tamarack

Haven't spent much time with the ticks in recent weeks, though I got one within a few yards of our lawn earlier this month. Mosquitos ae abundant, worse than average, but the next generation should be much reduced - current swarms grew up in snowmelt puddles.

Why am I not surprised? Morning AFD from GYX: .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Unfortunately there is now significant doubt in the big rain maker that had given hope in some drought relief this weekend. The GYX discussion now has the Saturday event in 2 pieces, one staying mostly to our north and the other to our south. Had 0.14" in a shower about 6 PM with some brief but heavy showers while driving into Farmington, which reported 0.27". GFS op now gives Augusta 0.02" on Saturday (had been closer to 1/2" yesterday) with a moderate rain Sunday afternoon, which will likely get pushed back in later runs. At least my 1/7" came not long after I'd watered the garden, so some synergy.

After missing NW this morning. Felt that today's RA was slipping away when yesterday's GFS cut qpf in half and GYX dropped pop from 60% to 40. Today looked really nice for qpf when still out 80+ hours, just like Saturday looks now? Seeing would be believing. (Actually felt what I thought was mist about noon as I watered the garden and fed the mosquitos.)

Best NNE echoes I've seen in more than a month. Trajectory suggests it all remains to my west. GYX has the afternoon convection remaining to my south. Yay!

Stat padder.

Don't have to be on a mountain to be almost petrified. Back in the early 60s in NNJ I was fishing on the local 50-acre lake in a 10-foot aluminum rowboat (no motors allowed) on my day off from a 6-day week as lifeguard. It was midweek and flat calm so no sailboats; mine was the only watercraft on the lake. The day was cloudy and humid, the kind with occasional embedded TS, and the first bolt hit a hilltop 1/2 mile to my east. Within 30 seconds CGs were snapping all around and the surface was frothing in the RA++. Tried my best to get that super-conductor boat on plane heading for the nearest shore, my head the highest target on the lake. Only took about 3 minutes, but they were looooong minutes. Actually had a mostly cloudy morning, and even with sun it's only in the 70s here. The scattered TS are, as usual, not making any moves toward my place.

Infinitely more than here.

90/60 yesterday, 87, 88 the two previous. For my location that's a heat wave. Maine rivers from the Saco to the St. John are setting new low flow records for the date. It's hard on the garden but better now than August/September when the water table usually hits seasonal lows.

Only 0.51" here for that period - planted the 3rd row of green beans (we stagger the planting as we eat most uncooked) and things were dusty dry several inches down. The GYX radar loop shows those storms, and some smaller ones in the W. Maine mts, are hardly moving at all, just wiggling back and forth a few miles. Yesterday's 88 tied May 28 for year's warmest. Already upper 80s today, might touch 90 if clouds stay away. Would rather skip the 90s in favor of RA.

Often the early heat is hottest, before the big dews arrive. Heating all that water uses up a lot of solar energy. The heat wave of early July 1911 set all time records for all 3 NNE states, and most sites were cycling from 60s to triple digits and back again. Dews were probably 50s to low 60s most of the time and didn't approach 70. Farmington co-op temps: 7/1/1911 94 66 7/2/1911 93 60 7/3/1911 99 67 7/4/1911 102 68 7/5/1911 98 61 7/6/1911 102 63 7/7/1911 88 63 7/8/1911 90 48 7/9/1911 96 55 7/10/1911 104 65 7/11/1911 102 68 7/12/1911 96 61

3-way tie: June 29, 1944; May 22, 1977; June 19, 2020. Forecast today is low 90s there, no record-breaking from this heat wave. Local rivers continue to fall. Checked the main-stem Kennebec at the North Sidney gauge, a few miles north of AUG, and they're at record low flow as well, though only 34 year POR, compared to 80+ for the Sandy and Carrabassett.

I'm guessing wide left. Hope I'm wrong. Potent-looking little storm on radar, seems to be moving just east of due north.

Could well be. PQI reached 99 in both those months. However, that site's hottest days are heavily weighted 1935 and earlier. Their POR started in 1893 though they have lots of skips during the first 50 or so years. One example is 7/1911 - they touched 99 on 7/11 but 7/1-7 is missing and elsewhere 7/4 was as hot or hotter.

Would seem the record was broken. However, temps/dews are all in Celsius whole numbers and I doubt the temp/dew actually moved that way.

RH 19% - desert dry. Unusual distribution (IMO) for CAR's hottest: 3 at 96 (assuming today didn't reach higher) all prior to 7/1, and 10 (with yesterday) at 95 with 5 in July and 3 in August, plus yesterday and 5/23/77. Five at 94, four in July plus 5/24/77.

Not all that long, had 91 on 5/18/2017. Last one before then was in June 2005. Battery-run indoor-outdoor now 93, but that's the instrument that has read 36 with accumulating snow - probably 87-88 on the max-min. CAR only 1F from their record at 1 PM so I think it's toast. No more bragging about insulating my attic in Fort Kent on the day they hit 96 to tie the record.

That's what the P&C has for CAR. Their low this morning was 65, FVE only got down to 69 - nice high launchpads.

About the most fireflies I've seen out at one time Wednesday evening, and bright as 1st-magnitude stars. Deerflies are here, in small numbers so far, black flies about done and plenty of skeeters.

CAR hottest in the Northeast, as usual. Missed their record by one, another shot today. Had 87/48 here - can't quite hit that 40° diurnal range, with 3 straight days at 39. Sandy River down to 150 cfs, lowest on record for the date. (83 year POR) Previous low was 155 in 1962. Carrabassett is 113, tied for lowest.

My take on subjective ratings includes grades for both temp and snowfall (latter weighted 2X) for each month Oct-May, though 90% of weight comes Dec-Mar. Then I toss in subjectives, like the record run of 1"+ cover in 2018-19 and resultant huge SDDs, or monster storms/cold snaps. Also give extra credit when either monthly temp or snowfall sets a new record at the Farmington co-op with its 127-year POR. Dwarfs my 22 years. Have had 2 each of co-op records, 3/2001 and 4/2007 for snow, 3/2014 and 2/2015 for temp.

I'm at the Augusta office, and would guess it's upper 80s on the instrument at home, next to the big lilac bush.

P&C forecast tomorrow for CAR is 97, which would be their hottest on record. Same P&C forecast, same story for Fort Kent. Dry spell is affecting non-irrigated crops but it likely will be a while before wells and reservoirs have serious issues.

Young crops cooking in the field, like the other gray/brown spot around CAR/PQI.

89/61 noontime at CAR - should be in HI numbers next hour. Need 7° to tie their all-time high. Also 89 at MLT but dews still in the 50s.

True. We moved from NNJ to BGR in January 1973 right after their snowiest December on record, and immediately had 40s when the normal is 20s. Got a moderate snow in late month, quickly extirpated in a torch/deluge, and that was it for real winter. The next winter began with the snow-to-downpour event in mid-Dec that had us with RA+ and 56° while my parents in NNJ were at 15 with IP (and western SNE was hammered by ZR), and 1973-74 was only saved from being BGR's least snowy by post-equinoctal storms. Mid-90s in July 1974 then 102 on Hot Saturday the following summer - never had a real "Maine winter" month until Dec 1975, our last in BGR. The effect didn't carry over to our Jan 1 move to Ft. Kent - the minima for 9th-13th were -33, -36 ,-24, -41, -37.