A Summer Reality Check

We're off to a beautiful start this morning. Clear skies and light winds allowed the temperature to drop into the upper 50s in some communities. The low temperature at Bridgeport was 64 degrees, which is the coolest reading this month. Another nice day is ahead, but the humidity will build over the next few days and the temperature may reach 90 degrees early next week.

Believe it or not, the days are indeed getting "shorter." In fact, we have lost nearly 40 minutes of daylight since the first day of Summer. Sunrise on June 21st happened at 5:19. This morning's Sunrise was at 5:44, 25 minutes later. Sunset is now at 8:16, 14 minutes before the latest Sunset, at 8:30, on the Solstice.

By the end of the month, sunrise occurs at 5:47, while the Sun sets at 8:10. Two weeks later, by mid-August, the shorter days become even more pronounced, with sunrise and sunset times at 6:02 and 7:51, respectively. The "shorter" days have to do with the Earth's revolution around the Sun, and the 23.5 degree tilt on its axis. By the end of September, the Autumnal Equinox begins a six-month period of longer nights and shorter days in the Northern Hemisphere.

Need further proof that we're moving through Summer rather quickly? My favorite NFL team, the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, opens training camp today in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Their first exhibition game is scheduled for Thursday, August 8, at Detroit. That's just two weeks away! Before you know it, the regular season will be here.

Make sure you get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather today. It will be mostly sunny with a high temperature in the lower 80s. August is one week from today.

Paul

Excessive Heat Warning Remains in Effect Through This Evening

An Excessive Heat Warning remains in effect for southwestern Connecticut through 8 o'clock this evening. The temperature climbed to 91 degrees as of early this afternoon, marking the second straight day the mercury has soared into the 90s. Saturday's high temperature was 94 degrees at 4:55 p.m. EDT, which is the warmest thus far this year.

This is the sixth day the temperature has reached 90 degrees or better at Bridgeport this month. However, there hasn't been an official heat wave, even though the average monthly temperature is 4.1 degrees above normal through yesterday.

This afternoon's heat index value is close to 100 degrees at Samp Mortar Lake in Fairfield.

Things could be much worse, though. Six years ago, southwestern Connecticut experienced an unprecedented seven-day heat wave from July 14 through July 20, 2013. We also experienced a four-day heat wave from July 5 through July 8 that very same month.

Once the heat breaks, flash flooding is a potential threat Monday evening into Tuesday morning. In fact, nearly two inches of rain may fall across southwestern Connecticut through Wednesday at 12 p.m. EDT.

More than three inches of rain fell over the last four days during strong thunderstorms, bringing the monthly precipitation total to 4.24 inches, which is 2.16 inches above normal through yesterday.

One thing is for sure. The weather is never dull. Stay cool.

Paul

July's Full Buck Moon Happens Tuesday, July 16

The Full Buck Moon happens Tuesday, July 16, at 5:39 p.m. EDT. July is normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer rush out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It is also often called the Full Thunder Moon, since thunderstorms are common during this time of the year. Another name for this month’s Moon is the Full Hay Moon.

Full Moon names date back to 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.

A Full Moon rises at about the same time the Sun is setting. Since the length of daylight is about 14 hours and 51 minutes today, the Full Moon will rise later and set earlier this time of the year. In addition, the Full Moon will appear lower in the sky since it won’t be visible nearly as long as during the mid-Winter nights.

For example, the Moon rises at 7:39 this evening and sets at 5:09 tomorrow morning. That means the Moon will be visible for nine hours and 30 minutes. Conversely, six months from now in January when the amount of daylight is at a minimum, the Full Wolf Moon will appear higher in the sky and be visible for about 17-and-half-hours. That’s eight hours longer than this time of the year!

This year's Full Buck Moon happens on the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, which happened Wednesday, July 16, 1969, at 9:32 a.m. EDT.

Paul

Deadly & Destructive Tornadoes Struck Connecticut 30 Years Ago Today

One of the most unforgettable weather days happened 30 years ago today when a series of deadly and destructive tornadoes hit Connecticut on the afternoon of July 10, 1989. I was the early morning forecaster at the Western Connecticut State University weathercenter in Danbury back then. Although I predicted strong to severe thunderstorms for the region that afternoon, I never imagined the magnitude of the tornadoes which would strike Connecticut later that day.

I remember the storms began early that morning in upstate New York. A tornado hit Ogdensburg just before daybreak, injuring one person. One inch hail and wind gusts of over 50 miles an hour were a telltale sign that the approaching frontal boundary meant business. Many reports of wind damage in New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts occurred before noon.

Unfortunately, the timing of the storm had it moving into western Connecticut by the afternoon hours, when the atmosphere is most volatile due to the heating of the Sun. By midafternoon, as the atmosphere continued to heat up and the front moved eastward, the tornadoes developed. The first tornado, which may actually have been three distinctly separate tornadoes, started in the Northwest community of Cornwall, and leveled the Cathedral Pines forest.

The tornado continued south-southeast through Milton, leveling hundreds of trees and virtually destroying the village of Bantam before dissipating. A 12-year-old girl, who was on a campout with family and friends, was killed by falling trees in Black Rock State Park. Not much later, another tornado touched down in Watertown, passing through Oakville and northern Waterbury . That either damaged or destroyed over 150 homes and injured 70 people.

However, the most destructive tornado occurred in Hamden by late-afternoon. The path was only about five miles long, and it stopped just short of New Haven. The tornado destroyed almost 400 structures, and even cars were tossed into the air. Rows of houses and an industrial park were flattened as a result of the tornado. The storm was so strong that much of the area was without power for at least a week, and there were some trees still being cleared months later. The adjacent photo shows some of the damage in Hamden. This video was made for the Hamden Fire Department's Training Division the day after the tornado struck.



The powerful F-4 tornado which struck Hamden caused $100 million in damage and another $20 million in the Greater New Haven area. Forty people were injured in the tornado. After the tornado dissipated, a wind gust of 80 miles an hour was reported in New Haven. At about that time, another tornado struck Mount Carmel, tearing the roof off a condominium and injuring five people.

Of course, 30 years ago we didn't have the technology we do today, but I was still able to monitor the radar by the time I arrived home early in the afternoon. Remember, the Internet and access to instant local weather coverage didn't exist in those days. By the evening, the violent weather had ended, skies were clearing, and the damage had been done. It was certainly a day I'll never forget.

Paul

Earth is at Farthest Point from Sun During Its Annual Elliptical Orbit

Despite the warm and humid weather all week, our planet is actually at its farthest point from the Sun today. According to the U. S. Naval Observatory, the Earth reached a point in its orbit called "aphelion" at 6:10 p.m. EDT. The Earth's aphelion is the point where it is the farthest from the Sun than at any time during the year at a distance of 94,506,507 miles.

The Earth is typically about 93 million miles from the Sun. However, because our planet's orbit is not a perfect circle but an ellipse, it has a farthest point and a closest point to the Sun. In case you're wondering, the Earth's closest approach to the Sun is called perihelion, and that occurs in early January. The Earth is exactly 3,104,641 miles (or 3.28 percent) farther from the Sun than at its closest approach. The Earth actually receives about seven percent less heat at its aphelion than at its closest approach, according to researchers.

Although the date for both will vary from year to year, the Earth will always be closest to the Sun in early January and the farthest away in early July. Not surprisingly, that comes as a surprise to most people. At perihelion, our planet is about 91 million miles from the Sun. It moves outward to about 95 million miles from the Sun at aphelion. Naturally, some people have the mistaken impression that our seasons are caused by the changes in Earth's distance from the Sun, but this is not the case.

The temperatures and the seasons are not affected by the proximity of the Earth to the Sun or even the rotation of the planet on its axis. Rather, it is the tilt of the Earth that determines the climate. When it is at perihelion in January, the Earth is tilted away from the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere, and the sunlight is not "getting a direct hit" on the Earth's atmosphere. However, when it is at aphelion in July, the Earth is tilted toward the Sun.

Today's high temperature at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford was 88 degrees, and the low temperature was 68 degrees for a 78-degree average. That's five degrees above normal for the date. So, even though it was a good day for the beach or pool, the Earth was actually at its farthest point from the Sun in its annual orbit.

Paul

"Dog Days of Summer" Have Officially Arrived

The “Dog Days” of Summer officially start today. No, that’s not because I relented and turned on the air conditioners. Most people casually refer to the "Dog Days" as a period of hot and humid weather. But did you know that the dog days are a 40-day period which lasts from early July through mid-August?

The dog days of Summer run from July 3 through August 11 in the Northern Hemisphere and have to do with the star Sirius, known as “the dog star.” Sirius is the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere other than the Sun, and it is found in the constellation Canis Major; thus the name “dog star.”

In the Summer, Sirius rises and sets with the Sun. During late July, Sirius is in “conjunction” with the Sun. The ancients believed that its heat added to the heat of the Sun, creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather. They named this period of time, from 20 days before the conjunction to 20 days after, the “dog days” after the dog star.

In ancient times, when the night sky was unobscured by artificial lights and smog, different groups of peoples in different parts of the world drew images in the sky by “connecting the dots” of stars. The images drawn were dependent upon the culture.

The Chinese saw different images than the Native Americans, who saw different pictures than the Europeans. These star pictures are now called constellations, and the constellations that are now mapped out in the sky come from our European ancestors.

They saw images of bears (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor), twins (Gemini), a bull (Taurus), and others, including dogs (Canis Major and Canis Minor). The brightest of the stars in Canis Major (the big dog) is Sirius. The star can be seen prominently in the Winter in the Northern Hemisphere, adjacent to Orion the Hunter.

The conjunction of Sirius with the Sun varies somewhat with latitude. Also, the constellations today are not in exactly the same place in the sky as they were in ancient Rome. Although we are in the middle of the dog days of Summer right now, the heat is not due to the added radiation from a far-away star, regardless of its brightness. The heat of Summer is a direct result of the earth’s 23.5 degree tilt on its axis, meaning the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun during the Summer.

Welcome to the "Dog Days."

Paul

Previewing the Month of July

Half the year is over. Now that July is here, it’s time to look ahead at what the month brings climatologically to southwestern Connecticut. I'm sure you remember the record heat wave six years ago. The temperature climbed to 90 degrees July 14, 2013, and reached into the 90s the next six days for a seven-day heat wave. That was unprecedented across southwestern Connecticut. In fact, we also experienced a four-day heat wave from July 5 through July 8.

Not surprisingly, July is the warmest month of the year with a mean temperature of 74 degrees. The hottest temperature ever recorded at Sikorsky Memorial Airport happened  July 22, 2011, when the mercury topped 103 degrees, tying the record originally set in 1957. The following day, July 23, 2011, another record high of 96 degrees was recorded.

The mercury reached the century mark two other times — July 2, 1966 and July 5, 1999. In fact, the average daily temperature climbs from 72 degrees at the start of the month to 75 by July 31. July of 2013 was the warmest on record with an average temperature of 78.5 degrees, breaking the previous mark of 78.4 degrees in 1994.

July of 2010 was another hot one. You may recall the heat wave over the Independence Day holiday weekend nine years ago. The high temperatures from July 4 through July 7, 2010, were 97, 93, 98, and 95 degrees, respectively. In fact, record high temperatures were established July 6 and 7. The temperature also reached 95 degrees July 24. The average temperature for the month was 78 degrees, a half-degree shy of the all-time record set in 2013.

Many people have asked me why the hottest time of the year happens over a month after the first day of Summer. Well, it takes the Earth awhile to absorb the heat. As the Sun’s angle gets higher in the sky and the days grow longer in May and June, the Northern Hemisphere slowly starts to warm.

It’s much like warming your home. When you turn your thermostat up to 72 degrees after being away all day in the Winter, it will take awhile for the house to warm up. It doesn’t happen instantly. That’s why our hottest days are typically in July and early August.

On the flip side, the coolest temperature ever recorded in these parts in July was 49 degrees on July 1, 1988. Aside from that, every record low for the month is in the 50s. Believe it or not, according to the National Weather Service record book, a trace of snow fell at the airport on July 4, 1950. I find that too hard to believe.

As far as precipitation is concerned, the wettest July on record happened in 1971 when over a foot of rain (12.84″) fell. The average monthly rainfall is 3.77 inches. There have been several memorable rainstorms in July. For example, nearly a half-foot (5.95″) of rain fell on July 19, 1971, and nearly four inches (3.93″) was recorded on July 29, 1990. Two other days delivered well over three inches of rain — July 30, 1960 (3.57″) and July 23, 1953 (3.45″).

The length of daylight actually decreases this month. For example, today, the Sun rises at 5:23 and sets at 8:30. By the middle of the month, on July 15, the Sun rises at 5:32 and sets at 8:24. However, at the end of the month, it rises at 5:47 and sets at 8:10, meaning we lose 44 minutes of daylight. Remember, the “longest” day of the year happened at the Summer Solstice in late June.

Enjoy July!

Paul