I confess.  I turned on the air conditioning again yesterday.  I was hoping I was done for the year, but indeed it was just too warm in the house and too humid to really be comfortable.  It’s fortunate to have these modern conveniences, but one wouldn’t expect such a long stretch of humidity and warmth this time of year.

Augusta reached a whopping 87 degrees Sunday, breaking their old record of 85.   Concord, New Hampshire, hit a sizzling 91 for a new daily record as well.  As I write this Monday morning, many areas aren’t much below their normal highs and the sun hasn’t come up yet.

More records could fall today, the coast will be the coolest, but even there it will be a great September beach day.  Portland’s record high for September 25th is 88, set back in 1970.  But that kind of late heat is virtually meaningless to predict the winter, in case you were wondering. That winter (1970-71) was the snowiest on record in the city.

Temperatures this afternoon will be warmest farthest away from the coast and in the lower elevations.

A few spots around the Augusta to Bangor region might nudge 90 this afternoon, this will be the warmest day of this stretch and likely the warmest we’ll experience until next spring and summer.   As we get into October, the lower sun angle makes it quite difficult to achieve high temperatures like these.

HIGH PRESSURE CONTROL

High-pressure weather systems usually bring dry air.  In this week’s case the air is also warm.  This high is deflecting any tropical weather away from the East Coast and a big part of the reason Maria isn’t a big concern.

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High pressure is preventing tropical systems from reaching the East Coast.

Seas may become rough later this week as hurricane Maria passes well east and south of New England.  Unlike Jose, this storm will move away faster and not bring a prolonged period of rough surf or beach erosion, it’s just too far away.

SHOWERS POSSIBLE, THEN COOLER

When does this unusual pattern break?  On Wednesday evening a cold front will get close enough to introduce showers in the forecast.  This will be the beginning of the end of this warm and muggy weather.  This won’t be a widespread rain event, although that’s something I’d like to see after the late-season heat. Plants don’t want to go into fall with dry ground.  As the showers end, humidity will fall Thursday and then it’s time to enjoy fall temperatures and crisp air with low dewpoints.

Upcoming weekend highs will be in the 60s and lows in the 40s – more what we’d expect for what will be October 1st this Sunday.

You can follow my updates here and on Twitter @growingwisdom.

 


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