tamarack

At least 50% color around the house, which seems a few days ahead of the average here - odd because we've yet to have a frost and Sept temps are running only about 0.3° BN thru yesterday. White ash is full color with 30-50% leaf drop, but that species always leads the way into fall.

0.11" from 6-9 last evening, then a weak but wet TS 10:30-11 dumped most of the remaining 0.64" for a 3/4" total. Might reach 5" for the first time since last September, need another 1/4" to make it.

Wind here kept temps a few degrees milder than yesterday's low of 39. Last fall was only the 2nd time in 24 years with first frost in Oct rather than Sept. Looks like Friday is the only chance to avoid 2 straight non-Sept first frosts.

When I was crossing Katahdin's Knife Edge back on August 6, 1973, I met a family headed the other way. They said they'd been on that trail about the same date the year before, and the wind and sleet were so fierce they had to drop down the south side a few yards to avoid the pain.

Dropped to 40 this morning as the wind held off until sunrise. We may again dodge a frost thanks to mixing. Today's cocorahs reports show the entire state getting a drink, amounts ranging from over 3" downeast to a low of 0.58" in Bethel. At last check there's been 94 reports and only 12 were under 1". Franklin is the only county w/o a 1"+ report, with 0.72" in Farmington and 0.64" at my place, ranks 92nd of 94. That said, we're now AN for September with exactly 4.00". Also, average temp thru yesterday is precisely on average, departure of 0.00°. Month probably finishes about 1° BN, only the 2nd BN Sept since 2014.

Hope they can handle it better than Halifax "handled" Juan. Looks like peak winds will be similar but Fiona's a bigger storm.

Weak TS 6:30 this morning, only 0.10" but enough noise to spook the dog. RA 9-4 probably added enough to verify the 3/4"-1" forecast. Over 3" since Sunday afternoon, probably pushing the month to AN precip, only the 3rd such month of the most recent 12.

It's been mostly sunny here, bordering on PC, and low 60s which is near the average. Great day to be out on North Pond, even if the fish weren't very cooperative. Fall color status: White ash are nearly 50% changed, though biased high due to the "tanning" of the most humongous seed crop I've ever seen on that species. More purples than usual too. Infertile-site red maples are about the same (sans seed, which fell in May). Many of the rest still think it's met summer.

Sun this morning, first time since Saturday. Last 3 days temps/RA: Sunday: 60/50 0.31" Monday: 53/47 1.28" Tuesday: 52/47 1.01"

2-day total up to 2.58" as of 7 this morning, with 1.39" coming after 6:30 PM yesterday, only dz since. Biggest 2-day event since 12/25-26/2020.

Overperformer here - first siggy one since I can't remember when. Forecast maps were giving my area 1-1.5" for Sunday thru now, and we doubled it with 2.58". Thad 3 distinct periods of RA, though #2 and #3 were only a couple hours apart. Precip arrived at 4 PM Sunday with 0.73" thru 2-3 AM, then the heaviest rate came 2:30-3:15 yesterday and by its stopping at 4 PM that patch added 0.46". RA resumed about 6:30 and was steady until almost dawn, with 1.39" more. Only dz since, but it's keeping things wet. Today is a bit brighter than yesterday's Novie-character skies, but we're still below 60.

That's about the high here today. Had mod/hvy RA 2:30-3:15, back to lgt. Temps running +0.8° thru yesterday but should be BN by the end of the week, even as the average slides 0.3-0.4 daily. Saturday average here is 65/43.

48° at 7 AM, 0.42" since 9 last night and 0.31" prior to that. Franklin County has done well so far.

Sept 19-22 minima that year: 29/25/25/26. Only time we've had 4 straight 20s mornings in September. Low of 49 here this morning. Low of 45 yesterday. You were 4°milder this morning, I was 15° cooler as overnight wind made for a low of 48° yesterday. The power of mixing.

Big temp contrasts tomorrow thru Tuesday, depending on which side of the front one lives.

33 here, with frozen dew on car tops.

Last time we got 2"+ from a tropical system was Irene. Other deluges have been forecast (most recently Isaias) but either swerved away or underperformed.

Your coolest since we moved here in May 1998 is the same as ours, 2000. However, Sept 1999 is our warmest at 61.1°, leading by 1.4°. Only 2015 and 2017 among the others even topped 59°. 2nd coolest here was 2019, though not much below 2009, your 2nd coolest for '98 on. 9/99 had a stretch of warm/humid wx unmatched by the other Septembers, though it got hotter in 2002. (9/9/02 hit 93, tied for the hottest day here, but the 30 on 9/1 is our earliest frost.)

48 for the low this morning, 4° milder than yesterday thanks to wind blowing all night. High yesterday was only 59, a low diving platform for the overnight but for the mixing. Already into the low 60s today and TD seems a bit higher than it was yesterday afternoon. Wind still bringing in air from the NW, so dews may drop enough for fog-free radiation.

2019-20 is a good example. That November is my coldest of 24 here, slightly below the previous year. Then met winter ran +2.2 with all 3 months BN for snow. After that, the snow season's biggest dumps came on 3/23-24 and 4/9-10, and a month later May surprised with another 3.2". Those 3 events improved a near-ratter to a slightly BN winter. Stochastic

We visited the summit of Whiteface during our honeymoon, IIRC on 6/24/71. We drove to a parking lot at about 4,600' then walked thru a tunnel to the summit elevator. Probably 50s on top but that tunnel was still making icicles. Can't remember if that was before or after we were terrorized on the Little Whiteface chairlift. (Tiny lap bar, no footrest, paint peeling, jackstrawed timber beneath instead of a nice ski trail.)

Not for people. And our Lab mix doesn't like the water. She did have a short swim there a couple years ago, but only because the algae layer was so uniform, she thought it was dry land. Our late lamented black Lab was in there all the time. When she would get all muddied up in the woods, I'd toss a stick into the pond to get her washed. Sometimes took 2 or 3. Given that the pond is all spring fed, its temp now that it's been deepened probably will stay uncomfortably cool.

Digging out the pond by our well. It was originally dug as a stock pond according to a long-time resident of the town, possibly re-dug for fire suppression by the folks who built the house we live in back in 1975. Pine branches, leaf litter and other muck had decreased its depth from 4-5 feet to 2 feet or less, while supporting an amazing algae crop.

Dews already into the upper 30s for many Maine points. A Saturday frost would be close to my average/median for 1st frost, which is Sept. 18. Last year 1st frost came on Oct. 24, latest by 18 days and only the 2nd time Sept. failed to have a frost. Moved the average a day toward met summer.

With Maine standing out as the only neutral temps east of the Rockies. At least it's not the ridiculous deep red of 09-10 when Maine stuck out like a hammered thumb (though that "winter" is a main reason for neutrality).