Weekend Weather a Gift for Dad

Mother Nature will provide us with a nice Father's Day weekend. High pressure over the Northeast will deliver mostly sunny skies tomorrow with a high temperature in the mid 70s. Clouds will gather Sunday morning, but we'll see developing sunshine during the afternoon with a high temperature in the lower 70s. In fact, fair weather will continue through the middle of next week before it turns hot and humid by Thursday. Here is Friday's morning's satellite image.



If you're wondering, our weekend weather is batting just over .500 this year. Thirteen of the 24 weekends (54%) have been completely dry, while 11 weekends (46%) have seen measured rain. January, February, and March were evenly balanced as far as wet and dry weekends, while April featured three weekends with measured rain. There have been just two of six weekends with measured rain in May and June. Here is the monthly breakdown of our weekend weather:

January: 2 wet weekends, 3 dry weekends; total weekend rain 0.48"

February: 2 wet weekends, 2 dry weekends; total weekend rain 0.05"

March: 2 wet weekends, 2 dry weekends; total weekend rain 0.38"

April: 3 wet weekends, 2 dry weekends; total weekend rain 2.21"

May: 1 wet weekend, 3 dry weekends; total weekend rain 0.02"

June: 1 wet weekend, 1 dry weekend; total weekend rain 1.27"

Yearly total: 11 wet weekends, 13 dry weekends; total weekend rain 4.41"

The month of June can offer plenty of rain and clouds. Fortunately, though, a week of nearly-perfect weather is on the way. For many, end-of-year class field trips have been scheduled, school will soon be ending, and graduation ceremonies are being held. The weather will cooperate for the next several days. My younger son takes his class trip next Monday, and both of my sons are graduating from their respective middle school and high school next week. I'll be a proud Dad.

Happy Father's Day.

Paul

Summer Less Than Two Weeks Away

Summer officially arrives in 12 days, Saturday, June 21, at 6:51 a.m. EDT. That's when the Sun's rays will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer, marking their northernmost point on the Earth. The Sun rises at 5:19 a.m. and sets at 8:30 p.m., which is the latest Sunset during the year. We'll enjoy 15 hours and 11 minutes of Sunlight.

Two days later, the Sun rises at 5:20, and the days begin to get "shorter" once again. Remember, since the first day of Summer is "the longest day" of the year, the days actually become shorter by the end of the month and the remainder of the Summer. By the middle of July, the Sun rises at 5:32 in the morning and sets at 8:24 in the evening, so the difference will be hardly noticeable.

So, why does the Summer Solstice actually happen? Well, the seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth's axis. Because the Earth rotates like a gyroscope, the North Pole points in a fixed position constantly, while the Earth is revolving around the Sun.

During one half of the year, the Northern Hemisphere has more exposure to the Sun than the Southern Hemisphere, while the reverse is true during the other half of the year. At noontime, the Sun appears high in the sky during Summertime, but it is much lower in the sky in the Winter. When the Sun reaches its maximum elevation, or angle, in the sky, that's when the Summer Solstice happens.

Summer was a joyous time of the year in prehistoric times for the aboriginal people who lived in the Northern latitudes. The snow had melted, the ground thawed out, and warm temperatures returned. Flowers were in full bloom, and leaves had returned to the trees. More important, food was easier to find, and crops had been planted and would be harvested for months to come. The Full Moon is June is called the Full Honey Moon. Tradition dictates that this is the best time to harvest honey from the hives.

This time of the year, between the planting and harvesting of crops, is the traditional time for weddings because many ancient peoples believed that the grand union of the goddess and god occurred in early May. Since it was unlucky to compete with the gods, many people delayed their weddings until June. Today, June remains a favorite month for marriage.

Native Americans have constructed many stone structures linked to the Equinoces and Solstices. Many are still standing today. One of them is called Calendar One. It is a natural amphiteatre of about 20 acres in size in Vermont. From a stone enclosure in the center of the bowl, one can see a number of vertical rocks and other markers around the edge of the bowl. "At the Summer Solstice, the Sun rose at the southern peak of the East ridge and set at a notch at the southern end of the West ridge." The Winter Solstice and both equinoxes were similarly marked.

Paul

Anniversary Day

Today is a special day in the history of News 12 Connecticut. Although our cable news operation officially launched 30 years ago, it was exactly 17 years ago today that we became a 24-hour around-the-clock news operation. The following day, Tuesday, June 13, 1995, the former Morning Edition was launched, and ever since then I've been doing the weekday morning weather.

It's natural to "wax nostalgic" on any anniversary, and today is no exception. I'll always remember the excitement all of us felt that first morning, and the disbelief that my alarm was set for 2 o'clock in the middle of the night. For the first couple of years our morning newscast began at 6 o'clock. It wasn't until four years later that the early newscast started at 5:30.

I guess it's not that hard to believe that I'm the only original member of that first newscast still here. Our entire morning crew today, including producers, directors, anchors, and interns, wasn't around for our maiden newscast. There have been eight morning news anchors, five sports anchors, three lead producers, and countless traffic reporters along the way. Sure, I still keep in touch with some of the people who were around that very first day, and I'll always remember how it felt for all of us to be a part of something special and brand new.

What I remember most are the many LIVE morning remote weathercasts I've hosted over the years: Being shot out of a cannon and sitting atop an elephant at the circus, riding the roller coaster and salt-and-pepper shaker at school and church carnivals, playing catch with Bluefish players at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard, riding a go-cart for three hours at a mini speedway, taking a flight aboard Chopper 12, covering special elections from the polls, coaching Little League practice, participating in Jump-Rope-for-Heart, visiting many diners and restaurants for breakfast, hosting a Super Bowl pre-game tailgate party with a LIVE high school band, and playing goalie against the Sacred Heart University women's hockey team, to name just a few.



Our weather presentation has changed tremendously over the last 17 years. Today, we use the latest state-of-the-art equipment to bring our viewers the most comprehensive and thorough weather information for southwestern Connecticut. We have LIVE Dual Dopper radar, TrueView Skycast to project today's weather over local landmarks, animated forecast pages, and a seven-day forecast page tailored specifically for our region.

Social media has allowed our viewers to become part of our interactive weather team, too. They send current information, weather observations, and storm totals to us via email. We receive digital photos from viewers every day which we occasionally show on the air. And, some of our viewers faithfully send me their daily weather reports every morning. I'm thankful for their interest and help.

What else has changed? Our blogs bring a personal touch to our audience by allowing the anchors to share their feelings, opinions, or stories with them. My weekly Weatherkids program is more popular than ever as teachers and parents are already looking ahead to next year. And, the info bar at the bottom of the screen affords the viewer a quick peek at the forecast and the next three days.

Naturally, I had to look at our daily planner on this date 17 years ago. It reads: "THIS IS IT!!!! 24-hours.... never to stop again.... or to be the same old News 12 again! Launch party is here, in and outside the building, following the 5:00 p.m. newscast."

It was 17 years ago this evening that we held that "launch party" in the parking lot with music, food, invited dignitaries, and so much excitement and optimism. While it's fun to look back and reminisce about what it was like 13 years ago today, it's even more exciting to look ahead. When I think about all the dramatic changes which have taken place over the last decade-plus, I can't even imagine what it will be like 17 years from now.

Happy Anniversary.

Paul

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