Tropical Storm Irene: One Year Later

This video of Tropical Storm Irene, which affected southwestern Connecticut August 27 & 28, 2011, was edited and recorded by viewer Ralph Fato of Norwalk.



Paul

Recalling Tropical Storm Irene One Year Later

Tropical Storm Irene hit the region one year ago this weekend, and it will long be remembered by residents of southwestern Connecticut for the number of lives it affected. According to Mitch Gross, a spokesman for Connecticut Light and Power, more than 700,000 customers were without power Sunday, August 28, 2011, easily breaking the previous record of 480,000 following Hurricane Gloria in September of 1985. In fact, 98% of Redding and 89% of Weston households were without power on Monday, August 29, 2011.

The shoreline was hit the hardest, especially during the storm surge during the time of high tide late Sunday morning. Several homes collapsed along the beach in Fairfield, and many residents had to be evacuated due to the flooding. There were 35 streets which were under mandatory evacuation. This is an outstanding time lapse taken during Tropical Storm Irene. Ralph Fato installed a camera by the water in New Rochelle, NY. The camera was 15 feet higher than the bottom of the pond. You will be amazed at this video.



Ralph sent the following photos of Cove Island Park in Stamford, where the water level was 15 feet above normal. The beach is actually a quarter-mile away. The center of the storm passed through southwestern Connecticut late Sunday morning, August 28, just about the time of high tide, which was 11:10 a.m. in Bridgeport. To make matters worse, tides were astronomically high due to the new Moon. The beach is actually a quarter-mile away.







Although the storm's effects would be felt for quite some time, it could have been much worse. The highest wind gust reported in the region was 63 miles an hour at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford just before daybreak. The highest wind speed was 46 miles an hour, and the average wind speed was 24.9 miles an hour. Fortunately, winds never reached hurricane force, but that certainly was little consequence to the thousands of people who were without power or who suffered damage from Irene.

Rainfall totals ranged from just over three inches to more than a half-foot in Northern Fairfield County. Officially, the airport set a record of 2.50 inches, bringing the two-day storm total to 3.35 inches. That's not far from the monthly average of 3.75 inches. Here are four more photos from Ralph taken at Cove Island Park.









Now, all eyes are focused on Isaac, which may affect us with tropical moisture by the end of next week. The weather this week has been just about perfect for anybody on vacation. Let's hope we don't have to deal with anything like Irene again. Have a good weekend.

Paul

Perfect Summer Weather for Fairfield American's Little League World Series Opener in Williamsport

The Fairfield American Little League all-stars play their first game of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, this afternoon at 3 o'clock, and the weather will be much better than the rainstorm which soaked the players and the thousands of fans at last night's eighth annual Grand Slam Parade. Despite the downpour, it certainly didn't dampen the spirits of the local little leaguers, who won the New England Regional championship last Saturday in Bristol.

As a lifelong resident of Fairfield, I am proud of the players and coaches who are representing our town. The Fairfield American Little League all-stars are building quite a tradition. This is the same organization which advanced to the Little League World Series two years ago and played in the New England Regional tournament last year. Fairfield American Little League teams have won the Connecticut state championship each of the last three years!

The locals will face the West champion Petaluma, California, all stars this afternoon at 3 o'clock. The West champions won a nailbiter against Hawaii last Saturday night to advance to the series. The weather will be just about perfect for this time of the year at Lamade Stadium. It will be mostly sunny and warm with a temperature of 83 degrees, 39% relative humidity, and a light West breeze at about six miles an hour. The probability of precipitation is zero. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Naturally, the entire town is bursting with pride and rooting for this great group of 12-year-old all stars. Several restaurants have had "viewing parties" over the last two weeks, and I'm sure it will happen during the World Series. No doubt, many of the townsfolk will be traveing to Williamsport over the next several days to watch the boys play against the best Little League teams in the country.

So, how did the players get this far? First, they were selected as league all-stars by their coaches in June. Then, they won the district championship at Blackham School in Bridgeport in July by defeating teams from Westport, Bridgeport, Easton, and, eventually, their cross-town rivals from Fairfield National Little League to advance to the state tournament. Finally, the all-stars defeated Avon to win the state championship.

While most baseball fans in these parts are following the likes of Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, and David Wright, Fairfield baseball fans will be watching Kevin Oricoli, Matty Clarkin, Will Lucas, Henry Prestegaard, Ryan Meury, Michael Ghiorzi, Matt Kubel, and the rest of the Fairfield American Little League all stars.

Photos: Courtesy Connecticut Post

Paul

Dwindling Daylight Marks Summer's Final Month

Today marks eight weeks since the Summer Solstice, and the Autumnal Equinox is just a little more than one month away. Summer officially began on Wednesday, June 20, while Fall starts in the Northern Hemisphere on Saturday, September 22 at 10:49 a.m. EDT. Where has the time gone?

I'm sure you’ve noticed by now that our days are getting shorter. In fact, sunset happens at 7:51 this evening, 39 minutes earlier than the first day of Summer. The sun appears at 6:03 tomorrow morning, 44 minutes later than the 5:19 sunrise of June 20. That means we’ve lost nearly an hour-and-a half (83 minutes) of daylight over the last eight weeks. And, daylight will continue to dwindle.

By the end of August, the sun rises at 6:18 and sets at 7:27, meaning that over an hour of daylight will have been lost in the evening alone since the first day of Summer. Just over one month from now, on the Autumnal Equinox, the sunrise is at 6:38 a.m. and sunset is at 6:53 p.m. The loss of daylight accelerates through the three months of Autumn.

The average temperature this month is 78.2 degrees, which is just about four degrees (+3.9) above normal. It's looking more and more as though this will be the 18th straight warmer-than-normal month across southwestern Connecticut. All but two of the first 14 days this month have been warmer-than-normal, with the highest temperature of 91 degrees on August 3. Just one day --- August 7 --- featured an average temperature below normal (-1.0).

Nearly a quarter-inch (0.20") of rain fell at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford this morning, bringing the monthly total to just under three inches (2.79"). Today is the sixth day with measured rain this month, with the heaviest rainfall (1.75") occurring August 10. More showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and late Friday into Saturday should bring the August rain total over three inches.

Paul

Marking the Anniversary of Hurricane Connie in 1955

A warm and less humid day is ahead under mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the mid 80s. If you have the day off, I certainly envy you. It will be a great day for a trip to the beach, the pool, or a round of 18 at the golf course. Things were quite different 57 years ago today, however. Take a look at the front page of The Bridgeport Telegram from Saturday, August 13, 1955.



Long-time area residents will never forget August of 1955 when two of the most memorable hurricanes --- Connie and Diane --- battered the Northeast. Hurricane Connie soaked New England with torrential rains on August 12 and 13, 1955. Then, just five days later, Tropical Storm Diane followed suit creating massive flooding not seen since the 1930s. Take a look at the front page of The Bridgeport Telegram from Saturday, August 20, 1955.




The combination of Connie and Diane yielded rainfall totals close to 25 inches in some areas, resulting in unprecedented flooding. Nearly all of the major rivers in the lower Connecticut Valley exceeded flood stage. Some rivers rose more than 20 feet over their banks. Read the Valley News archive of daily weather events from August of 1955 to gain a better understanding of the power of those two August hurricanes!

While the two hurricanes affected the entire Atlantic coast, Connecticut suffered the most damage. For example, of the 180 lives that were lost, 77 were in Connecticut. Of the 680 million dollars in property damage, over 350 million dollars occurred in Connecticut. Over 200 dams in New England suffered partial to total failure. Many of these were in the area immediately south of Worcester, in the Thames and Blackstone headwaters. Here is a photo of Winsted, Connecticut, virtually devastated following the flood.



If August was not bad enough, two months later, a four day storm dumped an additional 12-14 inches of rain in southwestern New England. This event was not as widespread as the August storms, but record flood levels were achieved in some locations of the Housatonic and Hudson River basins.

The tropical season has been fairly quiet thus far, but things usually stir in late August and September. Tropical Storm Irene (2011) and Hurricane Gloria (1985) are two recent examples. For now, however, enjoy the day. However, make sure to bring your sunglasses and suntan lotion. The UV Index is a 9, which is quite high. That's quite a difference from this date in 1955!

Paul

The "Dog Days" of Summer Officially End This Saturday

The humidity will be turned up over the next few days before a slow-moving cold front arrives early this weekend. Dew point temperatures have climbed into the lower 70s this morning, nearly as oppressive as the 77-degree dew point at Sikorsky Memorial Airport last Saturday afternoon. However, there are signs that Summer is heading toward the home stretch. For one, the Sun sets before 8 o'clock this evening in Bridgeport for the first time since May 10.

In addition, the Dog Days of Summer officially come to an end this Saturday. In case you’re wondering, the dog days last for 40 days, from July 3 to August 11. They are directly related to the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major, or the big dog. Sirius is known as the Dog Star, and we see it clearly illuminating the night sky from early Autumn through early Spring.

However, during this time of the year, Sirius rises and sets with the Sun. During late July, Sirius is in “conjunction” with the Sun, and the ancients believed that its heat added to the heat of the Sun, creating a stretch of very hot, humid, and sultry weather. Actually, the conjunction of Sirius with the Sun varies slightly with latitude, and a gradual drifting of the constellations over time means that they are not in exactly the same place in the sky as they were in ancient Rome.

Although this is typically the warmest time of the year in southwestern Connecticut, the added heat is not due to the added radiation of a far-away star, regardless of how bright it is. The heat of Summertime in the Northern Hemisphere is a direct result of the Earth’s 23.5 degree tilt on its axis. Today's normal high temperature is 82 degrees, just one degree shy of the normal for late July.

Today will be another great day for the beach. We'll have partly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80s along with a Southeast breeze. There is a slight chance of an isolated shower or thunderstorm. Showers and thunderstorms are more likely later tomorrow and especially Friday night into Saturday morning. Sunday will be the better weekend day, though, as the humidity drops under a mix of sun and clouds.

Paul

New England Regional Little League Tournament Weather "Batting a Thousand"

Fairfield American Little League plays its fourth and final game of the round-robin New England Regional tournament against Wellesley, Massachusetts, this evening at 8 o'clock at Breen Field in Bristol. The weather will be warm and humid, but there is very little chance of rain. Skies should be partly cloudy with a temperature of 76 degrees, humidity at 71%, and a South wind at six miles an hour by game time. Fairfield American is hoping to win its fourth game in a row.

So far, Mother Nature hasn't adversely affected the tournament. The weather has been fine since the first games were played last Friday. Fairfield American defeated Coventry, RI, last Friday night by a 1-0 score, and followed that with an impressive 17-1 win over South Burlington, VT, in the heat and humidity Saturday night. The squad won its third straight game Monday night by posting a 15-2 triumph over Scarborough, Maine.

The semi-finals are scheduled at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. tomorrow, but there is a threat of thunderstorms during the afternoon. It will be warm and humid with an afternoon high temperature of 86 degrees and a dew point close to 70 degrees. The games should be played, though, even though a rain or thunderstorm delay is certainly not out of the question.

The championship game is scheduled for Saturday evening at 6 o'clock. Based on the latest forecast, thunderstorms and locally heavy downpours --- which may lead to flash flooding --- should begin later Friday and continue into Saturday morning. Skies are expected to gradually clear Saturday afternoon. However, it will be warm and quite humid with a dew point in the lower 70s. It will certainly feel tropical and oppressive.

I'm sure the grounds crew will keep the playing field as dry as possible. The field is well-manicured, and the championship game will be televised by ESPN, so I'm fairly confident the final game will be played. The winner will travel to Williamsport to play in this year's Little League World Series. Fairfield American, which has won the state championship each of the last three years, is hoping to make its second appearance in the LLWS in the last three years.

Let's go Fairfield American!

Paul

Photos courtesy The Connecticut Post.

What Makes a Top Ten Day?

Today will probably be the best day of the week. High pressure moving across southwestern Connecticut will deliver plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures with an afternoon high of 80 to 86 degrees, within the range of the normal high of 82 degrees for this time of the year. The wind will be light and variable throughout the day.

That got me thinking. What are the parameters for a Top Ten day? Obviously, it is implied that there will be more than ten days which will qualify for the list every year. Further, the necessary "ingredients" may differ from person-to-person and be somewhat arbitrary, but I decided to create the five most important weather elements for a day to make the Top Ten list.



Sky Cover --- The day should feature mostly clear skies, just like in the photo of Gulf Beach above. Ideally, there shouldn't be any clouds in the sky. Meteorologically, the sky can be classified as clear, having scattered clouds, broken clouds, or overcast clouds. Generally speaking, the sky is mostly clear if more than 90% is cloud-free; the clouds are scattered if 10 to 50% of the sky is covered; broken clouds obscure 50 to 90% of the sky; and overcast clouds cover 90 to 100% of the sky.

Temperature --- Since our daily high and low normal average temperatures are based on 40+ years of climatology and differ with the seasons, a Top Ten day should feature an afternoon temperature within five degrees either side of the normal high for the date. Today, for example, the high temperature will be in the low-to-mid 80s, which is just above the 82-degree normal high for August 7.

Wind --- This is perhaps the most important ingredient for a number of reasons. First of all, the wind direction plays a pivotal role in our weather, especially during the Spring months. Today's wind will be light and variable, all but assuring pleasant weather. There shouldn't be any sustained winds above 15 to 20 miles an hour or strong wind gusts. A moderate breeze is just fine, and that's what we'll have today. The photo below shows calm weather at Gulf Beach in Milford.



Humidity --- The humidity plays an important role in our weather, specifically during the mid Summer months when it can become unbearable. Any time the humidity is below 60% our weather is comfortable, for the most part. As of early-morning, the dew point was a comfortable 61 degrees.



Visibility --- Boaters and pilots need extremely good visibility when they are out on the water or up in the sky. When the sky is mostly clear and the humidity is fairly low, our visibility is better than 20 miles. You can easily see Long Island or part of New York City from the Connecticut shoreline on a day like this. Naturally, when the humidity increases and the air becomes saturated, ground fog develops. That all but obscures our visibility completely.

Today will have all five ingredients for a Top Ten day. What do you look for in a Top Ten day? Do you have your own list of criteria? I'd like to know what you think of my list, too. Feel free to send me an email or make a comment below. I'd sincerely appreciate it.

Have a Top Ten day.

Paul

Starting Summer's Second Half

Yesterday marked the official midpoint of Summer. It had been 46 days since the Summer Solstice, and the Autumn Equinox is 46 days from Sunday. It seems like the Summer is flying by. A powerful cold front approached the region last night, bringing strong thunderstorms, vivid lightning, gusty winds, and locally heavy rain, but today should be sunny, warm, and less humid by afternoon. It should be a nice start to the second half of Summer.

The first 46 days of Summer this year have been much warmer than one year ago. There have been 11 days with a high temperature of 90 degrees or more compared to just six last year. There have been two heat waves this Summer compared to none a year ago. We had one heat wave from June 29 through July 1 with high temperatures of 91, 92, and 92 degrees, respectively. The second heat wave happened June 16 through 18 when the mercury hit 91, 93, and 95 degrees on successive days.

Coincidentally, the first half of last Summer and the first half of this Summer each featured 14 days (30%) with measured rain. Last June had four rainy days from June 21 through June 30, while this June featured five days with measured rain, including four in a row from June 22 through June 25. Last July and this July each featured eight rainy days. Last August (through August 5) had two days with measured rain, while this August has seen just one rainy day.

Another warm day is ahead with afternoon high temperatures reaching well into the 80s. The normal high temperature for this date is 82 degrees, while the record high of 90 was established in 2001. A northwest breeze will bring drier air into the region, and the dew point, which was an oppressive 76 degrees Sunday afternoon, will drop into the 50s later today. Tonight will be mostly clear and much more comfortable with a low temperature of 54 degrees inland and 64 along the immediate shoreline.

The humidity will begin to climb once again by the middle of the week, and there is a threat of showers and thunderstorms later in the week and into the beginning of the weekend. The Dog Days of Summer officially end this Saturday, August 11. The 40-day period when the star Sirius, also known as the Dog Star, rises with the Sun ends this coming Saturday. However, it looks like our weather will improve by the end of the weekend.

Paul

Chalk Up Another Warmer and Wetter-than-Normal Month

The streak lives. The average temperature in July was 77.3 degrees at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, which was exactly three degrees above normal. Incredibly, it marked the 17th straight month across southwestern Connecticut with above-average temperatures. July was also the third straight month with more than four inches of rain, continuing a much shorter streak of above-average rainfall.

The average daily temperature each of the first 18 days last month was above normal. Five of the days posted an average temperature at least nine degrees above normal. There were two streaks of four days each with cooler-than-normal temperatures, including July 19 through 23 and July 28 through 31. The warmest temperature last month was 95 degrees on July 18, while the coolest temperature was 61 degrees on July 22. The mercury never dropped below 60 degrees throughout the entire month.

There were nine days last month with a high temperature of 90 degrees or more, including three of the first seven days of July. A heat wave happened July 16 through July 18 with afternoon high temperatures of 91, 93, and 95, respectively. We missed a heat wave by one degree from July 5 through July 7 when the mercury topped 91, 89, and 93 degrees, respectively. Following the heat wave, the temperature eclipsed 90 degrees just once more when a high of 93 degrees happened on July 24.

July also featured more than four inches (4.35") of rain, which was nearly an inch (0.89") above normal. Although there were only eight days with measured rain, nearly two inches (1.97") fell during the monsoon of Saturday, July 28, and nearly an inch (0.94") fell on July 15. Just one of the first 13 days delivered measured rain to the region, but seven of 15 days from July 14 through July 28 featured measured rain and two more days offered a trace rain.

The heat and humidity will build over the next couple of days with nothing more than an isolated shower or thunderstorm through Saturday. Daytime high temperatures will reach well into the 80s to close to 90 degrees inland today and tomorrow. A cold front approaches later Sunday, bringing a better threat of stronger thunderstorms. Any leftover shower or thunder move away Monday, and drier air arrives for the middle of next week.

Paul

Full Sturgeon Moon Happens Just Before Midnight

The nighttime sky was unusually brighter than normal on my way to work early this morning. Although there were some clouds around, the nearly-full Moon illuminated the sky and ground below. It accompanied me on my early-morning drive. The Full Sturgeon Moon happens later this evening at 11:27 p.m. EDT. Unfortunately, there will be plenty of clouds just before midnight as a front pushes through the region.

The photo of the Full Sturgeon Moon above was taken by viewer Ralph Fato last August. Since the Full Moon happens on the first day of the month, there will be another Full Moon by the end of the month. Whenever there are two Full Moons in the same month, the second one is referred to as a Blue Moon. The next Full Moon happens Friday, August 31, at 9:58 a.m. EDT.

So, how did the August Full Moon get its name? The fishing tribes are given credit for naming it, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze. It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.

Thunder and lightning are quite frequent with Summer storms in August. So, this month’s full Moon also goes by the name of the Lightning Moon for the Summer thunderstorms. Other names given to the Moon in August are the Red Moon and the Dog Moon.

Full Moon names date back to the days of the Native Americans, in what is now the Northern and Eastern United States. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full Moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. There was some variation in the Moon names, but in general, the same ones were current throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.

Pack the umbrella before heading off to work or camp this morning. A front will approach from the West, bringing a threat of showers and thunderstorms, but not everybody will get wet. Today's highs will reach close to 80 degrees. The heat and humidity build tomorrow through the upcoming weekend with daytime highs well into the 80s and nighttime lows in the lower 70s.

Paul