tamarack

The Chicago fire was spread by howling winds. 220 miles to the north, those same winds brought a firestorm down on the lumber mill town of Peshtigo, killing about 1,500.

The Nova Scotia wildfires are close to towns. If that's also true of the P.Q. blazes then human activity is the probable cause. If they are away from civilization and in the true boreal forest, more likely it's lightning. The boreal black spruce holds its cones for decades and fires bring the cones down to the ground, opening them so the seeds can sprout and create a new forest.

47-41 yesterday, shades of early June 2015. Reported 1.09" to cocorahs, finally getting some siggy rain after the "tenth-a-day" regime. Now for some warmth to allow the nicely watered veggies to grow. Maybe Friday.

I gave away or sold once all but one of the dozen or so snappers I caught in 1960-61. The exception was a 37-pounder, weighed by my stepping on the scale with and without the critter. Chopped off its head and waited an hour, and there was still enough nerve action to have a claw scrape my hand. Got the still-beating heart out at hour 2 and it continued to beat for another 2 hours. I'd read in a sporting mag that cleaning a turtle was no more difficult cleaning a chicken, perhaps because the basic process is similar. So is chopping down a 3-inch tree and a 3-foot tree. Never figured out how to properly cook the meat - today it would be in the crockpot (or pressure cooker if I had one). That meat was TOUGH! Even the white meat tenderloin along the spine between ribs and shell.

Undoubtedly a lady looking for a sunny spot with easy digging to lay her eggs - looks like 20-25 lb critter. The biggest one I caught back in the early 60s weighed 45 lb and would've barely have fit in that tote. I certainly would not wish to get one like either the above or my biggie chomping on my finger, but unless the jaws were right on a joint, I doubt the turtle could've bitten off the finger. Might've mangled it such that the surgeon had to finish the job. I've seen a big snapper put some respectable dents in a broomstick but it didn't break the stick.

Looks like about 1/2" in the gauge since 7 AM, a welcome change from the itty-bitty RA experience Thurs-Sat, even with temps hanging in the 40s. For the 2 days ending 7 this morning I've reported 0.26". Of 100+ Maine sites reporting to cocorahs both days, only Westmanland (Aroostook) with 0.28" was close.

MWN 27° with snow, WCI 9.

Maine cocorahs reports now up to 108. Our 0.12" is tied with HUL for 101st. Next town west measured 0.70" to 1.03"; next county east had the state's 2 greatest amounts, 2.44" and 2.31". Got maybe another 10th 10-10:30.

All those red echoes just to my north last evening faded quickly - had rumbles for 90 minutes but none closer than 5 miles. The 0.12" thru this morning is better than nothing, however. Kinda raw out there this morning, with mid 40s, dz and a breeze.

Maybe Act II will produce. There's a large SVR block immediately to our north, with bordering towns Farmington (to our NW), Industry (N) and Starks (NE) all listed but not New Sharon. If the storm stays together, maybe the warning will be extended to the south, as the best echoes were moving N to S and were ~15 miles to our north at 5:30. Still enough time for the cell to swerve or die before reaching here.

Echoes over AUG eastside suggest major hail. Have seen no reports and, last look, no SVR warning for there.

The two TS areas have joined except for a tiny squiggle of no-echo land.

Looks like the westerly storms and easterly ones are coalescing - after they get south of here. Might get some sprinkles from the edge.

Looks to me that the eastern edge of decent echoes will moisten your garden though the exciting stuff stays west. Here it's not "going to miss" but "has missed", without a drop, and line #2 is disappearing. About 60 miles to the northeast, there's a flash flood warning for 1.5-2.5" RA, probably all coming in about 30 minutes.

Almost a solid line, in bunches, from Winni to MLT, with a number of cells exhibiting echoes that point to serious hail. Of course, there's a 15-mile-wide hole in the line. Maybe the 2nd line will bulk up and water the garden but looks like a clean whiff here from the first one.

MLT reached 94 and the Aroostook sites were all low 90s. 89/47 here, was stuffy mid-80s late in the afternoon after the brief (one-boom) TS at 3 PM, then a slightly greater shower dropped temps to the upper 60s by 9 PM. 55 for today's morning low, now rising thru the 80s.

May totals: Avg max: 65.8 1.0 AN Warmest: 86 on the 28th Avg min: 37.7 2.0 BN Coolest: 25 on the 18th, 2nd latest 25 reading here, with only 2002 (20th) having a later 25. Mean: 51.7 0.5 BN Precip: 6.35" 2.50" AN The 3.25" on the 1st is May's greatest rain event here, and the 1.20" late on 4/30 made the event 4.45" in less than 24 hours, also brought the Sandy River to its highest peak flow since 1987 and 4th highest on record, POR since 1929. The flashier Carrabassett peak was 2nd all time, POR since 1926. No snow traces were observed, though places to the north saw flakes on the 17th as the cold air poured in.

From 40 miles away? Bright sun, high angle, mid-eighties, slapping at deer flies - no chemical additives necessary for how I felt. 83/42 yesterday, perhaps 90/50 today?

Or early month in 2015, but lasting longer? June 2009 was without a drop thru the first 8 days. After that we had 8 weeks with only 7 days w/o precip, and 17.5" rain during that span.

Just baked my brain while watering the garden, so the extra wet models are probably accurate. At 3 PM the warmest reporting spot in New England is FVE, at 89. Early season low-dew warmth on W-to-NW wind = Aroostook setting heat records.

Hail is generally a small-area phenomenon (outside of the high plains) but you know that. Last June 13 was our best hail experience in our 25 years here, with some dime-size icecubes but nowhere near enough to damage the tomato vines. Even so, it brought more hail than the sum total of hail for all prior years here. In contrast, the storm of 8/30/2007 dumped hail 4" deep on a few thousand acres, damaged houses (one adjuster allowed for new roof, siding and windows on a home) and defoliated and partially debarked trees within 6-7 miles of our place, also covering the road with 6" of leaf salad. Some golf ball-size chunks hit the above noted home, but the water-stacked piles along Rt 27 that I sampled 24 hours later contained nickel/quarter stuff.

Still snow on Katahdin. On MWN too, but the ISS path was too far north to see it. And last night I went to let our dog out and there was some bizarre animal noise. I put on my head lamp and there was a rabbit. Made a super loud sound Search "predator calls" and maybe one site will offer an audio. Rabbits/hares make an awful scream when terrified or in pain. Quite the contrast with their normal silence.

30k plus in Maine. The state allows baiting, trapping, sets a long season and has no limit on bear hunters, probably the most liberal regs south of Alaska, and the population is still increasing.

Several years ago, I bought Havahart traps as woodchucks were setting up housekeeping under our shed. Only caught a half-grown 'chuck (transplanted 3/4 mile away), as mom & dad departed once I was in/out of the shed daily. Yesterday I hit the birdfeeder-raiding gray squirrel with a half-charge pellet from my Crossman - classic butt cheek strike, hope he/she remembers it.

Over the past 30 days we've had rain events of 4.45", 1.83", 0.98" and 0.29" - total 7.55". Two days had sprinkles and 18 were totally dry. Today makes 19 and it will be 21 days of 33 before Friday's CF. I can't remember getting so much rain on so few days before. 40.1 here. Hopefully we’re done with the 30s although I suppose there’s a shot d5 or so. OWD and MVY 36° lol Since moving here in May 1998, 2006 is the only June not to have dipped below 40. Today's 39 was a few degrees milder than I expected, and we may crack the <40° over the weekend.