Community Corner
"In Case You Missed It ... "
Here is Tuesday night's glorious sunset from photographer Donna Johnson Buckley. Also, the weather forecast. And, a reason why you might want to stay up late Saturday night into early Sunday ...
Here is a view of the sunset Tuesday evening, April 16, 2013, from the rocks off of West Wharf Beach in Madison, CT.
Thanks to photographer Donna Johnson Buckley for another beautiful photo!
It was about 55 degrees around 5 a.m. Wednesday, making it feel positively balmy compared to some of the chilly weather we've had lately. It looks like the rest of the week may bring scattered showers, increasing clouds, rain, drizzle, showers and then maybe even some thunderstorms near the end of the week.
But the forecasters are, at this point, calling for it to clear up late Saturday into Sunday night. If so, that'd be great because the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower will take place then, according to the American Meteorological Society: "The Lyrids are a medium strength shower that usually produces good rates for three nights centered on the maximum. These meteors also usually lack persistent trains but can produce fireballs. These meteors are best seen from the northern hemisphere where the radiant is high in the sky at dawn. Activity from this shower can be seen from the southern hemisphere, but at a lower rate."
See below, beneath the forecast, for more information about the Lyrids from Accuweather.
If you do see a fireball, be sure to report it here, and let us know on Madison Patch as well!
Even though the forecasters are calling for the weather to clear, but be sure to check the most recent forecast from the National Weather Service before you go out. And never, ever go out if you hear thunder or have seen lightning within the last half hour. Here is lightning safety information from the National Weather Service.
Here is the extended forecast for the end of the week and beginning of next week from the National Weather Service:
- Wednesday: Scattered showers before 9am. Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 66. North wind 5 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 38. Calm wind.
- Thursday: Increasing clouds, with a high near 56. Light east wind becoming southeast 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Thursday Night: A slight chance of rain or drizzle before 7pm, then a slight chance of showers between 7pm and 1am, then areas of drizzle after 1am. Areas of fog after 1am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. South wind 11 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Friday: Areas of drizzle before 10am, then a chance of showers, mainly after 1pm. Areas of fog before 1pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. South wind 13 to 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Friday Night: A chance of showers, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 10pm. Areas of fog between 7pm and 10pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
- Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely before 10am, then a chance of showers between 10am and 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 33.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 58.
- Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 35.
- Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 57.
- Monday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Tuesday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
AccuWeather meteorologists are monitoring sky cover this week for the viewing possibilities of the Lyrids, the first major meteor shower since early January.
The shower will be visible from April 16 through April 26, peaking during the predawn hours of Sunday, April 21, and Monday, April 22. While the Lyrids average 10 to 20 meteors an hour, AccuWeather's Mark Paquette said there is potential for significantly more.
"It is unpredictable," Paquette said. "Sometimes lyrids have 'surges' which can break up the rate to near 100 per hour."
Paquette explained that the Lyrids, named for their location in the constellation Lyra, are the debris of Comet Thatcher tail when Earth's path crosses through it. The meteors are bits of the tail's comet, usually no bigger than grains of sand, that strike the atmosphere at 49 kilometers a second. As they travel through our atmosphere, they disintegrate as streaks of light, possibly casting a shadow before leaving behind smoke-like trail of debris.
"Lyrid meteors are typically as bright as the stars in the Big Dipper, which is to say, middling brightness, but some are more intense, even brighter than Venus," Paquette said.
The "Lyrid fireballs" originate in the sky near the star Vega, Lyra's brightest star. Predawn hours offer the best view of the meteors as Vega sits nearly overhead. In the evenings the shower sits closer to the horizon, blocking many of them from view. The waxing moon will also light up the sky until after midnight, dimming the sight of the meteors. However, the moon sets before dawn, so its brightness will not hinder the view of the shower when it moves into its peak positional hours.
Most of the country will have clear to partly cloudy skies during the predawn hours on Saturday. A section of the Plains into the upper Northwest, as well as most of the East Coast, will have cloudy skies that will make any sightings difficult for this day.
By Samantha-Rae Tuthill, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer for AccuWeather.com
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