July Was Much Wetter and Warmer Than Normal Across Southwestern Connecticut

Wet, warm, and humid.

That's the best way to sum up the month of July across southwestern Connecticut.

The total monthly precipitation of 7.68" was almost four-and-a-half inches above the normal average for the month (3.32"). Thirteen days (42%) featured at least one-hundredth of an inch of rain; 12 days had at least one-tenth of an inch; six days delivered at least a half-inch; and four days featured at least an inch. 

The greatest 24-hour precipitation total happened over a two-day period from July 3 through July 4 when 2.49" fell at the Bridgeport climate station.

The average monthly temperature was 76.9 degrees, which is 1.2 degrees warmer-than-normal. The temperature never dropped below 60 degrees the entire month. The hottest temperature of 92 degrees happened July 12, and the coolest temperature of 60 degrees occurred on the last day of the month.

Only three days featured a high temperature of at least 90 degrees, including July 27 (90 degrees) and July 28 (91 degrees). The following day, July 29, had a high temperature of 89 degrees, which was one degree shy of an official three-day heat wave at Bridgeport.

Just six days had an average temperature below normal, four of which averaged just one degree below normal.

Paul

Strong to Severe Thunderstorms Possible Across Southwestern Connecticut Late Today Into Tonight

The atmopshere will be most certainly "juiced" today due to the heating of the Sun, high dew points and humidity levels, and hottest temperatures of the year thus far across southwestern Connecticut.

Strong thunderstorms are expected to develop early this evening into tonight. Some thunderstorms may contain heavy rain, gusty winds, and small hail. In fact, there is even a two percent chance of a tornado across the region.

Here is the Storm Prediction Center's regional severe weather outlook for today, including the potential for severe weather, tornadoes, wind, and hail.

Paul

Hottest Weather of the Summer Expected Across Southwestern Connecticut

The hottest stretch of weather this Summer across southwestern Connecticut will happen this Thursday through Saturday, with heat indices expected to eclipse 100 degrees Thursday and Friday. Heat indices will approach 105 degrees across much of the Northeast Thursday.

Please exercise caution if you must be outside Thursday afternoon. Here are a few tips, courtesy of the National Weather Service.

A Heat Advisory has been issued for southwestern Connecticut from Thursday at 11 a.m. through Friday at 9 p.m. EDT, and an Air Quality Alert will be in effect Thursday from 11 a.m. through 11 p.m. EDT.

A cold front is expected to cross the region late Saturday, bringing a threat for strong thunderstorms. A more pleasant air mass will arrive by the end of the weekend with daytime temperatures in the low 80s and lower humidity levels. 

Paul

Tuesday Rain Pushes Monthly Total Close to Seven Inches

A strong thunderstorm moved across southwestern Connecticut late Tuesday afternoon, bringing pockets of heavy rain, gusty winds, and vivid lightning.

Slightly more than one-third of an inch of rain was recorded at the Bridgeport climate station at Sikorksy Memorial Airport.

That brought the monthly total to 6.73 inches, which is 4.16 inches above normal through July 25. In fact, eleven days this month have featured at least one-hundredth of an inch of rain; 10 days have featured at least one-tenth of an inch of rain; five days brought at least a half-inch of rain; and four days produced at least one inch of rain.

More rain is expected from thunderstorms late Thursday and late Saturday, potentially pushing the monthly total to more than seven inches.

Paul

First Completely Dry Weekend Across Southwestern Connecticut in Six Weeks

This is the first completely dry weekend across southwestern Connecticut since June 10 and 11, which was six weeks ago. The weather is absolutely beautiful along Samp Mortar Lake in the Lake Hills section of Fairfield.

Each of the last five weekends featured measured rain at the Bridgeport climate station. Measured rain was recorded Saturday, June 17 (0.01"), Saturday, June 24 (0.13"), Sunday, July 2 (0.21"), Sunday, July 9 (0.13"), Saturday, July 15 (0.01"), and Sunday, July 16 (1.47").

Another beautiful Summer day is ahead under a mostly sunny sky and a high temperature in the mid 80s.

Paul

Ninety-Nine Percent of Earth's Population Will Receive Some Degree of Sunlight at the Exact Same Time Saturday

Ninety-nine percent of the Earth's population will receive some degree of sunlight Saturday, July 8, at 7:15 a.m. EDT. At that exact moment, the most populated areas are on the day side of Earth or in one of the twilight zones. https://t.co/YiHryaRKlP

— Paul Piorek (@PaulPiorek) July 7, 2023

Paul

June Featured Cooler and Drier Than Normal Weather Across Southwestern Connecticut

The month of June will most certainly be remembered for the smoke from the Canadian wildfires which affected southwestern Connecticut. The smoke was thick and reached "very unhealthy" levels during the first week of June. Indications are that the smoke will return intermittently through the foreseeable future.

June was much cooler and drier than normal across southwestern Connecticut. In fact, there were only three days with a high temperature of at least 80 degrees, and the warmest temperature of 81 degrees happened twice, June 2 and June 28.

Twenty days featured cooler-than-normal temperatures at Bridgeport, including a nine-day stretch from June 3 through June 11 and a six-day stretch from June 18 through June 23. 

Six days delivered a high temperature only in the 60s, including a high temperature of 69 degrees on June 21, which was the first day of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

The coolest temperature was 46 degrees, which occurred the morning of June 4.

The average monthly temperature at the Bridgeport climate station was 66.9 degrees, which is 2.7 degrees below normal. It marked the second consecutive cooler-than-normal month at Bridgeport.

The monthly precipitation total of 1.53" was more than two inches below normal (3.77"). There were six days with at least one-tenth of an inch of rain and 11 days with at least one-hundredth of an inch of rain. Believe it or not, there were no days which featured at least a half-inch of rain. Nineteen of the 30 days did not have any measured rain.

As far as sky conditions are concerned, 10 days (33%) were clear, 16 were partly cloudy, and four were mostly cloudy. 

Paul