Post by altitudelou on Jun 12, 2006 21:12:27 GMT -5
This article from The Conway Daily Sun sums up our local weather here in Maine and New Hampshire pretty well.
6/12/2006
mountwashingtonvalley.com/CDS_Subscriber/LocalNewsSUB.lasso?-database=WWW_CDS_Article&-layout=WEB&-response=Story.lasso&-recordID=12624901&-search
Torrents subside after nearly a foot of rain drenches Conway in past 42 days
David Carkhuff
CONWAY—Keep the umbrellas handy, but pull out the sun screen as well. Like the rest of the state, Conway waded into June, with 4.07 inches of rain recorded locally up until Monday morning. The forecast now calls for sunshine interspersed with sporadic showers.
Sun will bring sighs of relief. Since the beginning of May, nearly a foot — 11.75 inches — of rain doused Conway.
If it's any consolation, forecasters don't predict anything like the relentless, drenching precipitation that made life miserable during the first week and a half of June.
In Conway, May logged 16 days with rain, making it the fourth wettest May in 48 years, according to local weather observer Briggs Bunker. For that same month, Conway received 7.68 inches of rain, about double the 48-year average of 3.83 inches.
June picked up where May left off. In the first week of June, 1.27 inches of rain fell in Conway, and from Thursday, June 8, through Monday morning, another 2.8 inches of rain dampened the town. The daily breakdown for the past four days was 1.01 inches of rain Thursday, June 8; .41 inches Friday; .63 inches Saturday; .74 inches Sunday; and .01 by 10 a.m. Monday morning.
Jim Mansfield, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, said a low-pressure system finally loosened its grip on the region, drifting east across the Canadian Maritimes.
The reason for recent downpours: "We had these tremendous upper level systems more reminiscent of winter," Mansfield said.
Now, more spring-like weather should prevail.
"We have some colder air starting to move aloft, that's creating unstable atmospheric conditions. Any kind of trigger that comes across will lead to clouds and showers," he said.
"We're waiting to see how June pans out, and we're still a long way from the end of the month, and we may have another near-record month," Mansfield cautioned, noting the early bouts with rain.
In Concord, average precipitation for the month of June is 3.1 inches. By comparison, 6.24 inches of rainfall were recorded in just the first 11 days of this month, Mansfield noted. In Portland, average precipitation in June is 3.28 inches, compared to the 7.2 inches of rain that fell in the first 11 days of the month.
For the month of May, Concord recorded 11.09 inches of rain, shattering the previous record of 9.52 inches recorded in 1984, Mansfield said.
In all of New Hampshire, a total of 9.26 inches of precipitation fell in May, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center. This was 5.66 inches more than the 1901-2000 average, making it the second wettest May on record, the center reported. The average temperature in May was 54.9 degrees, 1.6 degrees warmer than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average, the 35th warmest May in 112 years, the center reported.
At Gray, Maine, 8.54 inches of rain fell in May, with the greatest sustained rainfall occurring early in the month, 1.73 inches from May 2-3, according to the National Weather Service. Twenty-two days out of the month brought light rain and five days heavy rain in Gray, according to the weather service.
In the Northeast, the average temperature in May was 56.9 degrees. This was 1.2 degrees warmer than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average, making it the 37th warmest May in 112 years. A total of 4.61 inches of precipitation fell in May. This was 1.05 inches more than the 1901-2000 average, the 24th wettest such month on record, according to the National Climatic Data Center.
In the United States, the average temperature in May 2006 was 63.7 degrees. This was 2.7 degrees warmer than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average, the fifth warmest May in 112 years, the National Climatic Data Center reported. A total of 2.33 inches of precipitation fell in May. This was 0.54 inches less than the 1901-2000 average, making it the 17th driest such month on record.
Despite the recent spate of rain, the Saco River remained well within its banks. On Sunday, June 10, the Saco River at Conway crested at 6.53 feet, well below its 9-foot flood stage. By Monday morning, the river had receded to 5.01 feet, according to the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (www.nws.noaa.gov/ahps).
Assistant editor David Carkhuff can be contacted at david@conwaydailysun.com.
6/12/2006
mountwashingtonvalley.com/CDS_Subscriber/LocalNewsSUB.lasso?-database=WWW_CDS_Article&-layout=WEB&-response=Story.lasso&-recordID=12624901&-search
Torrents subside after nearly a foot of rain drenches Conway in past 42 days
David Carkhuff
CONWAY—Keep the umbrellas handy, but pull out the sun screen as well. Like the rest of the state, Conway waded into June, with 4.07 inches of rain recorded locally up until Monday morning. The forecast now calls for sunshine interspersed with sporadic showers.
Sun will bring sighs of relief. Since the beginning of May, nearly a foot — 11.75 inches — of rain doused Conway.
If it's any consolation, forecasters don't predict anything like the relentless, drenching precipitation that made life miserable during the first week and a half of June.
In Conway, May logged 16 days with rain, making it the fourth wettest May in 48 years, according to local weather observer Briggs Bunker. For that same month, Conway received 7.68 inches of rain, about double the 48-year average of 3.83 inches.
June picked up where May left off. In the first week of June, 1.27 inches of rain fell in Conway, and from Thursday, June 8, through Monday morning, another 2.8 inches of rain dampened the town. The daily breakdown for the past four days was 1.01 inches of rain Thursday, June 8; .41 inches Friday; .63 inches Saturday; .74 inches Sunday; and .01 by 10 a.m. Monday morning.
Jim Mansfield, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, said a low-pressure system finally loosened its grip on the region, drifting east across the Canadian Maritimes.
The reason for recent downpours: "We had these tremendous upper level systems more reminiscent of winter," Mansfield said.
Now, more spring-like weather should prevail.
"We have some colder air starting to move aloft, that's creating unstable atmospheric conditions. Any kind of trigger that comes across will lead to clouds and showers," he said.
"We're waiting to see how June pans out, and we're still a long way from the end of the month, and we may have another near-record month," Mansfield cautioned, noting the early bouts with rain.
In Concord, average precipitation for the month of June is 3.1 inches. By comparison, 6.24 inches of rainfall were recorded in just the first 11 days of this month, Mansfield noted. In Portland, average precipitation in June is 3.28 inches, compared to the 7.2 inches of rain that fell in the first 11 days of the month.
For the month of May, Concord recorded 11.09 inches of rain, shattering the previous record of 9.52 inches recorded in 1984, Mansfield said.
In all of New Hampshire, a total of 9.26 inches of precipitation fell in May, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center. This was 5.66 inches more than the 1901-2000 average, making it the second wettest May on record, the center reported. The average temperature in May was 54.9 degrees, 1.6 degrees warmer than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average, the 35th warmest May in 112 years, the center reported.
At Gray, Maine, 8.54 inches of rain fell in May, with the greatest sustained rainfall occurring early in the month, 1.73 inches from May 2-3, according to the National Weather Service. Twenty-two days out of the month brought light rain and five days heavy rain in Gray, according to the weather service.
In the Northeast, the average temperature in May was 56.9 degrees. This was 1.2 degrees warmer than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average, making it the 37th warmest May in 112 years. A total of 4.61 inches of precipitation fell in May. This was 1.05 inches more than the 1901-2000 average, the 24th wettest such month on record, according to the National Climatic Data Center.
In the United States, the average temperature in May 2006 was 63.7 degrees. This was 2.7 degrees warmer than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average, the fifth warmest May in 112 years, the National Climatic Data Center reported. A total of 2.33 inches of precipitation fell in May. This was 0.54 inches less than the 1901-2000 average, making it the 17th driest such month on record.
Despite the recent spate of rain, the Saco River remained well within its banks. On Sunday, June 10, the Saco River at Conway crested at 6.53 feet, well below its 9-foot flood stage. By Monday morning, the river had receded to 5.01 feet, according to the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (www.nws.noaa.gov/ahps).
Assistant editor David Carkhuff can be contacted at david@conwaydailysun.com.