Chirping Birds Greet Early-Morning Risers

Do you hear the birds chirping in the middle of the night? They are. The birds began chirping shortly after 3 o'clock this morning. Yes, it happens every May. As soon as I leave my house and walk to the car, I hear them. And, because the sound is so foreign at that hour, I always pause to listen a little more carefully. Yes, the birds are chirping their melodious songs in the middle of the night. Although Sunrise is a few hours away, the birds are already in midday form.

Waking up at 2:30 and arriving at work in the middle of the night is a surreal experience, to be sure, but hearing the birds chirping loudly at that hour is nothing short of shocking. Obviously, the days are getting longer, but is that the only reason the birds are up so early in the morning this time of the year? My curiosity got the better of me. I just had to find out.

No doubt you’ve heard the old adage about the early bird catching the worm, but there had to be more to it than that. Our morning director was also curious as to why she heard the birds on her way to work, too. So, she consulted Yahoo Answers for a possible explanation. “The birds chirp and sing to communicate,” it states. “What you may not know is that, with few exceptions, it is the males that are doing all the chirping and singing. They chirp and sing to attract a mate and to announce their territory.”

But why are they chirping in the middle of the night? “Each day, as soon as possible, the males want to make sure that everyone knows that they are alive and well and ready to defend their territory. What is interesting, although it may all sound the same to us, is that there is some evidence suggesting that each bird has its own unique song and other birds know it.”

As for the modern scientific viewpoint, it is devoid of any romantic, religious or aesthetic aspects. It states that the pre-dawn chorus this time of the year signifies the warning signals given by each bird as it announces the re-establishment of its territory for the purpose of courtship, nesting, and food getting. All of these are the fundamental and basic steps to breeding, and the early chorus is just a way to warn other counterparts to keep away from their respective territories.

Now when I hear the birds chirping in the middle of the night, at least I’ll know why. Our weather will be worth chirping about over the next few days. Temperatures will soar into the 70s and close to 80 degrees today once morning clouds give way to developing sunshine. Fair and pleasant weather is expected tomorrow and Saturday. Sunday will bring more clouds, but the weekend will be dry and seasonable.

Paul

Bridgeport Region Finishes Third in Snowfall Departure

If you thought last Winter was brutal, you're right. The February blizzard helped push the season snowfall total at Sikorsky Airport over five feet. According to local climatologist Ralph Fato, that makes the Bridgeport region third among all National Weather Service stations across the lower 48 states in snowfall departure.

According to his research, the city with the greatest snowfall departure from normal is Little Rock, Arkansas. It received 10.6 inches of snow, which is 203% above its 3.5" normal. The runner-up is North Little Rock, Arkansas. Bridgeport finished third with more than double its normal snowfall for the season. In fact, it finished with 133% of its normal average.

Islip, New York, finished in fifth place  with just under four feet of snow. The normal annual snowfall for the Long Island community is just over two feet. The state of Kansas made the Top 20 four times!

Paul

Extremely Rare Snowstorm Clobbered New England on This Date in 1977

One glance at our weather this morning, and it's hard to believe that a snowstorm hit much of New England on this date 36 years ago. Our daybreak weather this morning was foggy, humid, and quite mild with temperatures in the mid 50s. You'll need to keep the umbrella handy today with more showers and a possible thunderstorm in the forecast.

However, it was quite a different story around these parts Monday, May 9, 1977. A storm system brought snow and record-cold temperatures to much of New England. In fact, at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, a trace of snow fell, and the temperature dropped to 37 degrees that morning, establishing a record low for this date. Other than a trace of snow which was reported May 27, 2010, it's the latest Spring day on which any snow has ever fallen in southwestern Connecticut.

The storm was quite shocking for this time of the year. Consider the normal high temperature for May 9 is 65 degrees, and the normal low temperature is 48. Snow in southwestern Connecticut is almost unheard of seven weeks after the Vernal Equinox. The coldest temperature ever recorded this month was 31 degrees on March 10, 1966.

According to the Naugatuck Daily News, "A Spring storm dumped several inches of snow on some parts of Berkshire County in Massachusetts. The area hardest hit by the storm was Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where police reported 10 inches of snow on the ground. Similar amounts were reported in parts of Vermont. Great Barrington police said there 'were about 100 trees down, wires are down, and we've got reports of accidents we can't get to.'"

Residents in the northwestern Connecticut rural communities of Goshen and Cornwall reported unofficial snow depths of up to five inches. The snow began to fall heavily in the Hartford area at the height of the commuter rush, slowing traffic considerably on most roads. The National Weather Service said a deepening area of low pressure over Connecticut produced a variety of weather conditions across Western Connecticut.

I consider myself a local weather history buff, but I honestly don't remember this storm. Special thanks to viewer Ralph Fato for recalling it and bringing it to my attention. It certainly had to be memorable for those who had to dig out of nearly a half-foot of snow in the northwestern corner of the state. I'm sure they were wearing their Winter coats, too, with the mercury plunging into the 30s.

Paul

Spring Cherry Blossoms in Stamford

Hilkka Schulz of Stamford wrote, "It is cherry blossom time here in Stamford. (The) weather has been just gorgeous. Rain will be nice, too!" These are great photos.

Paul

Celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Day & Week

Each week when I visit a different school across southwestern Connecticut, I'm always impressed with the commitment and dedication of our teachers to their craft and their students. Clearly, they have a passion for what they do, and it shows through their creativity and energy. Almost always they are smiling, and they love their profession.

The demands and challenges teachers face today are much different than when I left the classroom nearly 20 years ago. I taught from 1985 to 1995, long before the widespread use of modern-day technology, which has become an integral part of the educational experience. Educators are constantly improving their curricula, and many attend classes and seminars during the Summer months to learn new methods of instruction and classroom management.

Today is National Teacher Appreciation Day, and this week is National Teacher Appreciation Week. According to the teacher appreciation Web site, "Teaching is possibly one of the most vocational jobs. It is simply impossible to teach if you don’t like that activity, or if you don’t care for your students. Care, that’s the word. But, how often do we, the rest of us, care for our current or former teachers? How often do we show our teacher appreciation? How often do we thank them for their care, efforts and help?

A teacher’s highest reward is feeling the true appreciation and gratitude of his or her current or former students. I know, because I've received letters and phone calls from former students of mine. I can't tell you how rewarding it is to hear from a student I taught 25, 20, or even 15 years ago telling me how much they learned and enjoyed my classes. I still enjoy teaching today. Here are some photos from recent visits to area schools. Yes, teaching is still very much in my blood, and I love working with children.

If you have children in the school system, I'm sure you're grateful for the work of our teachers. Even if you don't have any school-aged children, I'm sure you're aware of the work of our dedicated educators. They deserve our support, and I applaud them. I'll be sure to thank both of my sons' teachers this week.

Thank you, teachers.

Paul

Journal Wins 2013 Communicator Award of Distinction

I won the 2013 Communicator Award of Distinction and a silver statuette for my Local Weather Journal for Southwestern Connecticut. The Communicator Awards, founded nearly two decades ago, is the leading international awards program and receives over 6,000 entries from companies and agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind in the world.

My local weather journal, which was originally created six years ago, covers a wide range of topics, including local climatology, the effects of weather on mood and sports, in-depth summaries of local storms, weather history, astronomy, monthly weather previews and summaries, and photos and videos from viewers. New blog entries are published two-to-three times a week.

The Communicator Award continues an impressive ten-year stretch, which includes two Communicator awards (2012 & 2013), a prestigious New York Emmy award (2007), four Emmy nominations (New England, 2005; New York, 2007, 2008, and 2010), four Connecticut Associated Press Broadcasters' Association awards for Best Weathercast (2006, 2008, 2009, and 2012), and two Associated Press honorable mentions (2004 and 2011).

The Communicator Awards is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from acclaimed media, communications, advertising, creative and marketing firms. IAVA members include executives from organizations such as Airtype Studio, Big Spaceship, Conde Nast, Coach, Disney, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Estee Lauder, Fry Hammond Barr, Lockheed Martin, MTV Networks, Pitney Bowes, Sotheby's Institute of Art, Time, Inc, Victoria's Secret, Wired, and Yahoo!

Winning entries for the Communicator Awards are selected by the IAVA to uphold a commitment to fairness and merit-based achievement. This ensures each entry is afforded an equal chance of winning an award as all entries are judged to evaluate distinction in creative work. In determining Excellence and Distinction Winners, entries are judged based on a standard of excellence in marketing and communications. Judging is based purely on quality of craft.

Paul