Summer Under the Stars - Katharine Hepburn on TCM! AKA 1938 Hurricane Survivor!

Summer Under the Stars is an awesome program that Turner Classic Movies channel runs in August every year. Each day they feature a 24 hour movie marathon for a different actor or actress from the past. Every year they show films of great actors and actresses like Bogart, Carey Grant, Bette Davis or Joan Crawford. However, my favorite day is always Katharine Hepburn day, which falls on August 7th this year (2015). 

Katharine Hepburn is one of my favorite actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood. I also like her because she is a Connecticut native, born in Hartford but raised at her family's summer retreat in Old Saybrook, CT where the Connecticut River meets Long Island Sound. I find her hilarious in her films Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story, as well as all films she starred in with Spencer Tracey, who she had a long term affair with! 

So you might be wondering why I'm talking about Katharine Hepburn, classic movies and Summer Under the Stars on a weather blog...Well, one of the other reasons I love Katharine Hepburn so much is that she survived the same hurricane that my grandmother lived through. She was in Old Saybrook on the day of the infamous Great New England Hurricane of 1938, aka The Long Island express. She had even gone swimming in Long Island Sound that very morning. Her waterfront home was destroyed by the storm and she barely got out alive but a hurricane was no match for a strong woman like Katharine Hepburn! Although her house was destroyed, she showed up the next day to start cleaning up the destruction and even posed for a few publicity photos. Check them out on my hub! 

Check out the rest of the photos and the story at my article on Hubpages titled: "Katharine Hepburn, the Hollywood Legend and Hurricane Survivor"

Mammatus Clouds in Connecticut!

There was a severe weather event in Connecticut yesterday, June 23rd 2015. The worst of the weather was just inland from coastal Connecticut (most likely due to a seabreeze!) where towns of Wallingford and North Haven Connecticut were hit by multiple microbursts as confirmed by the National Weather Service. In those towns, winds reached upwards of 95 mph as air sank from the thunderstorms to the ground and spread out, toppling trees and damaging property. 

Where I live, we just saw some cool clouds, a few gusts of wind and a couple lightning bolts. Nothing too impressive, at least until sunset. As the storms began to move past us and the sun began to set, I was treated to an AMAZING display of nature's beauty. 

It all began as a strange yellow glow coming through the windows. As I stepped outside and looked around, I almost couldn't believe what was right outside my front porch...Mammatus Clouds! 

Mammatus clouds are a type of cloud that forms following a severe weather event, like tornadoes. These clouds look like little bubbles underneath the clouds and are formed as the thunderstorms weaken. As the storms weaken, downdrafts and updrafts mix together to form the udder (yes, like a cow udder) like structure to the base of the clouds. They are often seen in midwestern states but aren't as common here in the north east. 

Check out the photos I took below of the Mammatus clouds in Connecticut. I also took some great photos of the amazing sky at sunset too! 

All photos were taken by me in Milford, CT. 

Severe Thunderstorm Watch Issued 6/23/15

The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for all of Connecticut untill 4 pm est. It looks like the chance of storms is increasing since the sun is staying out longer than expected, allowing temps to rise into the 80's already with dewpoints up into the 70's! It's definitely muggy enough for a severe thunderstorm!

Tornado Risk in Connecticut! 6/23/15

An enhanced risk of severe weather as well as a 5% chance of tornadoes has been issued by the National Weather Service for Connecicut today ( June 23, 2015). This type of severe weather setup usually only happens a handful of times a year in out area of New England.

Connecticut does typically see a few tornadoes a year, normally in June and July. 

Below is the tornado risk map issued by the NWS. 

Sound Effect Snow? 12-11-14

After the surprise Ocean Effect Snow in New Jersey the other day and talking about how unusual it was, another unusual event happened today! This time it was sound effect snow from Long Island sound. 

As this week's nor'easter slowed down and te upper level low caught up to it, we have seen the cold air and moisture wrap all the way around the storm. Even to one point where it was raining in Maine but snowing ins Philadelphia!!!! Crazy! 

As this storm has sat and spun over us, the winds have shifted from the north east to the west and even south west. Usually this wind direction brigs warmer and drier air but being stuck under the trough of low pressure, with all layers of the atmosphere being close to or bellow freezing, there's been NO warming. 

With this south west wind, cold air and relatively warm Long Island Sound, a very faint snow band formed over the sound north into Massachusetts. The wind direction was perfectly aligned with the length of Long Island sound, creating enough fetch and warm water to form the snow showers and flurries. 

I've circled the sound effect snow band on the radar image below. It's faint compared to the ocean effect snow from earlier this week and nothing compared to the Buffalo lake effect storm from November 2014 but it's still very interesting!

One Year Anniversary of Hurricane Irene!

Check out the following links for photos from Hurricane Irene's landfall a year ago today August 28, 2011.  All the photos were taken by me in Milford, CT! 

Latest link is my contribution to WxEdge.com a social weather site about Connecticut weather. 

Irene Pummels the Coastline: Milford, CT 8/28/11 

 

 

The next few links are photos I placed on the website Hubpages.com on August 28, 2011 because i was lucky enough not to lose power!!!

 

 

Hurricane Irene Slams the Connecticut Coast! Photos!

 

Hurricane Irene Slams Connecticut More Photos!

 

More Photos of Hurricane Irene in Milford, CT

 

Devestation along the Connecticut Coast- More of Hurricane Irene's Impacts through Photos

 

and finally a comparison to the last storm to hit the same area:

 

Hurricane Irene vs Hurricane Gloria: a Photo Comparison