Record-Breaking Heat Wave Started Four Years Ago Today

A surprising and record-breaking heat wave across southwestern Connecticut began four years ago today, resulting in the only Spring heat wave on record. The mercury climbed to 90 degrees on Sunday afternoon, June 8, 2008, beginning a three-day stretch of oppressive heat which resulted in the early dismissal and closing of area schools the following two days.

The normal high and low temperatures for June 8 through 10 are 75 and 58 degrees, respectively. However, high pressure anchored off the Atlantic coast helped push temperatures close to 100 degrees June 9 and 10. Although the June 8 high temperature of 90 degrees was three degrees shy of the 93-degree record set in 1999, the highs of 97 and 96 degrees the following two days were both records for the date. The overnight lows hovered close to 70 degrees each morning.

The 97-degree temperature on June 9, 2008, is the warmest ever on record for June and matched the warmest-ever Spring day (May 20, 1996) at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford. The 96-degree reading the following day marked only the fourth time the mercury soared that high in June. Other than the previous day, the only other times the temperature reached 96 degrees during the month happened on June 19, 1994, and June 26, 1949.

I received notification from my hometown’s public school system informing me of the early school dismissal on Monday morning, June 9, 2008. “Due to the Heat Advisory, all public and parochial schools will close early. The buses will pick up the high school students at 12:10 p.m.; middle school students at 12:40 p.m.; elementary school children at 1:40 p.m. The P.M. PreKindergarten session is cancelled for today. Please refrain from calling the schools.” That was certainly a shocker.

Whenever the weather became oppressively hot and humid when I went to school, it was time to slow down the pace. Teachers would open the windows, close the shades, show a movie or two, and we’d visit the water fountain every 15 minutes or so. Lunch period and recess were even extended. Somehow, we survived. Sure, it was hot, but we were more excited about not having to do schoolwork rather than being bothered by the heat.

I suppose each generation has its own stories to spin. After all, we had to listen to the the exaggerated stories of our parents telling us they walked barefoot several miles to and from school uphill in four feet of snow “back in the day.” Life, it seemed, was always more difficult for previous generations. As for me, I walked to and from school in 100-degree weather without cell phones, iPods, or ‘Smoothies.’ We didn’t even break a sweat. And it never bothered us one bit!

Paul

Amazing & Incredibly Rare Transit of Venus Happens This Evening

Let's hope Mother Nature cooperates this evening when we'll have the opportunity to watch one of the rarest cosmic spectacles in the Western sky. The planet Venus will slowly move across the face of the sun for approximately six hours, lasting from 6 p.m. to about midnight local time. This "transit" of Venus will be visible from much of Earth, and it won't happen again until 2117. Unfortunately, mostly cloudy skies are expected this evening along with the threat of a shower and temperatures in the lower 60s.

Locally, the Rolnick Observatory at 182 Bayberry Lane in Westport will open at 5 o'clock if the skies are fair. There will be special solar telescopes to help you safely see this incredibly rare event. Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena. They occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years. Call the observatory at 203-293-8759 for more information.

Naturally, the observatory anticipates a busy evening. Depending on demand, viewing times will be limited and only small groups will be allowed up in the tower to view the event at one time. A limited amount of solar glasses will be available for a small donation to the observatory. If you are unable to attend, however, HD video of the event will be streamed live from the Dome Telescope on the Westport Astronomical Society's Webpage at http://www.was-ct.org/.



The Stamford Museum and Nature Center's Observatory is hosting an Open House beginning at 5:30 to view the transit of Venus. The program is suitable for adults and children eight years of age and older. The museum and observatory are located at 39 Scofieldtown Road in Stamford. Admission is free to members. For non-members, the admission price is $3 for adults and $2 for children ages 8 to 17. Call 203-977-6599 for more information. The following image is courtesy of topnews.in.


The Sun will set about halfway through the transit across much of the country. This will be just the 7th transit ever witnessed in human history. "In the 18th century, astronomers believed that they could use the transit of Venus to answer one of the most pressing questions of the time -- which was the size of the solar system," said Andrea Wulf, author of Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens. "But they also knew their measurements would improve navigation, which was, of course, important for a trading empire or naval power."

According to the Web site transitofvenus.org, "The 2012 transit of Venus is a celebration of our ability to understand our place in the cosmos. We say we want to have a nation of critical thinkers capable of making informed decisions. So let's take that first step of science and observe. Witness nothing less than the solar system in motion, and extrapolate the passing of a planet in front of our star to the distant points of light in our night sky."

Paul

May Featured Wet & Warm Weather

If you thought last month was rainy and dreary, you're right. Nearly five inches of rain fell in May at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, which was nearly an inch above normal. In addition, the month was much warmer-than-normal, continuing a streak of 15 consecutive months with above-average temperatures across southwestern Connecticut. June will begin on a soggy note, too, with periods of moderate and heavy rain later tonight and early tomorrow.

Officially, 4.57" of rain fell last month, well above the 3.80" normal for May. Sixteen of the 31 days (52%) featured measured rain, including seven of the first ten days last month. In fact, each of the first four days delivered measured rain. Rain fell three straight days twice last month from May 8 through 10 and May 14 through 16. The greatest 24-hour rainfall happened May 9 and 10 (1.16"). If you're wondering, the wettest May happened in 1989 when nearly 10 inches (9.53") fell.

Despite the wetter-than-normal May, we're still well below normal for the year. Over the last three months since March 1, we've measured 8.58" of rain. That's still more than three inches (3.40") below the 11.98" normal through the same period. Since the beginning of the year, slightly more than 13 inches (13.14") has fallen, which is well below the 17.87" normal through May 31. Comparatively speaking, nearly 23 inches (22.96") fell during the first five months a year ago.

The average temperature last month was 62.9 degrees, which was nearly four degrees (+3.8) above the 59.1-degree normal average for the month. Incredibly, only four days were cooler-than-normal. The average daily temperature was at or above normal for 14 straight days from May 4 through May 17. The warmest stretch of the month happened the last week of May when three of the days featured daily average temperatures greater than 10 degrees above normal.

The warmest temperature last month was 85 degrees on May 26 and 29, and the coldest tempertaure was 45 degrees on May 12. The temperature range was a relatively narrow 45 degrees. The mercury climbed into the 80s four times last month, and there were 10 more days when temperatures reached 70 degrees or more. The average monthly temperature was just one-and-a-half degrees shy of the all-time warmest May on record (64.4 degrees in 1991).

Although we'll start the month of June on a relatively quiet note today, clouds will increase this afternoon. Rain will develop later this evening, and moderate-to-heavy rain can be expeced later tonight into tomorrow morning. The rain will taper to showers by early tomorrow afternoon, but not before an inch of rain is possible. Better weather will arrive by Sunday, but a shower or thunderstorm can't be ruled out during the afternoon.

Paul

June Weather Preview

A cold front pushed through the region early last night, and a much more comfortable day is in store. We'll enjoy mostly sunny skies and lower humidity, courtesy of a Northwest breeze. Although the official statistics for May won't be available until after midnight tonight, this will be the 15th straight warmer-than-normal month. That's quite a streak. It was also wet this month with more than four-and-a-half inches in the rain gauge.

So, what can we expected for June? As far as our local weather is concerned, the average high temperature for southwestern Connecticut jumps to 80 degrees by the end of the month, a leap of seven degrees from June 1. The all-time record high for the month is 97 degrees, which was established during the record-breaking heat wave on June 9, 2008.

That unusual late-Spring heat wave four years ago forced early dismissals and closings at area schools. The unseasonably warm air arrived Sunday, June 8, when the mercury reached 90 degrees. The next two days featured daytime high temperatures of 97 and 96 degrees, respectively, capping a most unusually hot stretch of weather for early June.

The mercury also reached 96 degrees two other times (June 19, 1994, and June 26, 1949). Record high temperatures of 95 degrees have been set three times, including back-to-back days of June 16 and 17 of 1957. The warmest June on record happened in 1994 when the average temperature for the month was 71.7 degrees, well above the 68.0 degree normal.

On the flip side, early June can still be gray, damp, and cool. Although the temperature has never fallen below 40 degrees for the month, the record lows for the first half of June are consistently in the lower 40s. The chilliest morning was 41 degrees on June 1, 1967. The “coldest” June on record happened in 1982 when the average temperature was 63.8 degrees, over four degrees colder than normal!

The wettest June on record happened 38 years ago in 1972 when nearly a foot-and-a-half of rain fell (17.7″). That’s well above the 3.57″ norm based on 40 years of climatology. Unbelievably, there was nearly a completely dry June in 1949 when only 0.07″ of rain was recorded. The most rain recorded in one day happened on June 19, 1972 when 6.18″ fell. Nearly five inches (4.79″) fell on June 5, 1982.

The length of daylight continues to grow during the month. In fact, by the start of June the sky begins to brighten in the East a little before 4 o’clock in the morning. I can actually hear a few birds chirping when I arrive at the News 12 Connecticut studios shortly after three o’clock in the morning. June features the “longest days” of the year, and by the end of the month the Sun sets at 8:30, the latest ever in southwestern Connecticut. The earliest Sunrise happens at 5:18 from June 13 through June 16.

June features the Full Strawberry Moon. It will be full this Monday, June 4th at 7:12 a..m. This name was was universal to every Algonquin tribe. However, in Europe they called it the Rose Moon. The relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during the month of June, so the Full Moon that occurs during that month was christened for the strawberry!

Happy June.

Paul

Hot Streak Continues Into June

It's a given that this month will be warmer than normal. The average temperature for May in southwestern Connecticut through yesterday is 62.3 degrees. That's 3.5 degrees above normal. With just two days left this month, there's no question this will be the 15th straight month with above-normal temperatures. That's quite a streak. There's no telling when this "hot" streak will eventually come to a close.

The last time the average monthly temperature was below normal happened in February of 2011. The average temperature that month was 31.1 degrees, which was less than one degree (-0.8) below normal. The warmest stretch happened from December through March when the average monthly temperature was more than five degrees above normal each month. In fact, this past March was the warmest on record in the region.

Take a look at the following chart, which shows the average monthly temperature as compared to the normal value for each month.

Month/Avg. Temp./Normal Temp./Departure

• May 2012     62.3     58.8     +3.5 
• April 2012      52.9     49.3     +3.6
• March 2012     47.1     39.3     +7.8
• February 2012     37.8     31.9     +5.9
• January 2012     35.7     30.1     +5.6
• December 2011     41.1     35.4     +5.7
• November 2011     49.8     45.5     +4.3
• October 2012     57.0     54.9     +2.1
• September 2011     70.1     66.2     +3.9
• August 2011     74.8     73.3     +1.5
• July 2011     77.6     74.0     +3.6
• June 2011     69.5     68.0     +1.5
• May 2011     61.1     59.0     +2.1
• April 2011     50.4     48.9     +1.5
• March 2011     39.7     39.5     +0.2
• February 2011     31.1     31.9     -0.8

Today will be another warm day with temperatures climbing into the lower 80s inland and upper 70s along the shoreline. There is a threat of a few showers this morning and later this evening. However, the humidity will be gone late tonight as  drier air arrives from the North and West. Fair weather should continue through Friday before rain moves in Saturday.

Paul

Memorial Day Forecast Includes Mother Nature's Fireworks

Memorial Day weekend --- and the unofficial start of Summer --- is upon us. Unfortunately, this will not be an ideal weekend weatherwise, but it won't be a washout, either. Tomorrow will be the best day of the three-day holiday weekend with partly-to-mostly sunny skies and afternoon high temperatures climbing well into the 80s. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are likely Sunday and Monday with highs in the upper 80s. Here is my latest forecast:


Memorial Day Forecast by PaulWXman

Although it seems like we've had a fair share of rain recently on Memorial Day, last year was the only time in the last five years there has been measured rain on Memorial Day in southwestern Connecticut. You may recall that Monday, May 30, 2011, brought a third of an inch of rain and extremely warm temperatures. In fact, the mercury climbed to 87 degrees last Memorial Day, establishing a new record high for the date.

According to the National Weather Service climate summary for the Greater New York City metropolitan area, measured rain fell on Memorial Day just nine times in the last 25 years (since 1987). The rainiest Memorial Day occurred on May 26, 2003, when over an inch (1.28") of rain fell during the morning hours. Rain fell on successive Memorial Days in 1995 (0.68") and 1996 (0.11"), and then again in 2003 and 2004 (0.21").

Take a look at the last five Memorial Day weather summaries for southwestern Connecticut, including the high and low temperatures, daily average, and rainfall totals:

• May 30, 2011: 87 - 67 - 77 - 0.33"
• May 31, 2010: 73 - 62 - 68 - 0.00"
• May 25, 2009: 76 - 61 - 69 - 0.00"
• May 26, 2008: 73 - 55 - 64 - trace
• May 28, 2007: 85 - 60 - 73 - 0.00"

A frontal boundary will be the focus of our holiday weekend weather. A weak warm front to the South will dissipate today, while high pressure remains to the East, and a cold front approaches from the West. The front will approach later tonight and stall over the Northeast through early Sunday, and then lift slowly North as a warm front later Sunday and Sunday night. Low pressure will approach from the Great Lakes Memorial Day and move through southern Canada Monday night through Wednesday morning.

If you're wondering, the normal high and low temperatures across southwestern Connecticut for this time of the year are 70 and 54 degrees, respectively, for a daily average of 62 degrees. The record high and low temperatures for this Monday, May 28, are 90 (1991) and 40 (1961), respectively. Sunrise is at 5:23 a.m. and sunset is at 8:17 p.m. The wettest May 28 on record happened in 1985 when nearly an inch-and-a-half (1.48") was recorded at Sikorsky Airport.

Happy Memorial Day weekend.

Paul