tamarack

And of course I'm doing the same, in response to some obvious hyperbole. (Though it's worth adding that for some VT/NY/PQ points, it wasn't hyperbole, as per the info posted by PF.) Insane number of rabbits and chipmunks in my neighborhood right now. I expect the population of hawks, owls, foxes, fishers, coyotes, etc. to get a nice bump. Lots of available food. Populations rise/fall in cycles, but having a May with no 4-day cutoffs featuring 47° misery mist saved a lot of little critter lives. That kind of wx is really tough on the newly born/hatched ; some entire grouse chick populations have been decimated by such events (mainly from pneumonia) and I'm sure the little furballs are nearly as susceptible.

I think August 1988 has it beat for "thickness" (Thanks, Tip) and dews. For the 2 weeks 8/2-15, Boston averaged 92/74, which was 10° AN for the period. A July/August day at+10 is hot; 2 weeks of that much departure is incredible. (In midsummer. In January, just another thaw.) I don't have SNE dews, but PWM's reached 77, their highest ever recorded, on either the 4th or 5th, and 11-12 wasn't much lower. I think NNE took the cake in this one. It was hot, with yesterday 1° from just my 2nd 90+ in 12 years, but overall Maine's share of the heat seemed less anomalous than farther west.

About 74 for the morning low (77 on the electronic instrument, which consistently reads 2-3° high.) Mildest daily minimum here and only 70+ is 71, on 7/19/2005. That mark will stand, as I expect the temp at my 9 PM obs to be mid 60s or lower.

Have you tried scratching the bark on a twig and sniffing for wintergreen? Mild aroma = YB, strong aroma = BB, no aroma = idk.

Blackflies were probably trending down, but mosquitos and mingies (no-see-ums) are at peak - though they avoid the heat. However, deerflies thrive on it, and I'm sure you were getting firebombed by those beasts. If you enjoy river canoeing, you might consider the Moose River bow trip next time you're in that area. For the price of a 1-mile carry (gains about 150' elev before dropping half of that by launching into Holeb) between Attean and Holeb Ponds, one can have a 2-3 day trip that ends right where it begins.

Moreso for VT/NH. Noteworthy in Maine but less historic. PWM did set a record yesterday, but 90 in July was a pretty easy mark to beat. Dews have been nasty, but my memory puts this one behind July 2013 and Aug/Sept 2010 for sustained 70+. (And both bow to August 1988.)

Fair enough, though Jeffrey's is almost in NH. I doubt BHB or points east are anywhere near 70, unless one measures in 6" of water just before the tide starts coming back in. Also, I agree that the coastal water throughout New England is warm compared to average for the date. (Have not sampled said water in over 20 years, but used to with some frequency earlier, and only once did I think the temp might be 70+, in Otter Cove [Acadia] on 8/2/75, about 3 PM on the day BHB reached 101. That's their hottest, by 5°, since records began 70 years ago.)

Just checked out that site. 2/16/43 was 1/-43, quite the span. Their -35 on 2/17 was probably a 7:01 AM reading.

Only if New England ends at Cape Anne. GYX site only shows Jeffrey's Ledge (69) at 11 AM, but air temps at Mt. Desert/Matinicus Rocks (63, 67 respectively) suggests Maine waters remain well short of 70. 87 yesterday, as lower dews/clear skies allowed more heating. Dews nearly 10° higher today.

Nitpicky comments: I find the differences between green and white ash to be rather subtle, exacerbated by the fact that green is uncommon in Maine, though it's probably the Fraxinus most commonly planted in urban locations. (This causes more ID difficulties, as urban trees grow in far different environmental conditions than forest trees, and thus will often look quite different from their woodland brethren.) Brown ash is markedly different from either, especially bark (color and texture) and buds, but also leaflet number and arrangement. Bring in the western US ashes and I'm lost. YB likes a moist cool site, will tolerate a somewhat poorly drained soil, and warm-dry can be damaging. One theory for the 1940s birch dieback (mainly in YB) was a multi-year warm trend that weakened trees enough to allow the bronze birch borer to finish the job. In my former NNJ habitat, black was the most common birch, except for early successional stands where gray was more abundant. YB was rare and PB essentially absent other than as planted. (We always referred to GB as "white birch.") BB thrived on well drained soils but did not compete well on droughty sites. Of course, my NNJ home was about 10 miles north of the terminal moraine and over granitic bedrock, so that "droughty" meant thin-to-ledge, prime chestnut oak country. That said, BB is a central hardwood species and YB a northern hardwood, so the former does like a bit more warmth.

Tense is the word, thanks to slopes, curves, shade, and sometimes indifferent road treatment. We never visited the ditch in our many trips to Dublin Christian Academy (daughter's jr-sr HS years plus other events), but saw numerous vehicles that had been less fortunate.

Our water situation is temporarily in good shape, thanks to 1.5" on 6/28 and another 0.5" very early on 7/1. I planted 2nd rows of pac choi and arugula this morning, and the soil was still somewhat moist. Missing out on Friday would put those plantings in jeopardy, though the rest of the garden is well enough established to carry on. (Rapidly - 2" RA plus heat = pedal to the metal.)

It definitely looks like a willow, species unknown. When I had dendrology (tree ID) at U. Maine, we had to identify down to species level except for willows, as the many species often can only be ID'ed with magnification and much experience. There's only 2 willow species I can ID reliably, the first being obvious. I don't think yours is the feline variety (take that, filter!) though a check in the weeks after equinox would tell for sure - I think you'd have already noticed the furry buds. The only native to Maine willow that gets to "tree" size is black willow, often seen along swampy waterways and the 2nd I can ID. I highly doubt that's what you have there.

EEN bakes in the CV, but you might like AFN or Dublin more - 500-1000' higher and good snow catchers, thanks both to their elev and to the nearby Monads. 14 hours ago, ORH_wxman said: The past two winters there were good...though they can't hold a candle to the 2000-2001s and 2007-2008s. S.Lillo: Truth. Though 07-8 and 08-9 were the nickel and dime paloozas that left me really missing blockbuster storms. Some agreement for 07-08; it was the season of 2-per-week snowstorms, and while there were none approaching blockbuster, loads of 5-10" events were pretty nice nickels and SDDs were off the charts. 08-09 had 2 BB-storms here, 12/21-22 with 15.5" and 4-5 hr meeting blizz criteria (have only had 4 such storms in 20 winters here), and 2/22-23 with the 18" in 7.5 hr band and 24.5" total, bringing depth briefly to 50-51".

Nicer air began to move in last evening, and this morning's low was 60 or a bit under. Full sun, good mixing, lower dews - maybe enables a run at 90, which is uncommon here.

Looks kind of willow-ish, though that family has so many similar species that it's hard to be sure w/o a better look - tree or shrub, bark character, etc. I agree that B-Z's specimen is probably yellow birch, slight possibility of black birch. Try a scratch and sniff of bark on a twig - mild wintergreen=YB, strong wintergreen=BB, no wintergreen=idk.

My old NNJ environs are getting sluiced, lots of 2"+ pixels with some over 3", and it's still pouring. Hope the folks along the Pequannock and Rockaway Rivers are prepared - might already be too late for those close to the flashy smaller tribs.

The dirt-covered pile below Riverview Hospital is down to 2-3 feet, will not survive the week - probably won't survive tomorrow. Cool June mornings extended its life several weeks beyond what I'd have guessed in mid May. The larger and more protected pile under the downstream bridge is probably still 10'+, though I've not been down to have a look. Should make it past mid month, though nothing like 2008 when the Central Maine glacier survived into the 4th week of August.

IZG,FVE,PQI,CAR all showing 85 at 3 PM, but dews, respectively, are 73,71,70,70. HX probably 89 at the "drier" sites, thus not displayed on GYX obs table.

Going by temps/wind, looks like the ocean taint is reaching all the way to WVL. Only 2 sites in Maine reporting HX 90+, IZG and FVE. Not the grouping I'd expect.

One bright mid-May day I went to Dept. of Corrections land in Warren-Cushing. This was pre-Supermax, when it was just the Bolduc Unit and prison farm, and our agency was tasked with managing the woodlands. Forecast for Augusta was 70s, and it was sunny and 60 with light winds as I departed from the vehicle in Cushing. 30 minutes later came a stiff breeze off the still-frigid ocean, with mid-40s temp and drippy fog. Was not a very comfortable day in the woods - not one of my better decisions, either.

June ended with 90% of average, and since it's my 2nd rainiest month (5.30", 0.35" less than OCT), that meant significant rain. Getting 2"+ from 6/28 to 7/1, immediately in front of very warm temps, puts the garden into high gear.

Thanks to some delay in the heat getting into Maine, June at my place finished 2° BN, and the average low of 46.1 was 2nd coldest of 21 Junes. Notably, the mildest low was 2° short of 60. Highest temp was a modest 82 on the 13th, lowest was a near-frost 34 two days earlier. Most of the month's 4.75" (0.55" BN) came early and late. Two 15-minute downpours late afternoon on the 1st dumped 0.92", and the all-day showers of the 28th brought 1.55". Though we heard distant rumbles on a couple other days, 6/1 was the month's only TS. In an average year we've had 6 TS by 6/30, but only 2 so far in 2018 (not counting the early morning noise on July 1.)

That one included a ground-shaking blast at our place that reduced our dog to a quivering ball of terror, but had little rain. Then 75 minutes later came a quieter TS that brought most of the 0.48" I dumped out of the gauge at 7 AM.

Upper 60s at my place this morning. yesterday's low of 64 was the first morning warmer than 58 this year. The 71 on 7/19/2005 is my only 70+ in 20+ years here. The Farmington co-op has had just one morning (74 on 7/21/1977) above 71 in the last 68 years. (August 1949 had 77, 74, plus 2 @ 72, the 77 second only to the 78 on 9/23/1895 for warmest minimum on record [though nearby sites suggest that 1895 low was bogus by 10° or more.]) Edit: I'd cross-checked the Sept. 1895 heat wave (maxima okay, minima on 23rd off base) but never August 1949, until just now. Farmington's 74 on 8/9 and 72 on 8/28 are well supported, but the 72,77 on 8/22-23 are 15-20° higher than nearby locations - no way.