Saturday, May 20, 2023

Strong south winds create tall wave stacks along the shore

Morning Observation:

This morning in North Hero at 6:50AM it’s currently 55 degrees under overcast skies. Winds are out of the south at 8-10 mph. Relative humidity is 80%, dewpoint 49, barometric pressure 30.04”. We picked up 0.03” of rain so far today. Yesterday’s high was 66, and yesterday’s low was 48. The overnight low got down to 53.

This morning in Huntington it’s currently 58 degrees under overcast skies. Winds are calm. Relative humidity is 76%, dewpoint 50, barometric pressure 30.08”. We picked up 0.03” of rain so far today. Yesterday’s high was 73, and yesterday’s low was 39. The overnight low got down to 55.

Forecast Discussion:

Morning radar imagery shows a center of low pressure just west of Lake Erie and a second coastal low just off the coast of Virginia. Rain will be moving into the region from both of these lows, however, as the coastal low tracks northward into New England later today, it will help to slow the approach of the western low setting up a well-defined dry slot over portions of the North Country for much of the day. Western and southern sections are more likely to see rain during the day today while northern sections may be mostly dry with even a break of sunshine tossed in. The two lows are expected to merge over the region later this evening/tonight bringing more widespread rain overnight. Highs today should range from the mid 60s to low 70s. High pressure will build back later Sunday bringing partly too mostly sunny with highs in the low to mid 70s. Another extended period of dry and seasonable conditions is expected through most the upcoming week with the chance of some showers on Wednesday.

3-Day Forecast:

We’ll see mostly cloudy skies today with a 20% chance of showers this morning and again this afternoon. Highs will be near 70 with south winds 10-15 mph. Tonight should be cloudy with showers. Lows will be around 51 with south winds 5-10 mph becoming westerly after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90% with rainfall amounts between 0.25″-0.50″ possible.

Sunday should be mostly sunny with a high near 71 and southwest winds 9-13 mph becoming northwesterly in the afternoon. Sunday night should be partly cloudy and cool with a low around 42 and northwest winds 5-7 mph.

Monday should be sunny with a high near 63 and north winds 5-10 mph. Monday night should be clear and chilly with a low around 40 and north winds around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Almanac:

Last year on this date in Huntington we had a high of 82 and a low of 43. We picked up 0.10″ of rain.
Last year in North Hero we had a high of 69 and a low of 49.

Burlington averages for this date are a low of 49 and a high of 71.
The record low was 30 in 2002 (We had a low of 27 in Huntington).
The record high was 92 in 2021 (we had a high of 90 in Huntington).

The Lake Champlain lake level in Burlington is 97.84′.
The water temperature is 49˚.
Last year’s lake level was at 98.99′. The water temperature was at 54˚.

The Mt. Mansfield snow stake depth is 6″.
The average depth for this date is 16″.

Sky Notes:

Sunrise: 5:20AM
Sunset: 8:17PM
Length of day: 14:57:26
Today will be 2:01 longer than yesterday.

The Moon is a waxing crescent, 1 day old with 1% illumination.
Moonrise: 5:37AM
Moonset: 9:57PM

About Today’s Photo:

Yesterday’s strong south winds made for a rowdy day out on the water with 3″-4″ waves crashing into the shoreline below our camp. Along a steeper section of shoreline to the west, tall wave stacks developed where the energy from incoming waves met the energy of retreating water.

Sony A7II, Sigma 100-400mm lens @ 164mm, ISO 1600, f/14, 1/640″ exposure.