September Preview

Where did the Summer go? It's hard to believe that Labor Day weekend --- the unofficial end of Summer --- is over, and most of us are back to our regular routines of work and school. Now that we've unofficially dropped the curtain on Summer and turned the calendar page, what can we expect during the month of September?

Obviously, the changing of the seasons is the main story this month, but the loss of daylight continues to be a prominent feature through the end of the month. We'll enjoy nearly 13 hours of sunlight today with sunrise at 6:22 this morning and sunset at 7:20 this evening. However, by the last day of the month, over a week after the Autumnal Equinox, the sunrise happens at 6:48 and the sunset is at 6:36. There will be less than 12 hours of daylight by September 30.



As far as temperatures are concerned, the numbers will continue to decline through the end of the month. The average high and low temperatures for today are 78 and 62 degrees, respectively. By the middle of the month, the averages drop to 74 and 58, and by the end of September, the average high and low are 69 and 52 degrees, respectively.

The hottest temperature ever recorded in September in southwestern Connecticut was 99 degrees on September 2, 1953. The coolest reading ever recorded was 36 degrees, which happened three times --- September 21, 1956, September 24, 1963, and September 28, 1957. The warmest September on record happened in 1961 when the average temperature was 70.4 degrees. The coldest September occurred in 1963 with an average of 61.5 degrees.

September can be a fairly wet month. The average rainfall based on 40 years of climatology is 3.58 inches. The wettest September ever happened in 1960 when over a half-foot (7.42") of rain fell, while the driest September took place one year earlier in 1959 with only 0.43 inches recorded. There has never been any snow recorded in September.

The Autumnal Equinox takes place Saturday, September 22, at 10:49 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, technically bringing "equal day and equal night" over the face of the Earth. The Autumnal Equinox officially signals the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn. The Equinox is the point where nights reach the same length as days. As Autumn wears on, the Sun will continue to sink lower and lower in the sky until the Winter Solstice in about three months' time.

The Full Harvest Moon takes place on Monday, September 29, at 11:19 p.m. This is the Full Moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice-- the chief Indian staples--are now ready for gathering.

Enjoy the month of September.

Paul

Tropical Storm Irene: One Year Later

This video of Tropical Storm Irene, which affected southwestern Connecticut August 27 & 28, 2011, was edited and recorded by viewer Ralph Fato of Norwalk.



Paul

Recalling Tropical Storm Irene One Year Later

Tropical Storm Irene hit the region one year ago this weekend, and it 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, August 28, 2011, easily breaking the previous record of 480,000 following Hurricane Gloria in September of 1985. In fact, 98% of Redding and 89% of Weston households were without power on Monday, August 29, 2011.

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. This is an outstanding time lapse taken during Tropical Storm Irene. Ralph Fato installed a camera by the water in New Rochelle, NY. The camera was 15 feet higher than the bottom of the pond. You will be amazed at this video.



Ralph 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, August 28, 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 would be felt for quite some time, it could have been much worse. The highest wind gust 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 was little consequence to the thousands of people who were 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, bringing the two-day storm total to 3.35 inches. That's not far from the monthly average of 3.75 inches. Here are four more photos from Ralph taken at Cove Island Park.









Now, all eyes are focused on Isaac, which may affect us with tropical moisture by the end of next week. The weather this week has been just about perfect for anybody on vacation. Let's hope we don't have to deal with anything like Irene again. Have a good weekend.

Paul

Perfect Summer Weather for Fairfield American's Little League World Series Opener in Williamsport

The Fairfield American Little League all-stars play their first game of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, this afternoon at 3 o'clock, and the weather will be much better than the rainstorm which soaked the players and the thousands of fans at last night's eighth annual Grand Slam Parade. Despite the downpour, it certainly didn't dampen the spirits of the local little leaguers, who won the New England Regional championship last Saturday in Bristol.

As a lifelong resident of Fairfield, I am proud of the players and coaches who are representing our town. The Fairfield American Little League all-stars are building quite a tradition. This is the same organization which advanced to the Little League World Series two years ago and played in the New England Regional tournament last year. Fairfield American Little League teams have won the Connecticut state championship each of the last three years!

The locals will face the West champion Petaluma, California, all stars this afternoon at 3 o'clock. The West champions won a nailbiter against Hawaii last Saturday night to advance to the series. The weather will be just about perfect for this time of the year at Lamade Stadium. It will be mostly sunny and warm with a temperature of 83 degrees, 39% relative humidity, and a light West breeze at about six miles an hour. The probability of precipitation is zero. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Naturally, the entire town is bursting with pride and rooting for this great group of 12-year-old all stars. Several restaurants have had "viewing parties" over the last two weeks, and I'm sure it will happen during the World Series. No doubt, many of the townsfolk will be traveing to Williamsport over the next several days to watch the boys play against the best Little League teams in the country.

So, how did the players get this far? First, they were selected as league all-stars by their coaches in June. Then, they won the district championship at Blackham School in Bridgeport in July by defeating teams from Westport, Bridgeport, Easton, and, eventually, their cross-town rivals from Fairfield National Little League to advance to the state tournament. Finally, the all-stars defeated Avon to win the state championship.

While most baseball fans in these parts are following the likes of Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, and David Wright, Fairfield baseball fans will be watching Kevin Oricoli, Matty Clarkin, Will Lucas, Henry Prestegaard, Ryan Meury, Michael Ghiorzi, Matt Kubel, and the rest of the Fairfield American Little League all stars.

Photos: Courtesy Connecticut Post

Paul

Dwindling Daylight Marks Summer's Final Month

Today marks eight weeks since the Summer Solstice, and the Autumnal Equinox is just a little more than one month away. Summer officially began on Wednesday, June 20, while Fall starts in the Northern Hemisphere on Saturday, September 22 at 10:49 a.m. EDT. Where has the time gone?

I'm sure you’ve noticed by now that our days are getting shorter. In fact, sunset happens at 7:51 this evening, 39 minutes earlier than the first day of Summer. The sun appears at 6:03 tomorrow morning, 44 minutes later than the 5:19 sunrise of June 20. That means we’ve lost nearly an hour-and-a half (83 minutes) of daylight over the last eight weeks. And, daylight will continue to dwindle.

By the end of August, the sun rises at 6:18 and sets at 7:27, meaning that over an hour of daylight will have been lost in the evening alone since the first day of Summer. Just over one month from now, on the Autumnal Equinox, the sunrise is at 6:38 a.m. and sunset is at 6:53 p.m. The loss of daylight accelerates through the three months of Autumn.

The average temperature this month is 78.2 degrees, which is just about four degrees (+3.9) above normal. It's looking more and more as though this will be the 18th straight warmer-than-normal month across southwestern Connecticut. All but two of the first 14 days this month have been warmer-than-normal, with the highest temperature of 91 degrees on August 3. Just one day --- August 7 --- featured an average temperature below normal (-1.0).

Nearly a quarter-inch (0.20") of rain fell at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford this morning, bringing the monthly total to just under three inches (2.79"). Today is the sixth day with measured rain this month, with the heaviest rainfall (1.75") occurring August 10. More showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and late Friday into Saturday should bring the August rain total over three inches.

Paul

Marking the Anniversary of Hurricane Connie in 1955

A warm and less humid day is ahead under mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the mid 80s. If you have the day off, I certainly envy you. It will be a great day for a trip to the beach, the pool, or a round of 18 at the golf course. Things were quite different 57 years ago today, however. Take a look at the front page of The Bridgeport Telegram from Saturday, August 13, 1955.



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 12 and 13, 1955. Then, just five days later, 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 Saturday, 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.

The tropical season has been fairly quiet thus far, but things usually stir in late August and September. Tropical Storm Irene (2011) and Hurricane Gloria (1985) are two recent examples. For now, however, enjoy the day. However, make sure to bring your sunglasses and suntan lotion. The UV Index is a 9, which is quite high. That's quite a difference from this date in 1955!

Paul