Record-Breaking Heat Wave Started Six Years Ago Today

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

Holy Spirit School's Fourth-Grade Weatherkids Launch Hot Air Balloon

I visited with the fourth-graders at Holy Spirit School in Stamford yesterday morning. It was my last visit of the school year. I brought the fourth-graders outside with me, and they helped launch a hot air balloon. It worked beautifully.

Holy Spirit School's Fourth-Grade Weatherkids by PaulWXman

Paul

May Was Warmer & Wetter Than Normal

It was a crazy, roller-coaster ride of temperatures last month across southwestern Connecticut. The last eight days of May featured high temperatures of 68, 75, 83, 87, 59, 63, 71, and 71 degrees, respectively. The average temperature for the month at Sikorsky Airport was 61.2 degrees, which was 2.1 degrees above normal. There were two prolonged streaks of above-normal temperatures from May 1 through May 7 and from May 15 through May 21.

The first seven days last month were warmer-than-normal. However, the average daily temperature was at or above normal all but four of the first 21 days in May. Just 10 days were cooler-than-normal, including two straight on May 8 & 9, May 13 & 14, and May 22 & 23. The last four days of the month were cooler-than-normal, including May 28, which featured a high temperature of 59 degrees just one day after a high of 87 degrees.

The total rainfall last month was exactly four inches, which was 0.2" above normal. There were 13 days with measured rain, including nearly an inch-and-a-half (1.49") May 1, and streaks of four consecutive days with measured rain from May 8 through May 11, and three straight days with measured rain from May 15 through May 17. Seven of the days had at least a tenth of an inch of rain, while three days had more than a half-inch.

Thunderstorms rolled through the region late in the morning of May 22. Lightning struck a tree five feet from a home on Surrey Lane in Fairfield. The photo of the lightning strike appears below. Fortunately, there were no injuries. Nearly three-quarters of an inch (0.73") of rain fell during the day as the high temperature didn't even reach 60 degrees (59).

Thirteen days in May featured clear skies, while 11 were partly cloudy, and seven were mostly cloudy. The hottest temperature last month was 87 degrees (May 27), and the coolest temperature was 47 (May 7). There were 134 hearing degree days, which is 71 below normal. The highest wind speed was 49 miles an hour from the West on May 4. There were four other days with peak wind speeds of at least 30 miles an hour.

Paul

June Preview

June will open with beautiful weather Sunday under mostly sunny skies, seasonable temperatures, and a light breeze. Expect a daytime high of 72 degrees, which is just about normal for this time of the year. In fact, the mercury will rebound close to 80 degrees Monday before more showers arrive by the middle of next week.

So, what can we expect for June? As far as our local weather is concerned, the average high temperature for southwestern Connecticut jumps to 80 degrees by the end of the month, a leap of seven degrees from June 1. The all-time record high for the month is 97 degrees, which was established during the record-breaking heat wave on June 9, 2008.

That unusual late-Spring heat wave six years ago forced early dismissals and closings at area schools. The unseasonably warm air arrived Sunday, June 8, when the mercury reached 90 degrees. The next two days featured daytime high temperatures of 97 and 96 degrees, respectively, capping a most unusually hot stretch of weather for early June.

The mercury also reached 96 degrees two other times (June 19, 1994, and June 26, 1949). Record high temperatures of 95 degrees have been set three times, including back-to-back days of June 16 and 17 of 1957. The warmest June on record happened in 1994 when the average temperature for the month was 71.7 degrees, well above the 68.0 degree normal.

On the flip side, early June can still be gray, damp, and cool. Although the temperature has never fallen below 40 degrees for the month, the record lows for the first half of June are consistently in the lower 40s. The chilliest morning was 41 degrees on June 1, 1967. The “coldest” June on record happened in 1982 when the average temperature was 63.8 degrees, over four degrees colder than normal!

The wettest June on record happened 42 years ago in 1972 when nearly a foot-and-a-half of rain fell (17.7″). That’s well above the 3.57″ norm based on climatology. Unbelievably, there was nearly a completely dry June in 1949 when only 0.07″ of rain was recorded. The most rain recorded in one day happened on June 19, 1972 when 6.18″ fell. Nearly five inches (4.79″) fell on June 5, 1982.

The length of daylight continues to grow during the month. In fact, by the start of June the sky begins to brighten in the East a little before 4 o’clock in the morning. I can actually hear a few birds chirping when I arrive at the News 12 Connecticut studios shortly after three o’clock in the morning. June features the “longest days” of the year, and by the end of the month the Sun sets at 8:30, the latest ever in southwestern Connecticut. The earliest Sunrise happens at 5:18 from June 13 through June 16.

June features the Full Strawberry Moon. It will be full Friday, June 13th at 12:11 a.m. This 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!

Happy June.

Paul

Sunrise at Calf Pasture Beach

Morning news anchor Amelie Wilson is on special assignment this morning. She took this photo at sunrise along Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk. It's crystal clear and chilly with temperatures in the 40s. 

Today will be mostly sunny and pleasant today with a high temperature of 65 degrees. That's warmer than yesterday's high of 59, but much cooler than Tuesday's record high of 87. The normal high for this date is 71.

Paul

New Meteor Shower Saturday Morning