July's Full Thunder Moon Happens Early Saturday

You may have noticed the nearly-full Moon in the Western sky early this morning. Unfortunately, lingering clouds partially obscured the view, but tonight will be mostly clear. That will afford us the perfect opportunity to see July's Full Thunder Moon. It will be completely full tomorrow at 7:25 a.m. EDT.

The Full Thunder Moon is so named since thunderstorms are common during this time of the year. Another name for this month’s Moon is the Full Buck Moon. July is normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer rush out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. Another name for this month’s Moon is the Full Hay Moon.

Full Moon names date back to Native Americans in what is now the Northern and Eastern United States. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring Full Moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. There was some variation in the Moon names, but in general, the same ones were current throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.

A Full Moon rises at about the same time the Sun is setting. Since the length of daylight is about 15 hours and four minutes today, the Full Moon will rise later and set earlier this time of the year. In addition, the Full Moon will appear lower in the sky since it won’t be visible nearly as long as during the mid-Winter nights. However, since it is at perigee with the Earth, it will appear fuller and brighter than normal.

For example, the Moon rises at 7:35 this evening and sets at 5:52 tomorrow morning. That means the Moon will be visible for ten hours and 17 minutes. Conversely, six months from now in January when the amount of daylight is at a minimum, the Full Wolf Moon will appear higher in the sky and be visible for about 17-and-half-hours. That’s over seven hours longer than this time of the year!

A fairly nice weekend is ahead, but I'm not sure it will be the eighth straight weekend without any measured rain across southwestern Connecticut. Saturday will be mostly sunny and pleasant with a high temperature in the lower 80s. Sunday will be partly sunny and humid with a late-afternoon shower or thunderstorm and a high in the lower 80s. Monday and Tuesday will be humid with thunderstorms likely each day.

Paul

Deadly & Destructive Tornadoes Hit Connecticut a Quarter-Century Ago Today

One of the most unforgettable weather days happened 25 years ago today when a series of deadly and destructive tornadoes hit Connecticut on the afternoon of July 10, 1989. I was the early morning forecaster at the Western Connecticut State University weathercenter in Danbury back then. Although I predicted strong to severe thunderstorms for the region that afternoon, I never imagined the magnitude of the tornadoes which would strike Connecticut later that day.

I remember the storms began early that morning in upstate New York. A tornado hit Ogdensburg just before daybreak, injuring one person. One inch hail and wind gusts of over 50 miles an hour were a telltale sign that the approaching frontal boundary meant business. Many reports of wind damage in New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts occurred before noon.

Unfortunately, the timing of the storm had it moving into western Connecticut by the afternoon hours, when the atmosphere is most volatile due to the heating of the Sun. By midafternoon, as the atmosphere continued to heat up and the front moved eastward, the tornadoes developed. The first tornado, which may actually have been three distinctly separate tornadoes, started in the Northwest community of Cornwall, and leveled the Cathedral Pines forest.

The tornado continued south-southeast through Milton, leveling hundreds of trees and virtually destroying the village of Bantam before dissipating. A 12-year-old girl, who was on a campout with family and friends, was killed by falling trees in Black Rock State Park. Not much later, another tornado touched down in Watertown, passing through Oakville and northern Waterbury . That either damaged or destroyed over 150 homes and injured 70 people.

However, the most destructive tornado occurred in Hamden by late-afternoon. The path was only about five miles long, and it stopped just short of New Haven. The tornado destroyed almost 400 structures, and even cars were tossed into the air. Rows of houses and an industrial park were flattened as a result of the tornado. The storm was so strong that much of the area was without power for at least a week, and there were some trees still being cleared months later. The adjacent photo shows some of the damage in Hamden. This video was made for the Hamden Fire Department's Training Division the day after the tornado struck.



The powerful F-4 tornado which struck Hamden caused $100 million in damage and another $20 million in the Greater New Haven area. Forty people were injured in the tornado. After the tornado dissipated, a wind gust of 80 miles an hour was reported in New Haven. At about that time, another tornado struck Mount Carmel, tearing the roof off a condominium and injuring five people.

Of course, 25 years ago we didn't have the technology we do today, but I was still able to monitor the radar by the time I arrived home early in the afternoon. Remember, the Internet, News 12 Traffic and Weather, and access to instant local weather coverage didn't exist in those days. By the evening, the violent weather had ended, skies were clearing, and the damage had been done. It was certainly a day I'll never forget.

Paul

Ridgefield Toddler Dies After Being Left in Hot Car

Recent stories about young children being left in cars during extreme heat have been headline news across Connecticut. It came to a head yesterday when Ridgefield police say a 15-month-old boy died after he was left in a hot car for an extended period of time. Police say the child died Monday at around 6 p.m. Police did not identify the location where the car was parked, but said it happened in Ridgefield. The child's name has also not been released. An autopsy is being done to determine the official cause of death.

Daytime temperatures have climbed well into the 80s and close to 90 degrees inland just about every day this month. However, inside a car, the mercury could possibly reach 107 degrees with an outside air temperature of 90 degrees in just 20 minutes. In fact, the temperature could rise to almost 120 degrees inside a hot vehicle within one hour. Take a look at the following graphic provided by the National Weather Service office in New York.

More than three dozen children die of hyperthermia in cars every year in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Since 1998, more than 500 children have died from hyperthermia after being in a hot automobile, Connecticut State Police noted. Ridgefield Police Captain Jeff Kreitz said yesterday the boy had been left inside the car for an "extended period of time." He declined to provide further details and did not say whether criminal charges were being considered.
                    

Unfortunately, there have been other instances this week of children being left alone in cars. Two children were found by a New London police officer dripping sweat and reddened from the heat after they were left in a hot car Tuesday afternoon. Police say a car in the area of 200 State Street caught an officer’s attention close to 5 p.m. because the driver’s side rear door kept opening and shutting very quickly. When the officer investigated, he found a six-year-old and a nine-year-old in the car without any adults around. They were dripping with sweat, and their faces were reddened from the heat, police said.

Police say 27-year-old Cassandra Donnejour Nonossiold left an infant and a toddler inside of vehicle at a North Haven Target parking lot around 9:30 Monday night. According to a press release, Nonossiold allegedly brought one child into the store with her, but she left the infant and toddler because she didn’t want to wake them. According to police, Nonossoild allegedly locked the doors and left the windows cracked, then left the infant and toddler for 16 minutes while she shopped. A concerned passerby noticed and called 9-1-1.

Unfortunately, it takes a death close to home to emphasize how important it is not to leave children, elderly, or pets in cars during the hot Summer months. The temperature will soar to close to 120 degrees inside the vehicle in just one hour. I know from sitting in a parked car with the windows open how unbearably hot it can get. Please exercise extreme caution in the heat this Summer.

Paul

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