Beginning The Long Slide Toward (Ahem) Winter, But In No Hurry

A sign that the season is progressing. The hydrangeas
near my lower deck start out white, and are now turning
pink as we head toward late summer. By autumn,
they'll be a nice russet color. 

 If you look at what are considered average temperatures, we began our slide toward the depths of winter on Friday.  

Don't worry, the National Weather Service will not be issuing winter storm warnings anytime soon.  Heat advisories, maybe, but no winter stuff. 

Still, what is considered the normal average temperature on Friday was 72.5 degrees, down every so slightly from the 73 degree "normal" readings that were the summer peak throughout the middle of July.

Of course, the downward trend will continue - slowly at firs - then more rapidly until it bottoms out in January. 

There's plenty of summer to get through, though. August can be hot, as we know. The weather pattern suggests that for now, we're not going to see much of a cooling trend.

In fact, today might well be the coldest day we'll see in Vermont through mid-August. Not that you're going to freeze. Afternoon highs today will be in the 70s, with the warmest spots maybe touching 80 degrees. 

That's maybe a couple degrees cooler than average, but definitely not autumnal. Tonight will be comfortable, too.  Definitely a nice day, with sun, and some puffy clouds mixed in. And a nice breeze.

Then it heats up.

The dreaded heat dome that's been drifting around the nation all summer is back at it.  The heat this week and weekend is focused on the Pacific Northwest, where dozens upon dozens of new high temperature records have been set. It's also an unusually long heat wave for them, lasting a full week. Which makes the heat especially dangerous. Four heat related deaths have already been reported in Oregon. 

But that heat dome wants to expand and slosh eastward next week. That'll finally cool places like Washington and Oregon down a bit. But the nation's middle will turn torrid again. The expanding heat dome, with an assist from the Bermuda High out in the Atlantic Ocean, will ensure most of the Uniteed States, including Vermont stay toasty for at least the next week or two.  

Luckily, we're far enough north so that occasional weak cold fronts from Canada through mid-month will on some days blunt the heat here. For the next couple of weeks, it looks like some days in Vermont will be hot, other days will be merely warm and a little uncomfortable. For the upcoming week, the hottest days look to be Monday and Thursday. 

Enjoy it while it lasts. Before you know it, you'll be reading about wind chill and winter storm watches in this here blog thingy. .