Good Monday morning,

What beautiful weather we've had this Independence Day weekend. After a near perfect day Saturday, the weather Sunday has only gotten better. There has been plenty of sunshine, low humidity, a comfy breeze, and warm temperatures. Since the first of June, there has been measurable rain at Bradley Airport on 27 out of 35 days! And the last time we hit 90 degrees? You have to go all the way back to April 28th!!!

A weak low pressure will approach the northeast from the Great Lakes on Monday. The day will start out crisp and sunny, and by afternoon a few clouds will develop. It's a slow moving system, so any showers or thunderstorms should be delayed until Tuesday. Monday will be dry and warm, with highs around 80. Tuesday will be a different story. A strong push of energy will accompany the low pressure, which could produce strong or even severe thunderstorms. The greatest threat will be small hail, gusty winds, and frequent cloud to ground lightning. Keep an eye to the sky! Scattered showers and thunderstorms will linger into Wednesday. High pressure will move in for another pleasant day on Thursday and Friday. As the high moves away on Saturday, a southwest flow could push temperatures up to around 90 for the first time since April 28th! The humid airmass will also come with strong thunderstorms. It looks like the system will clear for Sunday.

Have a great week!

Meteorologist Curtis Grevenitz

The hurricane season officially began on June 1st, but the first tropical depression of the season formed in the Western Atlantic in late May! The depression never gained tropical storm status, so we are still waiting for the first named storm of the young season to form. Even though the tropical season begins June 1st, the riskiest months for Connecticut are not until the later months of the summer, August, and September. The last hurricane to cross Connecticut’s shoreline was Hurricane Gloria on September 27, 1985. However, Hurricane Bob brought hurricane conditions to the state on August 19, 1991 even though the eye crossed the shores of Rhode Island.

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The following is a list of the names of the full moon throughout the year: “Wolf” moon in January, “Snow” moon in February, “Worm” moon in March, “Pink” moon in April, “Flower” moon in May, “Strawberry” moon in June, “Buck” moon in July, “Sturgeon” moon in August, “Corn” moon in September, “Harvest” moon in October, “Beaver” moon in November, “Cold” moon in December.

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May 2009 was a cooler than normal and drier than normal month. The average temperature at Bradley International was 59.0 degrees, which was 0.9 degrees below normal. The highest temperature was 89 degrees on the 21st and 22nd. The lowest temperature was a record 34 degrees on the 19th. Total rainfall was 3.43”, which was 0.96” below normal. Although May was a dry month, there were 15 days with overcast skies and 20 days with at least some measurable rainfall.

April 2009 went into the record books as a mild and drier than normal month. The average temperature at Bradley International Airport was 50.9 degrees, which is exactly 2.0 degrees above normal. The monthly rainfall total was 3.37”, which is 0.49” below normal.

March 2009 was not a bad month at all. It was dry with only 2.59” of precipitation at Bradley International Airport. That includes rain plus the water equivalent of any snow and ice. Normal March precipitation is 3.88”, which means we have a deficit for the month of 1.29”. Snowfall was exactly normal with a total of 8.0” and all of it fell on March 1st and 2nd during Winter Storm Demi. The average temperature was 37.6 degrees, which is cooler than normal by only 0.4 degrees. The normal March average temperature is exactly 38.0 degrees.

February 2009 was a dry month and it was milder than normal. Total precipitation was only 1.30”. This includes the water equivalent of any snow and ice. Normal precipitation for February is 2.96”. Thus, there was a deficit of 1.66”. Snowfall didn’t amount to much either. 3.9” of snow fell at Bradley International Airport, which was 6.8” below normal. The average temperature was 30.3 degrees, which was 1.5 degrees above normal.

January 2009 was a very interesting month. First of all, it went into the record books as a cold month with an average temperature of about 21.3 degrees at Bradley International. That is 4.4 degrees colder than normal! The mercury dipped below zero 4 times this month with the coldest reading of -3 on the 16th and 17th. The mildest temperature was 42 degrees on the 23rd. It seemed like January was a stormy month, but it was actually drier than normal month. How about that! Total precipitation (including snow and ice melted down) was 2.90”, which is 0.94” below normal. Total monthly snowfall was 12.9”, which is 1.4” below normal.

2008 was an amazing year in Northern Connecticut since it was the wettest year on record and records date back more that 100 years! Total precipitation at Bradley International Airport was 65.43”. That includes rain plus the water equivalent of any snow and ice. Normal precipitation for a year is 46.16”. Thus, 2008 was wetter than normal by 19.27”! The previous record was 64.55” in 1972. Other years that had more than 60” of precipitation were 1955 with 62.94”, 1938 with 61.63”, and 1920 with 60.96”.