 |
| So close and yet so far. A thunderstorm juuusst missed my parched gardens in St. Albans, Vermont last evening, leaving me literally in the dust. Photo taken while I was watering said garden as I watched the storm depart toward the east. |
The temperature reached 96 degrees in Burlington Monday, exceeding the old record of 92 set in 1921. It was the fifth consecutive day of 90+ heat, making it the longest such stretch on record for the month of June.
That record just got extended.
It was 90 degrees at noon in Burlington. That's six days in a row at 90 or above. That ties the record for the second longest heat wave on record in Burlington.
Today's 90 also means we tie with 1949 the record for the most 90 degree days in the month of June - which is seven.
Today's record high in Burlington is 93 degrees. We have a good shot of reaching that, too. If it gets to 94 degrees today, we will be in a four way tie for the most consecutive days of 94 degree weather in Burlington, says WPTZ-TV meteorologist Ben Frechette. That would be four consecutive days of such weather.
Atop Mount Mansfield, the high temperature yesterday was 83 degrees, shattering the old record of 75 degrees set in 1998.
A remarkable record has been set on Lake Champlain. The water temperature, as measured roughly seven feet below the surface was 79 degrees this morning, which is the hottest the lake water has been since they started keeping track in 1972.
Lake Champlain water temperature, by the way, usually peaks in August.
I'm theorizing a unique set of circumstances created this hot Lake Champlain water. It's been dry, so cool river water has not been flowing in. More importantly, mainly clear skies have been sitting over the lake for days on end right around the Summer Solstice, which offers plenty of time for the sun to heat the water.
A record long heat wave striking right at Summer Solstice also helped. Probably an even more important factor is winds have been light winds for several days now. Strongest wind gusts over the past week have been under 20 mph, except in highly local areas that were near isolated thunderstorms
With a little more wind, clouds and somewhat cooler temperatures on the way, Lake Champlain water temperatures will fall somewhat, but stay unseasonably warm, is my guess.
Some relief is finally on the way, believe it or not, but it won't necessarily get chilly by any means.
As of late morning today, billowing thunderheads are already forming in the mountains. Unlike yesterday, these nascent storms are actually moving, so the percentage of us who will get some rain today will be a wee bit higher today than in the past few. Most of us will still miss out, I think.
Which is too bad. We really, really need the rain. Burlington, for instance, has just had a paltry 0.37 inches of rain this month. They should have accumulated about 2.7 inches during June so far had this month been anywhere near normal.
It was frustrating yesterday here in St. Albans, when a thunderstorm formed near Plattsburgh, dumping a wondrous 1.3 inches of rain on that city. The storm began to move slowly northeastward, right toward me.
But the storm collapsed on the way over, and all I got was a trace of rain and an outflow boundary that brought a brief, cool gust of wind of about 25 mph.
That outflow boundary created a new storm just to my east, which created a nice downpour there. That new storm headed east, away from St. Albans. For me, I was left in the dust, literally.
Although some of us have gotten some welcome rain in isolated storms - I see you @VermonsterWx - most of us have missed out just like me.
At least there's now hope of getting a little rain. If you avoid a thunderstorm this afternoon and evening, that welcome cold front will probably bring some more widespread showers and rumbles of thunder later tonight and Wednesday.
The timing of the front means there won't be a lot of rain, except for a handful of places that get bullseyed by a thunderstorm. But even a little will help. Generally we can expect a half inch of rain or less with this, says the National Weather Service in South Burlington.
We have a second chance of some watering this weekend. A warm front and little storm system has the potential to dump some decent rains on us Saturday. Don't hold your breath on this one, though. Currently, it's a big maybe.
Temperatures will fall to near normal for a few days, starting Wednesday afternoon and going into the weekend. (Highs in the 75-82 degree range).
I do see some worrying signs that it could turn hot again as June closes and July begins. That's also a big maybe. It might well be not nearly as bad as the heat wave we just went through. But judging by the weirdness of this weather year, you never know.
No comments:
Post a Comment