May Brings Longer, Warmer Days

Can you believe today is the last day of April? Where did the month go? When the final statistics are tabulated, this will be the 14th straight warmer-than-normal month across southwestern Connecticut. That's quite a remarkable stretch. The temperatures are expected to climb into the 70s by the end of the week, just in time for the start of May. There will certainly be a hint of Summer in the air by Thursday and Friday.

The average daily temperature for May jumps from 54 degrees on May 1 to 64 degrees by the end of the month. There have been several days on which the mercury topped 90 degrees, the most notable being 97 degrees on May 20, 1996, which came one month after the last snow of the snowiest season on record, and 94 degrees on May 26, 2010, which was a record for the date. The record low for the month is 31 degrees, set on May 10, 1966. The warmest May on record was in 1991 when the mercury averaged 64.4 degrees.

Can it snow in May? Yes. Believe it or not, there have been two days with at least a trace of snow, including May 27, 1961, which is just over three weeks from the start of Summer! There was also a trace of snow on May 9, 1977. May is the second wettest month of the year, on average, behind March. The normal rainfall for the month is 4.03 inches, based on 40 years of record-keeping. The wettest May happened in 1989 when 9.53″ fell, while the wettest single day rainstorm delivered 3.21″ on May 29, 1968.



The amount of daylight continues to grow each day through the end of the month. There are exactly 14 hours of daylight on May 1 when the Sun rises at 5:50 and sets at 7:50. However, by the end of the month, there are just about 15 hours of daylight as the Sun comes up at 5:22 and sets at 8:19. Three weeks later, on the Summer Solstice, the Sun sets at 8:30, which is only 11 minutes later than on the last day of May.

According to weather legend, "Those who bathe in May, will soon be under clay. Those who bathe in June, bathe a bit too soon." The Full Flower Moon happens this Saturday, May 5, at 11:35 p.m. EDT. In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time. Thus, the name of this Moon. Other names include the Full Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon. Happy May!

Paul

Bluefish to Battle Mother Nature & Riversharks on Opening Night

The Bridgeport Bluefish open their 15th season of play in the Atlantic League when they host the Camden Riversharks at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard this evening at 7:05. If you're planning on attending the game, make sure you bring your jacket and umbrella. We have a threat of showers this evening, and temperatures should be in the mid 50s at game time.

The Atlantic League opens its season much earlier than any of the other Independent baseball leagues. Although that's good news for fans of the eight teams in the circuit, the weather can be the most difficult opponent this time of the year. The average high and low temperatures for this date are 60 and 44 degrees, respectively, but it can get much colder than that. The record low temperature for today is 33 degrees, set in 1967.

April is one of the wettest months of the year, too. The average rainfall for the month is just about four inches (3.99"). There have been some memorable April rainstorms recently, including 5.30" of rain which fell on April 23, 2006. Four dates brought record rainfall of over three inches, most recently 3.34" on April 21, 2000; 3.08" on April 13, 2004; and 3.02" on April 15, 2007.

There are 10 dates this month on which measured snow fell, including a half-inch on April 19, 1953. Nearly four inches of snow fell (3.7") as late as April 14 in 1950. It can also get quite windy in April, as Spring establishes its grip on southwestern Connecticut. The ballpark, which is located adjacent to Long Island Sound, can be a chilly place for spectators when the wind blows off the water during the evening hours. Many times fans bring blankets and heavy jackets during April and May.

The Bluefish, who lost a one-game playoff last season, won their only league championship on a cold September night at the Ballpark in 1999. Bridgeport, by the way, is one of only two original teams still in the league. Somerset, a five-time Atlantic League champion, is the other.

As for today's weather, early sunshine will fade behind increasing cloudiness with a chance of scattered showers late this afternoon and this evening. Daytime high temperatures will hold close to 60 degrees. Any showers will end after midnight with lows in the 40s. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny, windy, and cool with a high in the upper 50s. The weekend should be fair and dry with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s.

Paul

Weather Jingles Appeared in Local Newspaper 50 Years Ago Today

Here's a neat find I came across while looking through my daily weather record book this morning. The Bridgeport Post ran a feature called Haskin's Answers, which appeared 50 years ago today, Tuesday, April 24, 1962. A reader could get an answer or two to any question by writing to the newspaper's information bureau and enclosing a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

The reader wrote, "Please give the jingle about the weather in various months that starts, 'January snowy.'" Quite frankly, I never heard of such a jingle, but apparently Haskin did.

Here is the reply: "January snowy; February flowy; March blowy; April show'ry; May flow'ry; June bow'ry; July moppy; August croppy; September poppy; October breezy; November wheezy; December freezy."

Another weather jingle is "Autumn --- wheezy, sneezy, freezy; Winter --- slippy, drippy, nippy; Spring --- showery, flowery, bowery; Summer --- hoppy, croppy, poppy."

Have you ever heard of these jingles? It's interesting to find something like this after all these years. Click on the article to see an enlarged version.

Paul

This is National Severe Weather Preparedness Week

Nearly three inches of rain fell across much of southwestern Connecticut over the last 24 hours, marking the heaviest one-day rainfall since last September 6 (2.34"). The official total of 1.72" yesterday at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford broke the previous record for the date of 1.64" set in 1969. Certainly, we needed the rain, but we are still running below normal for April and this year. Here is a sampling of some of the rainfall totals from across southwestern Connecticut:

• Norwalk: 2.90"
• Redding: 2.75"
• Stamford: 2.73"
• Stratford: 2.59"
• Orange: 2.35"
• Bridgeport: 2.15"

There weren't any reports of serious flooding, but there were some power outages due to the gusty winds during the storm. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are teaming up during this week to save lives from severe weather by encouraging the public to know the risks, take action, and be a force of nature by taking proactive preparedness measures and inspiring others to do the same.  The week of April 22 to April 28 is National Severe Weather Preparedness Week.

In late April last year, tornadoes raked the central and southern United States, spawning more than 300 tornadoes and claiming hundreds of lives. That devastating outbreak was only one of many weather-related tragedies in 2011, which now holds the record for the greatest number of multi-billion dollar weather disasters in the nation’s history. The country has already experienced early and destructive tornado outbreaks in the Midwest and South this year, including a significant number of tornadoes last weekend.

May is the peak season for tornadoes so it is important to take action now. “The damaging tornadoes that struck this year, causing widespread devastation as well as loss of life, also spurred many heroic survival stories,” said NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D. “In every one of these stories, people heard the warning, understood a weather hazard was imminent and took immediate action. We can build a Weather-Ready Nation by empowering people with the information they need to take preparedness actions across the country.”

“One of the lessons we can take away from the recent tornado outbreaks is that severe weather can happen anytime, anywhere,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “While we can’t control where or when it might hit, we can take steps in advance to prepare and that’s why we are asking people to pledge to prepare, and share with others so they will do the same.”

According to the NOAA Web site, to “be a force of nature,” NOAA and FEMA encourage citizens to prepare for extreme weather by following these guidelines:

* Know your risk: The first step to becoming weather-ready is to understand the type of hazardous weather that can affect where you live and work, and how the weather could impact you and your family. Check the weather forecast regularly and sign up for alerts from your local emergency management officials. Severe weather comes in many forms and your shelter plan should include all types of local hazards.

* Take action: Pledge to develop an emergency plan based on your local weather hazards and practice how and where to take shelter. Create or refresh an emergency kit for needed food, supplies and medication. Post your plan where visitors can see it. Learn what you can do to strengthen your home or business against severe weather. Obtain a NOAA Weather Radio. Download FEMA’s mobile app so you can access important safety tips on what to do before and during severe weather. Understand the weather warning system and become a certified storm spotter through the National Weather Service.

* Be a force of nature: Once you have taken action, tell your family, friends, school staff and co-workers about how they can prepare. Share the resources and alert systems you discovered with your social media network. Studies show individuals need to receive messages a number of ways before acting – and you can be one of those sources. When you go to shelter during a warning, send a text, tweet or post a status update so your friends and family know. You might just save their lives, too.

NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. You may find NOAA on Facebook and Twitter. FEMA's mission is to support its citizens and first-responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Paul

Celebrate Earth Day This Sunday

This Sunday, April 22, is Earth Day, which was first observed 42 years ago on the same date in 1970. There's no question we've become better stewards of our planet over the last four decades. Earth Day founder Senator Gaylord Nelson passed away in July of 2005 at the age of 89. He believed strongly that education is the key to changing people’s attitudes about the environment, and he devoted much of his time and energy to that challenge.

“The idea of Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962,” he wrote before his death. “For several years it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November of 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political ‘limelight’ once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue. It was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day.”

According to Senator Nelson, the first Earth Day “worked” because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. Though he felt he and his committee had neither the time nor resources to organize the 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated, “it organized itself.”

So, how have things changed in the last 42 years? Certainly, we’ve become more aware of the need to take better care of our planet. Many imporant laws were passed in the wake of the first Earth Day, including the Clean Air Act, and laws to protect water, wild lands, and the ocean. The Environmental Protection Agency was created within three years of the first Earth Day.

Personally, I’ve seen a dramatic change over the last 42 years. What I clearly remember as a child is taking a weekly pilgrimage with my Dad every Saturday afternoon to the town dump. Dad loaded the family car with all kinds of debris and junk from the basement, and we followed the dirt path, greeted the seagulls, and dumped everything at the landfill. The garbage was simply buried. Today, our garbage is turned into electricity or, in some cases, steam.

Garbage isn’t something most of us want to think about, but managing nearly 230 tons we generate each year has consequences. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the amount of garbage Americans generate has increased from 88 million tons to over 229 million tons since 1960. Forty-seven years ago, Americans produced about 2.7 pounds of garbage each day. By 2001, though, that amount jumped to 4.4 pounds a person each day.

I’m impressed at what has been done locally to address the issue of waste reduction. The Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority’s Bridgeport Project consists of a 2,250 ton-per-day mass-burn trash-to-energy facility, eight transfer stations, two landfills, a regional recycling center, and the Children’s Garbage Museum. The Bridgeport Project provides solid waste disposal and recycling services to 20 Connecticut communities in Fairfield and New Haven counties.

The Bridgeport Project trash-to-energy plant, which is located at 6 Howard Avenue in Bridgeport is truly an impressive facility. Take your family there, and I’m sure all of you will be amazed at what you see. It’s the perfect example of how “one man’s trash becomes another man’s treasure.” I’ve visited the plant several times, and each time I come away with a better understanding of how we manage our trash.

The solid waste is burned in a controlled environment to create electricity. Through this process, the volume of solid waste is reduced by about 90%. Waste-to-energy plants nationwide generate enough electricity to power nearly 2.3 million homes. Energy created in the Bridgeport facility has about the same environmental impact as energy produced from natural gas, and less impact than from oil or coal plants.

Recycling? We never bothered to recycle anything over a generation ago. Everything was considered “trash” back then. Now, we carefully sort our recyclables each week and place them in the blue bins. Recycled items include paper, aluminum, steel, plastics, glass, scrap tips, cell phones, and electronics. Americans recycled and composted nearly 30% of municipal solid waste in 2001, diverting 68 million tons to recovery.

Did you know, for example, that 71% of all newspapers are recovered for recycling? Over a third goes back into making more newsprint. The remainder is used to make paperboard, tissue, and insulation. Seventy-four percent of boxes are recycled, and nearly 46% of office papers are recovered for recycling. These become raw material for printing and writing paper.

So, yes, we’ve come a long way since the first Earth Day was “celebrated” on April 22, 1970. Much has been done since then, but there’s still a long way to go. Gaylord Nelson said education was the key to changing people’s attitudes about the environment, and the more aware we become about our planet, the better we'll be able to take care of it.

Paul

Fishing Season Opens This Saturday

Opening Day of the new fishing season is just two days away, and it looks as if our weather will become unsettled by Saturday. Some rain is expected to develop during the afternoon, and there is the chance of a scattered thunderstorm, too. However, it should be dry when local anglers make their way to their favorite fishing spots early in the morning.

Fishing season officially opens this Saturday, and anglers young and old alike are looking forward to the day. Fishing is great family fun and a healthy outdoor activity enjoyed by everyone. The Department of Environmental Protection stocks many lakes and streams with a wide variety of fish species throughout the year. Some of the other programs developed by DEP to enhance fishing opportunities include fishing education for children and families and the creation of special fishing areas such as trout parks.

One of my neighbors told me that there's nothing quite like getting up in the middle of the night and heading to the nearest river or stream on Opening Day. He always looks forward to the first day of fishing season. He told me that he packs his breakfast and lunch and leaves the house well before sunrise. He admitted that he enjoys the peace and quiet of being out on the water so early in the morning. I'm sure his sentiments are shared by many others, too.



Connecticut is fortunate to have over 180 public lakes and ponds and thousands of miles of rivers and streams teeming with a variety of gamefish and panfish. Anglers from all over the country come to Connecticut to fish for prized trout in the Farmington and Housatonic Rivers. Eleven water bodies in Connecticut have been designated as Trout Parks. Trout Parks are located in easily accessible areas to enhance trout fishing opportunities for everyone.

The DEP Web site adds that anglers should consult their 2012 Angler’s Guide for the current fishing regulations that apply to the waters in which they plan to fish. Trout Parks and the many waters designated as Trout Management Areas, Trophy Trout Streams, Sea-Run Trout Streams, and Wild Trout Management Areas each have special regulations.

The 2011 Angler’s Guide is available at all Town Clerks Offices and at tackle stores selling fishing licenses. Anglers can now purchase their fishing licenses online, too. Both the Angler's Guide and the online licensing system can be accessed on the DEP web site at: www.ct.gov/dep/fishing. Good luck to all the anglers this Saturday.

Paul