Let me start this afternoon’s blog by stating how fortunate many of us were in southern Maine this weekend to not be hounded by torrential rain and thunder. You might not be aware that parts of southern New England had close to 6 inches of rain yesterday and there was quite a bit of flooding on the roadways down there.

I’ll be updating the details of the weather on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.

 

While it’s not the best weather right now, the fact is the second half of the week will feel like you might expect in September with cool mornings and low humidity. Our road to that great weather is filled with big puddles, humidity and thunderstorms. There have been scattered storms and heavier showers during the day today as low pressure to our west moves into Canada.

The winds that are carrying these storms are blowing stronger today so we won’t see the rain linger for hours and hours. Nonetheless, if you do experience a shower or thunderstorm rainfall rates could be very intense.

This means some of you could see street and basement flooding. It’s going to remain very damp this afternoon with the tropical air mass firmly entrenched across the area. You could see a few glimpses of sunshine which will only service to help produce a few more showers and storms. I always recommend checking basement sump pumps in these patterns.

After the dry spell of August they should be looked at to be sure they are running smoothly as we go through a period of heavy rains.

The radar image below from the mid-part of the afternoon shows elements of heavier showers rotating northeastward through the area. These storms will tend to die down later this evening as a lull in the action moves in.

Overnight it will be damp and somewhat humid. I am always reluctant to use the air conditioning in September, but I don’t like that damp feeling in the house, even if it’s not too warm. Tomorrow a cold front approaches from the west.

This front marks a huge change in the weather from tropical summer to crisp fall conditions. With such a strong contrast you can be sure more showers and thunderstorms will build and move over us. This means more heavy rain, more potentially flooding and one last somewhat sticky day. Temperatures Tuesday will range from the mid 70s to near 80, but that humidity will continue to drive the discomfort level higher and higher. Tuesday night, as the front pushes eastward drier and more comfortable conditions will move into the area. As the showers end, humidity levels will drop and by morning temperatures will fall to the 50s by morning. Wednesday begins a nice stretch of weather where there will be sunshine during the day with mild temperatures and clear cool conditions at night. Highs will range between 70 and 78 for the balance of the week.

Temperatures should moderate further into the weekend with some humidity making a comeback to the region briefly Saturday, however it doesn’t look to be as prolonged or intense as our latest round. More on the weekend forecast as the week progresses.

Gardening this week Not that long ago I was fortunate to take a trip to Ecuador. The country is very beautiful and known for a wonderful growing climate. In this video I show you some of my visit to a farm that grows roses for markets all over the world. I’ll be updating the details of the weather on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.

Copy the Story Link