8/26- Hot to wet

Good Tuesday all- and for my friends in New Haven, happy last day of summer break!

First off, my apologies for not updating yesterday- I simply forgot...oh well.

Today is going to be a real scorcher, with showers and thunderstorms possible late tonight, but they're more likely tomorrow as a cold front moves through the area. Temps will be near 90 on both days, and may well bust the streak of nearly two months of August without a single 90 degree day. Thursday and Friday look fantastic right now, with comfortable temperatures and sunny skies. Sadly, however, Labor Day weekend looks rather horrible right now as a stalled front could lead to three days of rain...of all the times for this to happen, it figures it had to be a long weekend!

In the Atlantic- Hurricane Cristobal is a category 1 storm 610 miles SW of Bermuda, but it is no threat to land (except Bermuda, which is under a Tropical Storm watch). Additionally, there is a wave near the Cape Verde Islands that will probably develop this weekend as it moves through the northern Antillies in about 6 days. While the NHC gives it a 30% chance of developing, it probably is higher but the reason it is there is because of the 5-day prediction limit. Also, a tropical wave that is about to move off Africa could develop in a few days. The next two names on the Atlantic list are Dolly and Edouard.

In the Pacific- Hurricane Marie actually became a category 5 yesterday, the first cat. 5 in either the Atlantic or Pacific in the last four years. In fact, the Atlantic has not had a category 5 since 2007's Hurricane Felix, which means we have now gone nearly 8 years without seeing one in the Atlantic, which is a record. It has, however, weakened to a cat 2, will weaken further, and poses no threat to land. With the death of former Hurricane Karina, the basin is quiet for now.

Today in weather history- August 26, 1976- In a bizarre event, a tornado hits Kiana, Alaska...which is a full 30 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

What really takes the cake, though, is August 26, 1895- Hartford, CT records a trace of SNOW, marking what is by far the earliest snowfall on record in our area. Can you imagine what would have had to happen for this to occur? Geez...