Heat records keep falling

This view from Stratford Point could have been anywhere on the Connecticut coast in the past week.

Fog has been a constant because of the extremely warm temperatures over the still cold water. Plants are one to two months ahead of normal development in many areas, spelling disaster for many forms of life that depend on them sticking to schedule. We detailed how this affects vernal pools and their life and will write more on the science of what is occurring this spring soon.

For now, here are those temperature updates, deviations from long-term averages at these climate stations (in degrees Fahrenheit, via the National Weather Service):

Bridgeport
November: +4.3
December: +5.7
January: +5.6
February: +6.3
March (through the 23rd): +9.4

Hartford
November: +3.9
December: +5.9
January: +5.5
February: +6.0
March (through the 23rd): +11.4

I am almost speechless with that 11.4 - really?! Yes, really! A high of 83 degrees on the 22nd pushed the Hartford area to 36 degrees above the average high of 47. It correlates well to the unprecedented acceleration in growth showing us how important temperature and sunshine are for in comparison to total amount of precipitation. It is going to cool down in the near future to only slightly above average temperatures, and we'll have to wait and see how long that lasts.


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician


All photos © Scott Kruitbosch and not to be reproduced without explicit permission