If you watched our newscast this morning, you heard me tell anchors Amelie Wilson and Kathryn Hauser that today will be a Top Ten Day. The last day of Spring will feature sunny skies, low humidity, a light breeze, and seasonably warm temperatures. It's a perfect day to be outside for a long walk, a casual lunch, a round of 18, or at the beach.
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 upper 70s, which is right at the 78-degree normal high for June 20.
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 out of the South, all but assuring pleasant weather. In fact, the mid-morning observation at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford reported the wind as "calm." 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.
Dew Point --- The dew point plays an important role in our weather, specifically during the late Spring and Summer months when it can become unbearable. Any time the dew point is below 60 degrees, our weather is comfortable, for the most part. As of late-morning, the dew point at Sikorsky Memorial Airport was 54 degrees. There is very little humidity in the air. The dew point should remain in the 50s this afternoon.
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
