Super Moon Rises This Weekend

The largest Full Moon of this year, a so-called "Super Moon," will light up the night sky this weekend, but there's more to this lunar delight than meets the eye. Sunday morning, June 23, at 7 o'clock Eastern Daylight Time, the Moon will arrive at perigee, which is the point in its orbit which brings it closest to Earth at a distance of 221,824 miles. The Moon typically reaches perigee once each month, with its respective distance to Earth varying by three percent.

However, Sunday's lunar perigee will be the Moon's closest to Earth of 2013. Just 32 minutes later, the Moon officially will be full. The close timing of the Moon's perigee and its full phase will bring about the biggest Full Moon of the year, a celestial event popularly defined by some as the Super Moon.

As the Moon orbits the Earth, it slowly changes its distance from us. It varies from about 252,000 miles at its farthest to around 220,500 miles at its closest. The Moon’s distance changes very slowly. In fact, it's impossible to tell the difference from night-to-night. However, if you compare this weekend's Super Moon to the farthest Full Moon, which happens on January 15, 2014, the difference is dramatic.

The Super Moon is over 31,000 miles closer, appears 14% larger in diameter, and 30% larger in surface area than next January's Full Moon. The best time to see the Super Moon is just as it rises. Keep looking because as the Sun sets, the Full Moon will rise. The Moon always looks larger near the horizon, but that’s merely an illusion.

Technically, the Moon will be more than 1,000 miles closer around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday morning when it will be higher in the South. That would be the "Super-est Moon."  Since the changing Moon distance is a slow process, Sunday night's viewing will provide an encore. The Full Moon rising Sunday evening, June 23, will be less than one percent farther than that of June 22.

It is also known as the Full Strawberry Moon this month. The name was was universal to every Algonquin tribe. However, in Europe they called it the Rose Moon. The relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during the month of June, so the Full Moon that occurs during that month was christened for the strawberry!

Paul

What Makes a Top Ten Day

If you watched our newscast this morning, you heard me tell anchors Amelie Wilson and Kathryn Hauser that today will be a Top Ten Day. The last day of Spring will feature sunny skies, low humidity, a light breeze, and seasonably warm temperatures. It's a perfect day to be outside for a long walk, a casual lunch, a round of 18, or at the beach.

That got me thinking. What are the parameters for a Top Ten day? Obviously, it is implied that there will be more than ten days which will qualify for the list every year. Further, the necessary "ingredients" may differ from person-to-person and be somewhat arbitrary, but I decided to create the five most important weather elements for a day to make the Top Ten list.

Sky Cover --- The day should feature mostly clear skies, just like in the photo of Gulf Beach above. Ideally, there shouldn't be any clouds in the sky. Meteorologically, the sky can be classified as clear, having scattered clouds, broken clouds, or overcast clouds. Generally speaking, the sky is mostly clear if more than 90% is cloud-free; the clouds are scattered if 10 to 50% of the sky is covered; broken clouds obscure 50 to 90% of the sky; and overcast clouds cover 90 to 100% of the sky.

Temperature --- Since our daily high and low normal average temperatures are based on 40 years of climatology and differ with the seasons, a Top Ten day should feature an afternoon temperature within five degrees either side of the normal high for the date. Today, for example, the high temperature will be in the upper 70s, which is right at the 78-degree normal high for June 20.

Wind --- This is perhaps the most important ingredient for a number of reasons. First of all, the wind direction plays a pivotal role in our weather, especially during the Spring months. Today's wind will be light out of the South, all but assuring pleasant weather. In fact, the mid-morning observation at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford reported the wind as "calm." There shouldn't be any sustained winds above 15 to 20 miles an hour or strong wind gusts. A moderate breeze is just fine, and that's what we'll have today.

Dew Point --- The dew point plays an important role in our weather, specifically during the late Spring and Summer months when it can become unbearable. Any time the dew point is below 60 degrees, our weather is comfortable, for the most part. As of late-morning, the dew point at Sikorsky Memorial Airport was 54 degrees. There is very little humidity in the air. The dew point should remain in the 50s this afternoon.

Visibility --- Boaters and pilots need extremely good visibility when they are out on the water or up in the sky. When the sky is mostly clear and the humidity is fairly low, our visibility is better than 20 miles. You can easily see Long Island or part of New York City from the Connecticut shoreline on a day like this. Naturally, when the humidity increases and the air becomes saturated, ground fog develops. That all but obscures our visibility completely.

Today will have all five ingredients for a Top Ten day. What do you look for in a Top Ten day? Do you have your own list of criteria? I'd like to know what you think of my list, too. Feel free to send me an email or make a comment below. I'd sincerely appreciate it. Have a Top Ten day.

Paul

Summer Officially Arrives This Friday Morning

Ask any child when Summer begins, and he or she will undoubtedly respond with the date of the last day of school. Ask an adult and his or her answer is most likely either June 20 or June 21. However, as we approach the start of the new season, our weather has been anything but Summerlike. In fact, 11 of the first 18 days this month have delivered measured rain, and this is the third wettest June on record.

Summer officially arrives this Friday, June 21, at 1:04 a.m. EDT. That’s when the Sun’s rays will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer, marking their northernmost point on the face of 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.

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, and 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 Equinoxes and Solstices. Many are still standing today. One of them is called Calendar One. It is a natural amphitheatre 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.

I’d love to be at Calendar One this Friday at 1:04 a.m. EDT. The start of each of the four seasons carries more significance to this writer than New Year’s Day, which, in essence, is an arbitrary day on the calendar. The start of Summer is just two days away, and that is reason to celebrate in the Northern Hemisphere. Fortunately, our weather will be more Summerlike this weekend. It will be warmer and more humid with a threat of a shower or thunderstorm Sunday.

Happy Summer!

Paul 

Record Flooding Began 41 Years Ago Today

Many longtime residents of southwestern Connecticut remember the incredible flooding downpours 41 years ago this week. A three-day deluge brought nearly 10 inches of rain to the region, flooded residents out of their homes, forced postponement of school graduation ceremonies, and caused widespread damage.

Personally, I’ll never forget those three days since our basement was flooded beyond belief. I actually thought our house was going to float away. Firefighters, neighbors, and relatives helped my family furiously pump water out of the basement in what can only be called a losing battle. I distinctly remember riding with my father to pick up another sump pump at a friend’s house in the middle of the night while our next-door neighbors helped out downstairs.

How much rain fell during the three day period? Too much. The monsoon began June 17, 1972, with nearly two-and-a-half inches (2.37″) of rain. The next day, June 18, brought nearly an inch (0.98″). But the deadliest blow happened the next day — June 19 — when over a half-foot (6.18″) of rain buried the region. That one day total is nearly the average rainfall for two full months! Cumulatively, 9.53″ of rain fell at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford. According to the National Weather Service, it marked “the heaviest flooding damage since the Fall of 1955.”



According to the front-page article in June 19, 1972 edition of The Bridgeport Post, “A civil defense warning was issued today at 9:10 a.m. concerning flooding in the Southern Connecticut area. The report, which came over the air from the city’s Emergency Reporting Service, stated that the rain would continue through most of the day, and that flash floods were expected to occur.”

The following day, the newspaper reported that “Many residents who had never experienced water accumulations before, were still busy pumping out and drying up cellars. Fire departments throughout the area were besieged by requests from residents seeking pumping assistance.” One storm-related death was reported when a gentleman was electrocuted as he waded through two-feet of water in his basement of his home. The victim came into contact with live wiring as he was repairing the furnace.



Fire authorities had warned that flooded basements posed hazards as water threatened to “short out” furnace motors. Civil defense officials in the state estimated that a damage toll reaching as high as $1 million was expected. The American Red Cross established emergency shelters at its headquarters in Fairfield and Darien. Adding insult to injury was the threat of even more rain from Tropical Storm Agnes through Wednesday, June 21.

What do I most remember about that memorable three-day deluge? Our junior high school graduation was postponed. The Fairfield Woods Junior High School ceremony, which was originally scheduled for June 21 at Andrew Warde High School, was pushed back one day. We were extremely disappointed, since we couldn't wait to walk into our new high school as soon-to-be-freshmen at Warde.

I also remember my cousin, Pat, a Vietnam veteran, blew out his knee while attempting to start a generator in our backyard. I can vividly remember him being wheeled into the back of the ambulance in a driving rainstorm while neighbors watched from our backyard. He eventually married my next-door-neighbor, Ruth Ann, who stopped by with a home-cooked meal and met Pat.

The total rainfall for the entire month of June in 1972 was nearly a foot-and-a-half (17.7″). To put it in perspective, that's nearly a half-year's worth of rain. This June has featured more than eight inches of rain, making it the third wettest June on record. However, a fairly quiet week is ahead. We won't have to worry about any flooding in the near future.

Paul

Strong Storm to Bring More Heavy Rain to the Region

We are waterlogged. A little more than a week-and-a-half into June, more than a half-foot of rain has fallen across southwestern Connecticut, making this the fourth wettest June on record. Six of the first 11 days have featured measured rain this month, including the record 4.43" last Friday and a combined total of 1.42" the last two days.

Now, another potentially powerful storm will bring more rain, heavy at times, to the area from mid-morning tomorrow through tomorrow night. One to three-plus inches of rain are possible along with strong, gusty winds late Thursday night into Friday morning. The rain will aggravate flooding problems in low-lying areas and in lakes, streams, rivers, and basements.

Here is a look at the top six wettest June months on record at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford:

• 1972: 17.70"
• 1982: 11.53"
• 2003: 7.25"
• 2013: 6.82"
• 2011: 6.54"
• 2009: 6.41"

A half-inch of rain will move this month into third place, ahead of the 7.25" which fell a decade ago. Here is the projected rainfall map from the National Weather Service. Nearly three inches of rain are expected in Bridgeport, White Plains, and New Haven. More than three inches are possible in Danbury and Waterbury. That's nearly a month's worth of rain from one storm.

Make sure you clean your gutters and storm drains. If you have sump pumps in the basement, I'm sure they're been working since the heavy rain late last week. If you have a generator, it wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure you have gasoline and test it before the gusty winds arrive tomorrow night. Fortunately, the weekend is looking a whole lot better under partly-to-mostly sunny skies Saturday and some increasing cloudiness on Father's Day. Daytime highs will reach the 70s and nighttime lows will drop into the 50s.

Paul

Record-Breaking Heat Wave Began Five Years Ago Today

A surprising and record-breaking heat wave across southwestern Connecticut began five 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