tamarack

Currently under a svr warning but the juice stayed south. We've gotten some brief showers (<0.1") but no strikes within 5 miles. A cell appears to be forming a couple miles to the east. We don't need the rain but some decent donner and blitzen would be nice. These showers are playing leapfrog along with the S-N split.

Over the past dozen years, other long-term co-op sites have winked out in Bridgton (started 1901), Lewiston (started 1893) and Gardiner (started 1886 and the only Maine co-op I've found with data for March 1888 - they had 8" paste). Other recent losses are at both ends of Flagstaff Lake: Eustis and Long Falls Dam. The latter measured 56" in the late Feb 1969 storm, Maine's greatest single snowstorm.

During Gov. Mills' 1sr term, I was asked to write an essay on the effect of CC on Public Lands' forest management, submitting it early in 2018. As part of that task I looked at data, mostly already in hand, comparing 21st century numbers to those in the 2nd half of the 20th, for 4 parameters: total snowfall, duration of snow cover, mornings zero or below (to freeze down winter roads) and days remaining 32 or colder (to keep them frozen). This was done for 3 selected sites, CAR for northern Maine, Rangeley for the western mountains, and Farmington for low elevations in the colder half of the state, where 90%+ of the Public Lands forest is located. Results: 21st century has - Total snowfall: +6% (Current long term averages are CAR 116", Rangeley 117", Farmington 89") Duration of cover: 3-6% shorter for CAR/Farm, 5% longer at Rangeley Days remaining 32 or colder: 3% lower Minima zero or colder: 21% lower, less for Rangeley, more for Farmington. Only 3 sites but geographically diverse and with very few missed days. (The longest of the 3, Farmington, ceased reporting last October. It had records beginning 1/1/1893 with less than 0.5% missing and only one lost day in the most recent 108 years. Sad.)

Swamp maples turning, leaves looking tired elsewhere - typical for mid August.

Quite true. 70 years ago: BOS NYC 8/28 96 98 8/29 96 99 8/30 98 98 8/31 97 100 9/1 87 97 Sea breeze at Logan? 9/2 100 102 Hottest September day in both places

June: 7.89" July: 3.85" August: 4.27" already. Met summer 16.01", in 5th place but way behind the 23.82" of 2009. 0.60" overnight, had not begun at 11:30 and GYX regional data 2A-8A suggests it was done before that period, so pretty dense precip. Even moreso next door - Farmington's 2 cocorahs obs were 1.77" and 1.28".

Yesterday was the 2nd of the 77 to verify here, with May 1 the other. TCC posted July temps for MWN and CAR, but there were other locales: --3rd warmest at Fort Kent --Not in the top 30 at PWM. Their July average was 69.37 and I counted 27 Julys of 70+ and didn't bother to look for years at 69.38-69.99. (There were several.)

26 Julys here and 2023 was 2nd warmest. However, the maxima average was merely 10th of 26 while minima was easily tops.

D-F is a good guess, maybe Charleston (at the minimum security lockup?) and I'm sure you're correct about the extrapolation. The weirdness is that it's 7-8° warmer than its surroundings. I can't recall seeing such an anomaly before. Feels like fall/winter dynamics. Irrelevant but the Gondola up here is on wind hold for WNW winds of up to 65mph at 4,000ft. Looks like MWN gusting to 80mph. Very rare to get that wind speed in the summer months up here to impact operations, that’s a winter thing. Shows sort of where the atmosphere is right now. It happens. On July 20, 1996 MWN had a 24-hour average wind speed of 99 mph with a gust to 154, easily their windiest event in met summer. Two friends were married that Saturday in South Gardiner near the Kennebec, and the reception was outside in a large tent held down by 4-foot steel bars. We had to periodically pound them down as the wind tried to make the tent go airborne - gusts probably 50+ for hours.

What's that weird spot west from BGR? Somebody's thermometer next to the exhaust of their heat pump motor? August 1-8 is 4.5° BN here. Storm total was 3.51", second only to Irene (4.41") for August downpours, 1998 on.

Approaching 3.5". We'll get closer to 4" than I'd guessed, though I still don't think we reach it.

Crew already at the site apparently have stabilized the bypass. Looks like the heaviest rain is past and that brook has a small watershed, so the worst is probably over.

The small brook at the bottom of Mile Hill in New Sharon flooded on May 1 but the damage was patched by the 3rd. Now a major replacement is underway, with 3-sided (open bottom) concrete blocks 8 feet tall and 16 feet wide. As we headed to PWM to pick up our son, we commented that it was being built for the 1000-year flood. However, the temporary gravel bypass is much lower and is reported to be washing out. At least much of the heavy iron is on site. Past the 3" mark now but probably will not approach 4.

2.84" thru 11 AM. It's taking a breather right now and the brightest echoes to the east, but there's still goodies yet to come.

1.60" thru 7 AM, up to a bit over 2" at present and radar suggests another inch by noon. Jeff is under a flash flood warning, with its area stopping just south of me (so far).

This morning's 49° was the 5th sub-50 minima this month, after 38 straight 50+ mornings. Peak summer temps (on average) end on Friday, when the average temp drops below 65. The AN July has increased the stretch of 65+ mean temps to 33 days, 7/9 thru 8/10. The mean currently slips a fraction below 60 on Sept 5.

The high-60s water must have gotten mixed by recent storms. Long ago when I lived in NNJ, we visited Sandy Hook in late July when water temps back then were usually 70-75 but a storm 1-2 days earlier led to 57° swimming.

Dodged another heavy rain event. However, State Rt 133 remains closed between Livermore Falls and Jay as crews work to repair damage from the June 29 toad-strangler.

From late April thru July 2, nearly every event exceeded the forecasts. Since then, it's gone just the opposite, like yesterday's 0.16" after a 1/2-1" forecast. We're currently averaging about 0.3"/week. Water table remains high (Sandy River flow at 75th percentile) but the top 12" is drying out.

Meaning that it stays south of here. So far this year we've had one strike about 2.5 miles distant and nothing else closer than 5 miles. Despite all the rain and dews, to date it's the poorest year for lightning we've had here. Morning shower dropped 0.15"; maybe we have a bit more coming.

Last time I saw 80s late at night was 1965 in Baltimore for early football practice at JHU. Temp was 86, RH 85, works out to TD of 81.

I'm almost immune to pollen allergies. However, the year that the 5-acre field near the house was plowed and came up in pure dense goldenrod, I had a 2-week-plus period of waking at 2 or 3 AM and coughing for 3/4 hour until my muscles ached. Next year was much less intense and then other things took over much of that area. As I've never had anything like it before or after, I think the immense density of goldenrod pollen triggered the symptoms. (No proof, but that one-and-done the only year we had all that nearby goldenrod seems like good evidence.) And yes, ragweed is notorious for allergic reactions.

1% chance of that verifying.

Look up late August temps 70 years ago. (Though I'm NOT predicting anything like that!)

<60?