August 2nd is special because it’s the day all of New England sweltered in what is still the hottest day ever recorded. On this date, back in 1975, I was a camper at an overnight camp on the Belgrade lakes. Camp Belgrade would later close, but the memory of that summer is still alive in hundreds of men around the country.

The relevance to my camp experience and the weather is that I was on a canoe trip on an island in the Belgrade’s. I had my weather radio with me and was listening to the overnight low temperature forecast which would remain in the 80s! I was only 11 years old, but I remember thinking how unusual it was to have such warm temperatures at night. Those warm temperatures in the morning would allow the highs that afternoon to reach levels not seen in some cases since 1911!

Chester and New Bedford in Massachusetts would reach 107 degrees on that faithful afternoon and Portland would hit 103 degrees, all these records have stood for the past 40 years. Portland recorded a 100 degree reading again in 2011, the last time that has happened. Back in 1975, Nantucket Island also managed to record its first and only 100 degree reading in the record books. The hottest temperature ever in Maine is 105 degrees. This was set in North Bridgton in the sweltering summer of 1911.

This week we have a bit of heat on Monday, but then it will return to a more seasonable week of temperatures and humidity levels.
This afternoon will be a perfect summer day. High temperatures will rise into the 80s. Humidity levels will remain unnoticeable with dew points in the 50s. This is the final weekend of 8 p.m. hour sunsets until mid-May 2016. We are now losing over 2 minutes of daylight each day and this pace will continue to speed up right through most of September reaching nearly a minute loss by the autumnal equinox.

Tomorrow is hotter day with a southwest flow of more humid air. You’ll notice the added moisture in the atmosphere and along with highs around 90 degrees inland and mid to upper 80s in Portland. East of Rockland readings will remain in the upper 70s. The breeze will help move the air around and keep us from feeling too hot.

A cold front will approach the area Monday night and Tuesday. This front has the potential to bring a line of strong thunderstorms through the area early Tuesday. The timing of the front is critical in determining if we see significant shower activity or just spotty precipitation.

It turns drier and less hot for the middle and end of the workweek with high temperatures quite typical for the first week of August.
Next weekend some of the models have a more significant rain event for much of New England. I would love to see this happen, (in spite of many vacation plans) because we need some rain. July was a dry month and some rainfall is critical for rapidly ripening crops in the area.

Summer rain storms are not the norm and the computer models will likely flip-flop with the forecast over the coming days. I know you might have outdoor plans in the August 8th-9th time frame, stay tuned here and on Twitter @growingwisdom for changes to the forecast.

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