Raking the Lawn a Rite of Spring

I'm finished procrastinating, and now it's time to get down to business. Every year at about this time I rake my lawn. Yes, I think of every excuse not to get started but, other than a brisk breeze, today should be a good day to take the first step. Today will be sunny, breezy, and slightly milder with daytime high temperatures in the upper 50s to lower 60s.

Naturally, it takes some preparation. This afternoon I'll go to the hardware store and purchase my supplies. They include durable gloves, lawn bags, a sturdy rake, and batteries. I need the batteries for my transistor radio, which keeps me company outside. Then, I'll survey my lawn by looking for any matted patches in which the grass blades are stuck together. This can be caused by a disease known as ’snow mold.’ New grass may have difficulty penetrating these matted patches. But a light raking will be sufficient to solve this problem.

A good raking cleans up dead grass which would otherwise clog up the soil surface. The ‘natural compost’ value is not all that great, and raking does free the grass plant crowns which keeps them healthier and allows sunlight in which prompts grass to grow earlier. Raking in Spring is more beneficial than Fall, as the organic matter can help protect crowns during Winter. It should certainly be done before you apply any pre-emergent crab grass control.


Fortunately, lawn raking is also a great form of aerobic exercise. Not only does raking involve upper body activity, it also helps to strengthen the back and core muscles and requires moderate walking. According to several Web sites, raking the lawn burns about 280 calories per hour for a 150-pound person. Since I'll spend about five hours raking this weekend, I figure that I will burn about 1,400 calories just by raking the lawn.

According to beginner.gardening.com, “Don’t forget to keep your lawn well watered if Mother Nature doesn’t provide this for you. If you don’t receive timely Spring rains, watering will certainly help.” This week, our dry weather pattern will continue. Other than an isolated shower or sprinkle late tonight, we'll enjoy smooth sailing the rest of this week and Easter weekend. Daytime highs will reach the 50s tomorrow and close to 60 degrees Thursday through Sunday.

Happy raking.

Paul

Record-Breaking March Much Warmer & Drier Than Normal

April started on a wet and cool note with just over a quarter-inch of rain yesterday and a high temperature in the lower 50s. That's a far cry from what we experienced last month. The official weather statistics for March have been tabulated and, not surprisingly, it was, by far, the warmest March on record. In addition, it was one of the driest on record, too, with just a little more than an inch of rain.

The average temperature last month was 47.1 degrees, which is nearly eight degrees above the normal (39.3 degrees) and well above the previous record of 43.0 degrees set in 1979. Incredibly, 28 of the 31 days were warmer than normal, and 14 days were at least 10 degrees above normal. The highest temperature was 71 degrees on March 22 and 23. There were five record high temperatures established last month.

It marked the 13th straight warmer-than-normal month across southwestern Connecticut. That's quite a streak. The last time we had an average monthly temperature below normal happened in February, 2011, at the end of one of the snowiest stretches in recent memory. However, the average temperature that month was less than one degree (0.8) below the normal average of 31.9 degrees.

Last month was extremely dry, too. Just over one inch (1.04") of rain fell during what is normally the wettest month of the year. That's more than three inches below the normal average of 4.05" and slightly more than the driest March on record when just 0.69" fell in 1981. Nearly a foot of rain fell two years ago in March of 2010.

There were only nine days with measured rain last month, including the first three days of March (0.48" combined) and three of the last seven days of the month (0.38" combined). The longest dry spell happened from March 17 through March 24 (eight days) when only a trace of precipitation was recorded. The wettest day of the month was March 3 when over a quarter-inch (0.27") was recorded.

Fairly quiet weather is expected the rest of this week and the upcoming Easter weekend. However, it will be rather windy today, tomorrow, and Wednesday. Winds may gust up to 40 miles an hour this afternoon out of the North. It will breezy and cooler Thursday and Friday. The weekend will be mostly sunny and pleasant with daytime highs near 60.

Paul

Old Man Winter to Make April Fool's Cameo a Day Early

Even though Spring officially arrived 10 days ago, Old Man Winter is poised to make a brief cameo appearance late tonight and tomorrow morning. A storm system will pull colder air into the region as wet snow and rain develop after midnight. In fact, there may be a slushy coating on the ground, especially inland, by daybreak tomorrow. It seems Mother Nature has an April Fool's joke up her sleeve one day too soon.

I welcome April with some degree of trepidation. Three of the last six years there have been flooding rains across southwestern Connecticut during April. Five years ago, on Sunday, April 15, 2007, over three inches (3.02″) of rain fell in one day at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, causing widespread catastrophic flooding throughout the region. Unofficially, well over a half-foot of rain soaked many communities throughout the area. The rain didn’t let up until the following day, bringing the two-day total to 3.51 inches.

The previous year, on Sunday, April 23, 2006, 5.30″ of rain fell at the airport, highlighting a three-day stretch which saw nearly a half-foot (5.79″) of rain. That capped a stretch of nearly eight inches of rain (7.98″) in a 24-day period. The ground was already saturated prior to the deluge, since six of the first eight days of the month saw measured rain, producing nearly two inches (1.93″) in just over one week.

Based on the last 40 years, the average rainfall for April is 3.99 inches, ranking it third behind March (4.15″) and May (4.03″) as the wettest months of the year. The wettest April on record happened in 1983 when 10.72″ was recorded at Sikorsky Memorial Airport. The driest occurred just two years later when only 0.69″ fell in 1985. The most memorable single-day rain events other than April 23, 2007, happened on April 21 of 2000 (3.34″), April 10, 1983 (3.15″), and April 13, 2004 (3.08″).

April is certainly a month of extremes in southwestern Connecticut as temperatures have ranged from a high of 91 degrees on April 28, 1991, to a low of 18 degrees on April 7, 1982. The warmest April on record averaged 56.7 degrees in 1954, while the coldest happened 46 years ago when the average temperature was 43.4 degrees in 1966. The mean temperature climbs from 45 degrees at the start of the month to 54 degrees by April 30.

Snow is not out of the question for April. In fact, a trace of snow has fallen as late as April 28, while a half-foot fell on April 6, 1982, which was Major League Baseball’s Opening Day and forced the postponement of the Yankees’ home debut in New York. The average snowfall for the month is less than an inch (0.09″). You may remember 16 years ago, though, when seven inches of snow fell April 10, 1996, capping the snowiest Winter on record in southwestern Connecticut when 78″ fell along the coast and over 100″ inland.

The length of daylight continues to grow considerably this month. Sunrise on April 1 happens at 6:35, and it rises before 6 o’clock (5:51) at the end of the month. More dramatic, though, is the time of sundown. The Sun sets at 7:18 on the first day of the month, but it doesn’t drop below the horizon until 7:49 on April 30.

Daylight is increasing at the rate of two to three minutes per day through the end of the month. Daylight grows from 12 hours and 43 minutes at the start of April to almost 14 hours (13:58) by the end of the month. April will start on a partly sunny and seasonable note Sunday with a risk of a late-day shower and a high of 52 degrees.

Have a good weekend.

Paul

Easter Sunday Snowstorm Happened 42 Years Ago Today

Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the unforgettable Easter Sunday snowstorm of 1970. Remember, a snowstorm this late in the season in southwestern Connecticut is extremely rare. The normal high temperature is almost 20 degrees above the freezing point, while the normal low temperature is 35 degrees. In addition, the higher angle of the Sun, its stronger rays, and more than 12 hours of daylight all contribute to a Springtime feel of the air.

That's why the March 29, 1970, snowstorm is so memorable. Adding to its uniqueness was the fact that it happened on Easter Sunday, a day on which many people travel to church services and to see relatives. Below are copies of the front pages from The Bridgeport Telegram and The Bridgeport Post from Monday, March 30, 1970, courtesy of Sarah Greenberg of the Bridgeport Public Library's Historical Collections Department.

Over a half-foot of snow fell in the Greater Bridgeport area and, to make matters worse, the mercury plummeted to 16 degrees the following morning at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford and 14 degrees in Norwalk.

According to The Hour newspaper of Norwalk, eight inches of snow fell in the city. The front page of the Norwalk newspaper (below) from the following morning, March 30, is courtesy of Judy Rivas of the Norwalk Public Library.

"The weatherman pulled a somewhat premature April Fool's Day gag on Norwalkers Sunday and in the bargain, turned the Easter Parade into a trek more fitting for Siberian slopes than West Avenue," the article stated. "The snowfall, which came shortly after the traditional Easter Sunrise Service at Calf Pasture Beach, caught many a midmorning churchgoer unawares."

Although Easter occurred quite early that year, an Easter Sunday snowfall hadn't been recorded in southern Connecticut since 1915, when eight inches of snow fell April 3 and 4. The 1970 snowstorm began at about 8:30 a.m. and persisted throughout the day until early evening, accompanied by wind gusts up to 30 miles an hour. Remember, the date on which Easter falls fluctuates each year. It is observed on the first Sunday following the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox.

"The state highway department began plowing roads Sunday, though reports indicated much of its snow-fighting equipment was stored away to begin Spring cleanup of sand and road trash instead of snow," according to The Hour. "State police, in a statewide survey of conditions, reported most roads were snow or ice-covered, with extremely slippery conditions."

The following day, Monday, March 30, was an unscheduled holiday for many area schoolchildren due to the snow, wind, and brutally cold temperatures. Only New Canaan and Darien opened their schools, "as most towns, faced with slippery roads and unplowed school yards, cancelled classes."

Although I was only 11 years old and in sixth-grade at the time, the memory of that snowstorm is as vivid today as it was 41 years ago. As a young child, I was excited that we didn't have to go to church or drive to grandma's house for dinner. Instead, our family spent the day at home, enjoying the snow and the holiday together. Oddly, four years later, 7.6" of snow fell at Sikorsky Airport on the same date.

Paul

Record Warmth Overshadows Extremely Dry Weather Pattern

Another record high temperature is expected this afternoon as the mercury climbs into the 70s, which is more in line with early June rather than late March. It will be the fourth record high temperature this week and the sixth record high this month. Not surprisingly, this will be the warmest March on record in southwestern Connecticut.

Overshadowed by the unseasonably warm weather has been the lack of rain. In fact, this has been the driest March on record through today. Just a little more than a half-inch (0.66") of rain has been recorded at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, which is more than two inches below the 2.82" normal through today.

Today marks the seventh straight day without any measured rain. In fact, we've only had one day (0.02") with any measured rain since March 13. Overall, there have been just six days with any rain this month, and half of those came on the first three days of the month. Since March 3, we've measured only 0.18" of rain.

Two years ago, however, it was quite a different story. You may recall that it was the wettest March on record. Three major rainstorms included the March 13 Nor'easter (3.85"), the rainstorm of March 22 and 23 (2.17"), and the flooding rains of March 29 through 31 (3.75"). Cumulatively, over ten inches (10.19") of rain hammered the region for the month. There were 14 days with measured rain, including four days with well over an inch.

Two years ago this week, a strong low pressure system moved into the Northeast late Monday, March 22, and the steady rain developed during the late-evening hours. Heavy rain pelted southwestern Connecticut through early Tuesday, March 23, causing headaches for early-morning commuters. There were a number of accidents on area roadways during the morning rush hour, due in no small part to the weather.

Contrast that with our weather picture this year. Less than six inches (5.22") of rain has been recorded since January 1, which is three-and-a-half inches below the normal value of 8.71" through today. Each of the first three months of 2012 has been drier-than-normal. February's precipitation total of 1.58" was more than an inch below the 2.79" normal, while January was slightly drier than normal.

We're expecting much-needed rain later this week as a storm system moves in our direction. Scattered showers are likely later tomorrow under mostly cloudy skies and cooler temperatures. The afternoon high will reach the upper 50s to lower 60s. Sunday, however, will be rainy, windy, and raw with a high in the lower 50s. Daytime highs are expected to hold in the 50s through the middle of next week, while nighttime lows drop into the 30s.

Have a good weekend.

Paul

Dwight School's Fourth-Graders Shine as Weekly Weatherkids

I returned to Timothy Dwight School in Fairfield yesterday and visited with the fourth-grade class. The students were this week's featured Weatherkids. They enjoyed my hour-long visit on the first full day of Spring.



Paul