tamarack

9° above our high. Daily low was +2 while the high was -14. The 1.34" yesterday was the most on one day since April 4.

Very descriptive pics. Little brooks can do amazing things at times. The remains of Belle (8/10/76) turned a 3-foot-wide brook into a 50-foot torrent crossing West Main Street in Fort Kent, gouged out a canyon 8' deep by 12' wide between 2 apartment buildings (was threatening the westerly one's foundation until we diverted the water) and left the back yards of the apartments looking like a 100-foot-wide river bottom strewn with sand, rocks and one car hood.

1.34" here, greatest calendar day precip since April 4 (which was very different). Had moderate RA 8-noon, ~0.7", then a weak-but-wet TS 7:20-7:50 PM for 0.56" - had some bursts of 2-3"/hr rates, but only one boom within 5 miles. Month is up to 3.04" (90% of 1-23 avg) with 60% of that over the past 4 days. 1/2-3/4" forecast for today and some more tonight, so we may reach the June avg of 5.1".

Had 0.16" overnight (mostly after3 AM) and just enough occasional light rain since - maybe another tenth in 9 hours - to keep everything wet. Still under 50% of month to date despite having rain on 12 of 22 days.

In 2019 here 11 of 12 months were below my average, all but July. In the 54 months since then, including this one as only a week of 50° RA could drag the temp BN, 43 (79.6%) have been AN. If we had the full 1991-2020 averages for our site instead of May 1998 forward, the imbalance would've been even greater, as 92-94 (the Pinatubo years) and 96 were all BN.

Beech in NNE are already stressed by beech bark disease, a combo of fungus and scale insect (both imported) which can destroy timber and beechnut value and eventually kill the tree. The leaf disease is another straw on the camel's back. Beech is the key species for bear in Maine, as oaks are sparse to absent in the state's northerly 2/3 where most bears live. The sows breed at 2-year intervals and following a big beechnut crop they produce lots of triplets and quads, some quints. Few beechnuts, twins at best. Low 60s with light rain, perfect garden watering though .75-1" would be nicer than the 1/4" so far today. Grandkids in SNJ are facing mid-upper 90s with HI 105+.

Not quite 8 - November was 1.6° BN here. 89/66 yesterday, just missing what would've been the first consecutive 90s since September 2002. After 3 near misses, finally got a quiet 0.18" shower 7-7:30 last evening, about 1/4 of what the garden needs. Maybe Sunday-Monday can provide the rest.

Almost the entire weasel family members are quite fierce, with skunks and otters the exception (and the latter can be nasty when threatened). An adult male fisher, 12-15 lb, could easily kill most housecats, though as the linked article notes, the much larger coyote can do it more readily. A 5-lb female fisher might look elsewhere for food. There has been loads of research in Maine on the (officially) threatened Canada lynx, and one result that surprised many is that fishers are probably the greatest threat to lynx. The big "weasels" kill by dropping atop the much bigger cat and quickly getting a death grip.

Still dry here. After the intense storm grew just to the east, a 2nd (smaller) storm popped up 2-3 miles to my SE and ran away. Then one that was over Mt. Blue headed right toward us but died on the way - might've had a spritz but probably didn't reach the ground. Some interesting stuff in northern VT/NH (if it doesn't slip to our south).

We're on the extreme SW edge of a warned storm but it's obviously going to stay north. Last 15 minutes a new cell started up a couple miles to my east and moving away. Don't mind the shade, however. Unless some additional stuff pops up to our west, looks like ye olde 7-10 again. Temps/dews look quite similar at 2-3 PM as yesterday, the exception being Maine from BGR north, where both temps and dews are lower today. Might be the same here, though so slight that it's not apparent.

We re-did the back bedroom (our computer room except when the grandkids are here) and had to remove the mouse-chopped (and 43 years of mouse-pee) insulation. After multiple applications of odor-kill spray and baking soda, we installed Rocksil insulation, claimed to be mouse-proof. Pre-reno, wx like today would fill the room with a nasty redolence (that corner faces the sun), but none since the update.

Only +15 here, 90/62 vs. 72/50. Greatest June departure is +17 (90/60 on 6/7/21), and with a morning low today in the upper 60s, that mark may be challenged. Looks like CAR's morning low today was 76. If it holds, that's 5° (!!!) higher than their current tallest minimum.

Our indoor-only cat (lost several in the past to fishers/coyotes) catches the occasional mouse and loves to play, sometimes losing the little guy completely - to my wife's disgust. If the dog gets a hold on it, game over. Home is an L.C. Andrews package, stick-framed with 3-sided white cedar log siding. Shrinkage allows smaller mice to enter, and when the builders (on their 1st house and it shows) were sheathing, they left a 1/2" space between plywood and upper plate, so anything that can wriggle thru the logs has free access to entertain the cat.

It's 14 years ago in late April at PWM when the east wind off the water switched to a stiff SW breeze. Temp popped from 59 to 84 in 15 minutes. (I had a ringside seat from Mercy Hospital - wife's 1st knee replacement - right next to the Fore River.) Clouds have cut 6° from the max here, but it reached 90-91 before the sun hid. Not sure we'll get siggy rain as the juicy echoes appear to be headed for a 7-10.

Maine sites up to 89.7/74.5 at 11. Two sites with HI 103; Rochester, NH 104. Sizzle

Heating up a lot faster today than yesterday. The low here was 6° above yesterday's, but some selected Maine sites have an even greater rise between the 2 days. Using PWM, SFM, IZG, AUG, BGR and CAR, at 10 yesterday their average was 76.3/66.0. Same time today: 86.0/73.5, climb of 9.7/7.5. NH change is less, 3 sites, MHT, CON, BML, are ~4° above yesterday.

+2.0 thru yesterday but may be +5 going into the weekend.

Fake cold, fake dews - but the discomforts aren't fake. Low 80s here atm. In our transpirationally-cooled site, 85+ is big heat and 90+ is rare, averaging less than 1 per year. - 19 during 1998-2023. Most recent 5, 2017 on, include 2 in May and 3 in June, mostly with modest dews. July-Sept hasn't touched 90 since 2002. Tough cooking all that midsummer water.

We've lived in 4 towns since moving to Maine in early 1973. Each place had its own character for extremes. Bangor (3 yr) Range: 118° Max: 102 on 8/2/75; Min: -16 on 1/16/74. We were in town; the AP hit -24 in Dec. 1975 while we only got down to -13 that month. Fort Kent (9.7 yr) Range: 142° Max: 95 on 5/27/78; Min: -47 on 1/17/79. Both were set when we lived in town. After we moved to the Violette Settlement, 450' higher than town, in 9/81 Max: 94 on 7/4/83; Min: -34 on 1/18/82 and 1/12/84. Range: 128° Gardiner (13 yr) Range: 118° Max: 93 on 7/20/91; Min: -25 on 2/7/93 and 1/20/94 We lived on a forested lot 3 miles from town center New Sharon (since 5/15/98) Range: 129° Max: 93 on 7/3 and 9/9/02 Min: -36 on 1/16/09. We're in a frost pocket, as cold air drains from a field and stops at our lot as it's surrounded by thick forest on 3 sides.. We've had only 2 heat waves in our 53 years in state. Ironically, both were at Fort Kent and both in May: 22-24/77 and 27-29/78.

Reminds me of building a picnic table with my SIL (and new father, or why we were in SC) at 99°. Of course, we were always within 10 feet of AC, and could pop in for some iced tea and cooling off. A very unique and special summer is set to begin tomorrow, One none of us have evert experienced. Be ready, be excited, be nervous. You're too young to remember 1966, the hottest (until topped in 2010) and driest met summer in NYC's 155 years of record. Four days of 100+, only 1953 had done that and none since. LGA reached 107 on July 3, NYC a modest 103. The long holiday weekend highs were 100/103/98. (BDL cooled down to 90 on the 4th after 99/102 on 2-3.)

All 3 NNE states set their all-time hottest day in that July, reaching 105-106. Minima in most places on those days suggest modest dews, however.

In Maine, at least where I've worked, "popple" serves for the 3 Populus species: Quaking aspen (P. tremuloides), Bigtooth aspen (P. grandidentata) and Balsam poplar (P. balsamifera). Tulip poplar, aka yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), isn't native to Maine but is occasionally planted. there's one in Farmington 40-45" diameter and 80+ feet tall, on High Street in front of the Octagon House. Tulip tree has soft clear wood, somewhat similar to that of bigtooth aspen, though the latter is lighter in color. Growing up in NNJ, we used "poplar" for any broadleafed tree with soft wood, including basswood. 25 feet? Ginxy is looking for a sawmill with a loooong carriage!

From GYX morning AFD: Monday - Surface warm front pushes through the area as Mid-Atlantic heat doom amplifies northward. A few showers are possible along the warm front along with increased cloud cover and the beginning upward trend in humidity but overall seasonable weather is expected. Tuesday - Quick ramp up in temperatures and humidity as 500mb heights increase to 596 dam along with 850 temps of 26C. This will allow for heat index values to surge into the 90s and the first day that heat headlines might be needed. Wednesday - Thursday things get worse with some impressive 500mb height anomalies over us as the heat dome becomes centered across the NE CONUS. Reforecast Ensemble Means are near record values in all ensemble camps, thus record highs or near record highs have high confidence at Day 6 forecast time frame. In addition the heat will be building with low temps remaining in the 70s, causing unconditioned buildings to have issues. Looks like if excessive heat warnings are needed it will be in this time-frame. "heat doom"? Forecast for Wed-Thurs has New Sharon at 97 both days. Highest we've had since May 1998 here in the woods is 93. Maybe we tie it but 97 is a bridge too far.

SVR-warned storm arrived at 2:30 PM, dumped 0.52" in 20 minutes, with 0.3" in the first 8 minutes. The warning cited 60 mph and quarter-sized hail. Wind was 20 at best and no ice; the bright echoes stayed 2-4 miles to our south, as did 2 smaller storms later in the afternoon. Month precip is 1.20", exactly half the average thru today, but a decent drink for the garden.

It only seems that way - least favorite US major AP for the umpteenth year.