Depending on when you read my blog entry the rain might be long over.  However, as of 7AM some of the heaviest rain of the past 24 hours is pushing through southern Maine.  The rain will shut down rapidly between 11AM and 1 PM  depending on how far north and east you live.  The rain will end in York about 2 hours before it ends in Augusta.   

You might hear the rumble of thunder during this period and it’s going to continue to be very muggy for a couple of hours.  Already the drier air is pushing into western New England where dew points a measure of the moisture in the air are falling under 60F.  Anytime you see the dew point under 60F most of us don’t feel the air is muggy.

Skies are going to start to clear this afternoon and with temperatures in the lower 70s it will be a stark and great contrast the morning.  All outdoor activities should be able to happen without many weather issues after 1PM.  A stray shower could occur, but not any heavy rain.

Sunset today in Porltand (and much of Maine) is 8:01 PM and continues after 8 until August 4^th.  If you are counting, that’s 12 weekends of these long-light days and some of the warmest temperatures of the year.   This is also the time of year the sun is very strong.  Shadows quickly shorten each morning as the sun rises rapidly to reach nearly 70 degrees above the horizon just after 12:30PM.  Solar noon, the time the sun reaches its maximum angle of the day occurs at about 12:41 not noon due to our position in the time zone and day light saving time.

Average temperatures continue to warm towards their late July maximums.  This time of year you can expect readings frequently in the upper 60s and lower 70s, but we have been as warm as 90F on this date back in 1977.  The winter of 1976-1977 was a cold one by the way.

The rest of the weekend looks quite nice.  The word shower isn’t in the forecast tomorrow afternoon because the atmosphere will be stable enough showers should be held at bay.   There is an outside chance of a sprinkle, but 99% of you won’t see any rainfall.  Temperatures will be cool in the mountains reaching the upper 50s to lower 60s.

Winds will be a bit brisk tomorrow and if you are in the shade it will feel cool. The pollen count is going to be low for today, but quickly go back up tomorrow with the wind and the dry air.  Pine pollen is coming out now and you can likely see the yellow film on your car in the morning.  Pine pollen grains are larger than other pollens so we see them.  The pollen of other trees and shrubs is still in the air, but it’s not as large.

I’ll be updating the forecast @growingwisdom on Twitter. Follow @growingwisdom

Much of next week looks seasonably mild and there will be a few opportunities for showers. I don’t see any full days of rain and you will certainly see plenty of sunshine when the showers aren’t occurring.

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