The Aftermath of Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene 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, easily breaking the previous record of 480,000 following Hurricane Gloria in September of 1985. In fact, early this morning, 98% of Redding and 89% of Weston households were without power.

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. A shelter was established at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, and people are advised to bring extra clothes, medicines, and any paperwork they deem necessary to protect.

Ralph Fato of Norwalk 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, 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 will be felt for quite some time, it could have been much worse. The highest wind gusts 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 is little consequence to the thousands of people who are 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 yesterday, bringing the two-day storm total to 3.35 inches. That's not far from the monthly average of 3.75 inches. However, August's total rainfall is now 9.57 inches, and the yearly rain (41.07") is more than a foot above the 28.59" normal. Here are four more photos from Ralph taken at Cove Island Park.









Now, the cleanup begins. At least the weather will cooperate. An area of high pressure will deliver mostly sunny skies and pleasant conditions for the next few days. In fact, the weather should be dry through the start of the Labor Day holiday weekend. Today will be mostly sunny and mild with a high in the mid-to-upper 70s. Tonight will be clear and comfortable with a low in the 50s. Tomorrow will be sunny and nice with a high near 80. Enjoy the rest of the week.

Paul

Irene's Wrath Along the Coast

Here's a look at Cove Island Park in Stamford during Tropical Storm Irene. The beach is about a quarter-mile away. The water is from Long Island Sound advancing onto land.



This video shows a beach bar and road flooded by Veteran's Park in Norwalk. The water level is about 15 feet higher than normal.



Paul

Connie & Diane Battered Connecticut 56 Years Ago

After a spectacular day yesterday, you'll be wise to grab the umbrella today. We can expect a shower or thunderstorm from this morning through this afternoon as more humid air advances toward southwestern Connecticut. Today's high temperature will reach the lower 80s, which is just about normal for this time of the year. However, our weather was anything but normal 56 years ago today. That's when the second of two powerful hurricanes hammered southwestern Connecticut.

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 13, 1955. Then, just five days later, on this very date, 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 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.

Our weather picture will remain unsettled into the start of the weekend with more widespread showers and thunderstorms expected Friday. Saturday will bring partly sunny skies with a chance of an isolated thunderstorm, and more of the same is likely Sunday. At least the weather won't be nearly as historic or as memorable as it was 56 years ago today.

Paul

Declination of the Sun Changes Dramatically During August

I'm sure you've noticed that the length of daylight is decreasing across southwestern Connecticut. The mornings are getting lighter later, while the evenings are getting darker earlier. That's to be expected this time of the year. However, have you noticed the subtle change in the length of the shadows? That's due to the lower angle of the Sun in the sky.

It has been eight weeks since the Summer Solstice, and the Autumnal Equinox is just five short weeks away. The Sun is not nearly as high in the sky today as it was on the first day of Summer. The Sun was 23.26 degrees North of the celestial equator on June 21, which is as high as it ever gets in southwestern Connecticut. The days were at their longest and the shadows were at their shortest.

Today, though, the Sun is just 13.37 degrees North of the celestial equator, meaning that it's nearly five degrees lower in the sky than it was August 1 (+18.10 degrees) and nearly 10 degrees lower than it was at the end of June. The Sun's lower angle in the sky continues to accelerate through the end of the month. By August 31, for example, it will be just 8.52 degrees North of the celestial equator.

The Sun's rays remain North of the celestial equator through September 23, when the Sun is just 0.10 degrees above it. From that point on, the Sun's rays continue to sink below the celestial equator until December 21, the first day of Winter, when they reach -23.26 degrees. That, understandably, is the shortest day of the year in terms of sunlight.

So, what does this all mean? In short, the Sun's angle is continuing to sink lower in the sky, the shadows outside are getting a little longer each day, and the length of daylight is decreasing each day. The midpoint of Summer was a little less than two weeks ago, and now Autumn is staring right at us. I'm not ready for Summer to leave just yet.

As for our weather, today will be the best day of the week under mostly sunny skies and warm temperatures with a high in the low-to-mid 80s. Tonight will be mostly clear and mild with a low in the low-to-mid 60s. Tomorrow will be partly sunny and more humid with a chance of a shower or thunderstorm and a high near 80. More showers and a possible thunderstorm are expected Friday.

Paul

Full Sturgeon Moon Happens This Weekend

It was brighter than normal when I left my home shortly before 3 o'clock this morning. That's because crystal clear skies helped illuminate a nearly-full Moon. Ralph Fato, a regular contributor to our Facebook weather page, sent this photo of the Moon. He wrote, "Anyone catch the moon tonight? (It was) nice and bright. Here's a picture I took of it at 10 p.m. facing Southeast. (The) camera didnt capture the bright white light it was giving off, but (it's) still pretty cool to see up close."

The Full Sturgeon Moon happens this Saturday, August 13, at 2:57 p.m. EDT. We should get another spectacular view of the nearly-full Moon later tonight under clear skies and dry air. Temperatures will fall into the 50s inland and lower 60s along the shoreline by daybreak. The Moon rises at 7:06 EDT this evening, and it sets tomorrow morning at 5:51.

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.

There are some changes to the weekend weather forecast. High pressure will hold through tomorrow, and a storm system which promises to bring moderate to possibly heavy rain won't arrive until late Sunday or Sunday night. The rain may be heavy through early Monday.

Have a good weekend.

Paul

The "Dog Days" of Summer Officially End Today

The oppressive heat and humidity we've experienced quite often this Summer will take a break over the next couple of days. We'll enjoy sunny skies, lower humidity, and seasonable temperatures through the start of this weekend as high pressure dominates our weather picture. And, today is a significant, albeit symbolic, date on the calendar if you're pining for more comfortable weather.

The Dog Days of Summer officially come to an end today. 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.

You'll certainly want to get outside today and enjoy the sunny skies and drier air. It will be mostly sunny, seasonable, and less humid with a high temperature in the lower 80s, typical for early-to-mid August. Tonight will be clear and comfortable with a low of 52 to 62 degrees. Tomorrow will be sunny and delightful with a high of 80. The "Dog Days" are going out in style!

Paul