only, then place taller plants in the back. Otherwise, put them in the center of the bed.

Avoid planting all the early flowering plants in one area or all varieties with the same flower type. If you are creating beds to be enjoyed from inside the house, plant hot-colored annuals and perennials (yellows, oranges, reds) in the front part of the bed. Plant blues and purples farther away. Adding plants with silvery foliage will help tie the color groups together.

Good luck with your lawn and garden this Spring. 

Paul