June or October?
Yesterday’s highs approached, and in some cases surpassed, the 80 degree mark yet again. Logan reached 81 degrees, nearly tying its record of 83 set in 1979. In fact, October to date has averaged more than 5 degrees above normal. Yesterday’s warm readings were typical of late June; our average highs should be near 60°F for late October, with average lows in the mid 40s°F. You can thank the unusual warmth of late on a persistent high pressure pattern that has been advecting the warm air into the Northeast. The warm air advection will be suppressed today by the passage of a cold front, bringing us a period of showers late this afternoon and evening. Expect the rest of the week to be more seasonable and pleasant. Our next chance of rain comes this weekend as a slow-moving system currently in the southern Plains moves our way.
Shorts (left)
It was the longest-running and most successful show in the Bronx in decades, running from 1996 through 2007 and stretching into October every season. By the end, it was playing to sold-out crowds almost nightly, and there were moments of magic that may never be repeated.
Shorts (right)
James D. Watson, who shared the 1962 Nobel prize for deciphering the double-helix of DNA, apologized “unreservedly” on Thursday for comments reported this week suggesting that black people, overall, are not as intelligent as whites.
Presidential Veto Stands; Child Health Insurance Fails in House
The House on Thursday upheld President Bush’s veto of a bill to provide health insurance to 10 million children, but Democrats vowed to send it back to him next month, with minor changes, in the belief that they could ultimately prevail.
Returning Opposition Leader Met With Bombs in Pakistan
Two bombs exploded Thursday just seconds apart and feet from a truck carrying the returning opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, narrowly missing her but killing scores of people and bloodying a triumphal homecoming after eight years in exile.
Contractors Injure Three Iraqis Protecting American Employees
A man lost his eye and two other people were wounded when private security contractors fired into a crowded taxi as it approached their convoy of sport utility vehicles in northern Iraq on Thursday.
Deadly Staph Infections Prompt Concern in American Classrooms
When the football players here at Sherwood High School were not getting the message about washing their uniforms and using only their own jerseys, the school nurse paid a surprise visit to the locker room.
Nominee for Attorney General Faces Difficult Questions on Interrogations
President Bush’s nominee for attorney general, Michael B. Mukasey, declined Thursday to say if he considered harsh interrogation techniques like waterboarding, which simulates drowning, to constitute torture or to be illegal if used on terrorism suspects.
October Never Felt So Good
Just when you thought fall had arrived in the form of cool daytime temperatures and downright chilly nights, the thermostat is getting bumped up again. To recap, this month started off very much above normal, followed by a period of nearly normal highs and lows. Now a second surge of warmth looks to cement October 2007 as quite an anomalously warm time in Boston. Specific to the next several days, a southerly wind flow will bring our weather from the warm southeast United States, an area that has been baked dry this year. Speaking generally though, there is just not much cool air available in any direction right now. Air coming straight from Canada the last week or so has only served to cool temperatures to climatologically average levels. Looking even farther north, temperatures are running about 10 degrees above average in regions like Alaska.
Shorts (right)
The two pro-Western political parties in Ukraine that united in triumph in the Orange Revolution of 2004, but then quarreled and lost control of Parliament, reached a coalition agreement on Monday to retake power.
Turkey Seeks Approval to Raid Iraq to Pursue Kurdish Rebels
Tensions mounted along the Iraqi-Turkish border on Monday as the Turkish government sought parliamentary approval for military raids into northern Iraq. The vote in Parliament would permit Turkish armed forces to cross the border in pursuit of Kurdish rebels who launch attacks into Turkey from Iraqi Kurdistan.
Sunny Skies and Fall Foliage
Will today’s sunny skies help produce intense colors for the autumn leaves? Or is it the cold temperatures and the soil moisture that matter? While there is still some debate in the scientific community on the exact details, it seems to be a combination of the three. Cool temperatures (but not below freezing) and lots of sunlight in the preceding weeks help to kill the chlorophyll and setup the formation of anthocyanins, which create the sharp red and purplish colors our eyes are accustomed to seeing. Obviously, plenty of soil moisture will keep the tree “healthy” and help it hold onto its leaves. So with our somewhat rainy summer, sunny Septembers (climatologically the sunniest month of the year for Boston) and a rapid transition to cooler temperatures, the color intensity of our autumn leaves is one of the best in the world.
Shorts (left)
Chinese President Hu Jintao promised to address social fissures, a degraded environment and rampant corruption during his second term as China’s top leader, but he all but ruled out more than cosmetic political reform in his opening address on Monday at the ruling Communist Party’s 17th National Congress.
Citigroup’s Dramatic Profit Decline Surprises Chairman
Citigroup, the global banking giant, said Monday that third-quarter profit dropped 57 percent after it faced heavy blows to its fixed-income and consumer businesses.
Cuban Immigrants Go Through Mexico, Avoid U.S. Coast Guard
Cubans are migrating to the United States in the greatest numbers in over a decade, and for most of them the new way to get north is first to head west –to Mexico – in a convoluted route that avoids the U.S. Coast Guard.
No Child Left Behind Law Up for Renewal, Prescribing Harsh Rules
As the director of high schools in the gang-infested neighborhoods of East Los Angeles, Guadalupe Paramo struggles every day with educational dysfunction.
Shiites Grow Disillusioned With Baghdad’s Local Mahdi Militia
In a number of Shiite neighborhoods across Baghdad, residents are beginning to turn away from the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia they once saw as their only protector against Sunni militants. Now they resent it as a band of street thugs without ideology.
Turkey Angry Over Congress’ Vote on Armenian Genocide
Turkey reacted angrily Thursday to a House committee vote in Washington to condemn the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey during World War I as genocide, recalling its ambassador from Washington and threatening to withdraw its support for the Iraq war.
Shorts (left)
Last November, immigration officials began a crackdown at Smithfield Foods’ giant slaughterhouse here, eventually arresting 21 illegal immigrants at the plant and rousting others from their trailers in the middle of the night.
Shorts (right)
There are bagels and fruit in the morning, sandwiches at lunch, fresh cookies in the afternoon and an occasional restaurant dinner, but many of the doctors who routinely accept these goodies from pharmaceutical sales representatives say they meet with sales people for the educational messages they bring, not the food.