The sun angle in the sky is dropping precipitously this time of year. If this was the middle of March it would have the same look on how it appears from the horizon. The days are now decending away from equal daylight and darkness and we have lost over 3 hours of sunlight from the third week of June. The average high and low temperatures have withered off 15 degrees to date with 36 to go for another 4 months. There will still be a few balmy fall days in the 70’s for the next month with some cold and frosty nights too as Halloween approaches.

Today was truly one of the best ten days of year. The air had a defined crispness to it early this morning and as the day grew longer there was an absence of the August summertime haze. The dog days of summer are here as the sun and Sirius (the dog star) set together in the west this evening,  but a continuous northwest flow of Canadian air will keep the sultry dogs at bay ’til further notice. The finale will take place after midnight as the Perseids meteor shower makes its annual apperance. Prime time to observe a 90-100 per hour meteor shower will be near dawn Monday morning. The icing on the the cake for 24 hours of perfection.

Hurricane season officially begins June 1st but activity doesn’t really get going until the Atlantic and Caribbean waters warm significantly over 80 degrees. Two areas that hurricane watchers keep an eye on are the Caribbean Ocean and the west coast of Africa. Tropical thunderstorms develop near the Azores in clusters and get caught up in the easterly trade winds. Sometimes these thunderstorms will create their own low pressure system and gather strength feeding on the warm tropical water as they take the long journery eastward across the Atlantic Ocean. Depending on upper air systems, these storms will either fall apart from upper wind shear or gather strength with the right upper air dynamics.  This year the probability of a hurricane making landfall are 3, and named storms 16 which is higher than a normal year. We are definitely in a high cycle of activity.

A new named storm Dorian in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean has recently strengthened into tropical storm which is a week away from any threat to coastal areas of the United States.

Yesterday was the second day in the last 14 that the temperature did not go over 90 degrees. So far this month Hartford is experiencing its hottest month ever since the Weather Service officially started recording temperatures in 1905. We are averaging 80.5 degrees this July, some 7 degrees above normal and warmer than coastal Florida. The heat will finally subside the next week or so with more seasonable conditions. No more 90 degree days through the last week of July and into early August. The average high and low temperature for this date is 85 and 63. Unfortunately humidity will creep back in later today and tonight as warm front will push through the state from south to north. Some tropical showers will pour down on us before the next cold front ushers in its refreshing air mass tomorrow night.

Feeling unusually warm this summer? Through the mid point of this month we are on pace to break the all time record average temperature for July. In 2010, Hartford officially had an average temperature of 77.4 degrees in July, not including today we are at 79.8 degrees with four more days of 90’s coming up. Our fifth heat wave this summer is well under way and may finish with a consecutive string of seven 90+ degree days on Saturday. The record is ten days in 1995.  A heat wave is when we have at least three consecutive days at 90 degrees and over. The heat will be turned off temporarily on Sunday as a cooler dryer Canadian air mass finally pushes out the oppressive heat. Maybe a solid 3 or 4 days of beautiful summertime weather early next week.