No Rain Expected For Rest Of Month, May Hurt Fall Foliage
BOSTON (CBS) -- It is hard to beat September weather in New England.
Typically, the summer humidity is on its way out. The thunderstorms are much less numerous. The first hint of fall arrives with the deep blue sky by day and cool, crisp air at night. The ocean water temperatures are near their maximum so those final beach days can be quite enjoyable. The only real September weather concern in these parts would be from the tropics, and thanks to El Nino, this year is remarkably quiet for hurricanes.
This September is living up to the hype and then some. Just a little more than halfway through the month, Boston is averaging 5 degrees above average per day. In fact, we are on pace for what could be a top five warmest September ever recorded in Boston.
Our average temperature right now is 72.3 degrees, nearly 2 degrees above the warmest September on record (70.6 in 1983). Now, of course this year's numbers are skewed a bit when you consider temperatures typically fall off towards the end of the month. But it would take a dramatic cool down to reverse the trend at this point.
Sunshine has also been abundant this month. There have been just four days with significant cloud cover and rainfall. Amazingly, nine of the first 17 days have featured nearly totally cloudless skies.
Looking ahead, many reliable weather models have New England completely dry for the remainder of September. Not to be a Debbie Downer, but we could use some rain. Currently, most areas are somewhere between 3-to-6 inches below normal rainfall levels for the year, with most of the deficit coming from a very dry July and August.
The National Drought Monitor places a good portion of southern New England in the "abnormally dry" category, just shy of the "moderate drought" level. You likely have noticed the low water levels at many of our lakes and streams, but the good news is our main reservoirs are actually at fairly normal levels, between 91-to-93 percent.
One other "casualty" of this warm and dry September weather is the foliage.
Our best foliage seasons come when we have ample moisture in the growing season, followed by a sunny fall with cool but not cold nights. The concern this year is that the abnormally dry stretch may cause some leaves to fall before changing color, and the lack of cool, crisp nights may suppress some of the real vibrant foliage colors.
But enough about drought and poor foliage, I say let's enjoy it while we got it. Our days are numbered. We already have likely seen our last 90-degree day for the year and before long we will be saying goodbye to the 80's as well.
I think we can all appreciate the beauty of fall, the apple picking, the pumpkins, the crisp-feel, but in my humble opinion, there is no need to rush it. Not after last winter. Soak up the sun. Nothing wrong with sipping a pumpkin latte on the beach.
Follow Terry on Twitter @TerryWBZ
