tamarack

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?

Goldenrod?

69/46 yesterday, down to 42 at 5:30. After no sub-50 mornings in July, August starts with 2 or 3.

Worked for us when we were cutting 3/4 acre at my grandparents' place, though I earned several stings there. Dad would wait until dark, then pour in a half cup and toss in a match. Torching one particularly large colony, the biggest yellowjacket swarm cloud I've seen, resulted in a bushel basket size hole in the ground after the fire had consumed all the critters' infrastructure.

July numbers: Avg. max: 77.4 +1.1 Warmest: 89, on the 6th Avg. min: 59.2 +4.5 Coolest: 50 on the 30th and 31st. 2nd July that failed to get below 50, mildest avg minima, 0.5° above 2010. Avg. mean: 68.3 +2.8 2nd warmest behind 2010 and barely above 1999. Precip: 3.85" 0.16" BN 1.02" on 7/2 the biggest day. One day with thunder, tied with 2010 for least in July.

Not even close. 5° BN feels very nice, with the low 50s dews, but daily record minima at this time are low 40s, not low 50s.

Correct. I'm not sure how passable getting to the main trailhead is, at least without a high-clearance machine. Franklin County and BPL are working out a split for funding repairs, but there are other roads with higher priority. Rt 133 is still not a through road from Livermore Falls to Jay.

Jeff's area has the bigger mountains, 4,000-footers with up to 3,000 feet altitude gain. If you would rather not walk up a Sugarloaf ski trail, the Caribou Pond Road west of the 'Loaf is crossed by the AT, offering a more natural route up to Maine's 2nd tallest mountain. Tumbledown has very heavy use though midweek would likely be okay, gain is 1500-1800 feet, depending on which summit one takes. One route is very steep, almost cliff-like (so I've been told). Shorter hikes include 2 different Bald Mountains. Perkins Bald is on Rt 156 only 7-8 miles from Wilton. Signage is iffy and parking quite limited. Altitude gain is a bit over 1,000 feet. The other Bald, in Oquossoc (part of Rangeley) is an hour's drive, though a quite pretty one with a better chance of seeing moose. That Bald is reached by Bald Mountain Road, off Rt 4 about 500 feet from that highway dumping into Mooselook Lake. I've not been up the Perkins Bald but love the one in Oquossuc. That mountain lies between Mooselook and Rangeley Lakes, has good parking and a big sign (and a vault toilet), and offers 3/4 mile of uphill thru forest followed by 1/2 mile+ of rock scramble. Some pitches look daunting but 3 years ago my then-5-year-old grandson had no trouble. Perkins Bald has open rock at the summit, Oquossuc has a 30-foot observation tower made for the lower section of an old firetower. You can learn more about Bigelow, Tumbledown and Oquossuc Bald at Maine.gov/agencies/Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. Searching for Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands might get you there more quickly. We've had wonderful lobster rolls at the seafood place on Rt 2 just east from the center of Farmington, but you might get an even better one at the coast.

50° here, coolest of the month by 3°. Can we reach the 40s tomorrow morning? (IZG 49 today) Yesterday's 0.26" leaves the July total at 3.78", 94% of average after 2 months of very AN rain.

Light rain arrived about 5, some bright echoes upstream but seem to be sliding to our south. Forecast is a modest 0.1-0.25" except in TS, which are very unlikely here. I do like the significantly cooler air coming in the window, however.