Lawn Care Tips During July Heat

How is your lawn doing? My lawn is beginning to feel the effects of the strong July sunshine and hot weather. Officially, the high temperature reached 87 degrees yesterday afternoon at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, and today's forecast is 88 degrees. Six of the seven days this month have featured high temperatures of 85 degrees or higher, and the average monthly temperature is 75.9 degrees, which is 2.6 degrees above normal.

I've been watering the lawn every day for the last week. However, you may wonder when is the best time to water the lawn? According to allaboutlawns.com, the best time to turn on your sprinkler is about 5 o'clock in the morning. Why? "Early morning watering is best due to the lack of evaporation that takes place, low winds that can blow you lawn dry, high humidity, and morning dew that adds to the moisture.

"Early morning watering helps to prevent lawn diseases that can be caused by watering at night because it gives your lawn time to dry by night fall. Obviously, this can be best accomplished with a sprinkler system, unless you just can't sleep, especially during the Summer months."

Here's another tip. Try watering a day before you plan on mowing your lawn if you dislike the browning that forms on the tips of the grass afterwards. This will allow your lawn to recover from the cutting and help it to look nicer as a result. Did you know that during the hottest Summer months, the surface of your closely cropped lawn can easily climb two dozen degrees above the outdoor air temperature? Heat is a killer.

So is moisture loss, which occurs when the lawn is cut too frequently during high temperatures. Heat-stressed, dry lawns are extremely susceptible to insects, spotting, weeds, and root disease as they try to heal from literally being scalped. Many of my neighbors hire lawn cutters who appear at the same time every week to mow the lawns, whether they need it or not. I don't think I'll cut my lawn this weekend. It just doesn't need it.

According to allaboutlawns.com, "It's important to realize that mowing actually creates a routine lawn injury. You can minimize the damage by using sharp blades and mowing in cooler morning or evening hours, but only when the lawn is dry. In the Summer months, you may have to mow more frequently, but always mow at a higher cut. If you're cutting more than 1/3 of the total height of the grass, you're scalping it.

Take care when mowing your lawn this Summer. Properly mowed lawns retain moisture, fostering deeper root growth, and the healthy blades of grass produce more of the nutrients necessary for your lawn to thrive in difficult conditions. So, even in the driest and warmest time of the year, it is possible to keep your lawn watered regularly and cut when needed.

Paul

Earth is Farthest from the Sun Today

Despite the heat and humidity this week, our planet is actually at its farthest point from the Sun today. According to the U. S. Naval Observatory, the Earth reaches a point in its orbit called "aphelion" at 8 o'clock EDT this evening. The Earth's aphelion is the point where it is the farthest from the Sun than at any time during the year.

The Earth is typically about 93 million miles from the Sun. However, because our planet's orbit is not a perfect circle but an ellipse, it has a farthest point and a closest point to the Sun. In case you're wondering, the Earth's closest approach to the Sun is called perihelion, and that occurs in early January. The Earth is exactly 3,104,641 miles (or 3.28 percent) farther from the Sun than at its closest approach. The Earth actually receives about seven percent less heat at its aphelion than at its closest approach, according to researchers.

Although the date for both will vary from year to year, the Earth will always be closest to the Sun in early January and the farthest away in early July. Not surprisingly, that comes as a surprise to most people. At perihelion, our planet is about 91 million miles from the Sun. It moves outward to about 95 million miles from the Sun at aphelion. Naturally, some people have the mistaken impression that our seasons are caused by the changes in Earth's distance from the Sun, but this is not the case.

The temperatures and the seasons are not affected by the proximity of the Earth to the Sun or even the rotation of the planet on its axis. Rather, it is the tilt of the Earth that determines the climate. When it is at perihelion in January, the Earth is tilted away from the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere, and the sunlight is not "getting a direct hit" on the Earth's atmosphere. However, when it is at aphelion in July, the Earth is tilted toward the Sun.

Officially, at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, the high temperatures each of the last two days were 87 and 88 degrees, respectively. Today's high is expected to reach the middle 80s. The normal high is 82 degrees. So, as you cool off at the pool, beach, or by the air conditioner today, take comfort in the fact that our planet is farther from the Sun today than at any other day of the year.

Paul

Strong Thunderstorms Brought Locally Heavy Rain

Strong thunderstorms pushed through southwestern Connecticut late yesterday. A hot and humid air mass triggered the storm outbreak as the mercury climbed to 88 degrees at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford. Officially, a half-inch of rain was recorded at the airport, but many local communities received more rain. Andrew Colabella took this photo during the severe thunderstorm in Westport.

Nick Ferrando, an aspiring meteorologist and storm chaser who follows me on Twitter, took this photo of lightning in Stratford.

Paul

June Finished Wetter & Warmer Than Normal

Even though there were only five days with more than a tenth of an inch of rain last month at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, the total rainfall was nearly a half-inch above normal. Officially, more than four inches (4.01") were recorded, which is well above the 3.61" normal for June. In addition, the average temperature last month was 69.4 degrees, which is nearly one degree above normal (68.6).

There were seven days with measured rain in June, including more than an inch-and-a-half (1.65") June 13. Three other days featured more than a half-inch of rain, including June 5 (0.72"), June 9 (0.78"), and June 19 (0.66"). There were two streaks of five straight days without measured rain (June 14 through June 18 and June 20 through June 24). However, only 0.03" of rain fell over the last 11 days last month.

Twenty-one of the 30 days last month featured average daily temperatures at or above normal. Six of the first eight days in June were warmer than normal. Four of the five days from June 9 through June 13 were cooler-than-normal, while June 21 through June 23 saw the average daily temperatures below normal. Otherwise, six of the last seven days last month were warmer-than-normal.

The mercury didn't reach 90 degrees the entire month, marking just the fourth time on record (since 1948) at the airport that the temperature failed to reach 90 degrees through the first six months of the year. The three other years were 1950, 1962, and 2004. The hottest day was June 18 (89) degrees, while the temperature soared to 88 degrees June 26. The coolest temperature last month was 50 degrees on June 1.

Paul

One Year Anniversary of Tornado in Greenwich & Stamford

The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado moved through Greenwich and Stamford Monday morning, July 1, 2013. The tornado touched down on North Street in Greenwich just North of the Merritt Parkway. It continued East/Northeast into Stamford and lifted on Janes Lane, approximately a half-mile West of Scofieldtown Road.

Extendive tree damage was observed along the tornado's path, starting on Taconic Road and continuing onto Skyridge Road. The worst stree damage was observed just South of the intersection of Stag Lane and Stanwich Road. Tree damage continued onto Carrington Drive and at the Mead House Farm. The tornado began to weaken as it moved into Stamford, just South of Web Hills Road and Lynam Road. There were no injuries, and no visible structural damage was observed during the survey.

 

According to Dan Warzoha of Greenwich Emergency Management, "The first initial reports were (of a) thunderstorm, possibly (a) microburst. When we got crews to the area, it was evident to us something more forceful had happened."

The estimated time of the tornado was between 10:58 and 11:08 a.m. EDT, and the estimated maximum wind speed was 80 miles per hour. The maximum path width of the tornado was 150 yards, and the path length was 3.7 miles. Governor Dannel Malloy signed an emergency order after the tornado swept through the region.

Paul

July Preview

Half the year is over. Now that July is just about here, it’s time to look ahead at what the month brings climatologically to southwestern Connecticut. I'm sure you remember the record heat wave one year ago. The temperature climbed to 90 degrees July 14 and reached into the 90s the next six days for a seven-day heat wave. That was unprecedented across southwestern Connecticut. In fact, we also experienced a four-day heat wave from July 5 through July 8.

This year, the mercury has not reached 90 degrees over the first six months of the year at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford. That's only happened three other times since 1948 (1950, 1962, and 2004). It looks like we won't reach the 90-degree mark through the upcoming holiday weekend. Not surprisingly, July is the warmest month of the year with a mean temperature of 74 degrees. The hottest temperature ever recorded at the airport happened  July 22, 2011, when the mercury topped 103 degrees, tying the record originally set in 1957. The following day, July 23, 2011, another record high of 96 degrees was recorded.

The mercury reached the century mark two other times — July 2, 1966 and July 5, 1999. In fact, the average daily temperature climbs from 72 degrees at the start of the month to 75 by July 31. Last July was the warmest on record with an average temperature of 78.5 degrees, breaking the previous mark of 78.4 degrees in 1994.

July of 2010 was another hot one. You may recall the heat wave over the Independence Day holiday weekend four years ago. The high temperatures from July 4 through July 7, 2010, were 97, 93, 98, and 95 degrees, respectively. In fact, record high temperatures were established July 6 and 7. The mercury also reached 95 degrees July 24. The average temperature for the month was 78 degrees, a half-degree shy of last year's all-time record.

Many people have asked me why the hottest time of the year happens over a month after the first day of Summer. Well, it takes the Earth awhile to absorb the heat. As the Sun’s angle gets higher in the sky and the days grow longer in May and June, the Northern Hemisphere slowly starts to warm.

It’s much like warming your home. When you turn your thermostat up to 72 degrees after being away all day in the Winter, it will take awhile for the house to warm up. It doesn’t happen instantly. That’s why our hottest days are typically in July and early August.

On the flip side, the coolest temperature ever recorded in these parts in July was 49 degrees on July 1, 1988. Aside from that, every record low for the month is in the 50s. Believe it or not, according to the National Weather Service record book, a trace of snow fell at the airport on July 4, 1950. I find that too hard to believe.

As far as precipitation is concerned, the wettest July on record happened in 1971 when over a foot of rain (12.84″) fell. The average monthly rainfall is 3.77 inches. There have been several memorable rainstorms in July. For example, nearly a half-foot (5.95″) of rain fell on July 19, 1971, and nearly four inches (3.93″) was recorded on July 29, 1990. Two other days delivered well over three inches of rain — July 30, 1960 (3.57″) and July 23, 1953 (3.45″).

The length of daylight actually decreases next month. For example, on July 1, the Sun rises at 5:23 and sets at 8:30. By the middle of the month, on July 15, the Sun rises at 5:32 and sets at 8:24. However, at the end of the month, it rises at 5:47 and sets at 8:10, meaning we lose 44 minutes of daylight. Remember, the “longest” day of the year happened at the Summer Solstice in late June.

Our weather will be warm and moderately humid today under a mix of sunshine and clouds with a high temperature in the lower 80s. Tonight will become mild and muggy with patchy fog and a low in the 60s. Tomorrow will be partly sunny, warm, and more humid with a high in the lower 80s. Showers and thunderstorms are expected Wednesday and Thursday. A soon-to-be tropical storm is forecast to move just offshore Friday and Saturday, hopefully keeping our streak of rain-free weekends intact. However, the system bears watching over the next couple of days.

Paul