At long last, a stretch of sun

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John Vincek, who has a farm on Smith Bridge Road in Wilton, said he needs a nice stretch of sunny, dry weather so he can harvest his hay crop. The third wettest summer on record has made it difficult to get his tractor into the wet, muddy fields.

Vincek is about to get his wish.

A high pressure system from the west will mean clear, sunny weather for the Capital Region during the first week of September, according to the National Weather Service in Albany.

“It gives us a little window of opportunity,” said Vincek, who works his farm in Wilton and land he leases and farms throughout the town.

The weather service reported Tuesday that June, July and August were the third wettest summer months on record in Albany with a total of 18.5 inches of rain. The record wettest summer was set in 1871 with 27.2 inches of rain.

Rainfall in July was more than 6 inches above normal, said Warren Snyder, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He said the 9.91 inches of rain during July in Albany set a record. Rainfall during the month of June was just 1.28 inches above normal, with a total of 5.02 inches of rain that month. Snyder said the rainfall in August was average for the month — 3.58 inches at Albany International Airport.

The summer’s last two major storms, hurricanes Bill and Danny, missed the Capital Region completely but did push more rain than normal into the area, Snyder said.

But the weather until Labor Day promises to give Vincek the break he needs to bring in his hay. Crisp, cool nights down into the 40s and days in the upper 70s to near 80 are predicted for the Capital Region through Labor Day, Sept. 7.

“A large area of high pressure is building across the Great Plains to the Northeast,” Snyder said. “This is drifting slowly east and will stay there [for a period of time].” The general outlook for the next six to 10 days is temperatures above normal and rainfall near or below normal, Snyder said.

Vincek said a period of warm weather during August was excellent for growing corn. Between Aug. 10 and Aug. 26 highs exceeded 80 degrees all but one day and went above 90 degrees on three days. He said the warm days also dry out the hay so it can be harvested.

Snyder said September weather in the Capital Region is sometimes affected by tropical storms and hurricanes off the Atlantic Coast, but at present there are no storms threatening the region.

The first day of September is the start of meteorological autumn, according to George Maglaras, a weather service meteorologist. “It’s a time when the average temperature changes the greatest,” Maglaras said.

The average temperature drops from 68 degrees at the start of September to 55 degrees at the end of the month. The weather service views September, October and November as meteorological autumn. The astronomical or calendar autumn equinox starts Sept. 22 when the sun is directly over the equator.

The weather outlook for September, October and November for the region from the weather service’s Climate Prediction Center is for above average temperatures and equal possibilities of above normal or below normal, precipitation, Snyder said.

The average high temperatures in September will continue to drop through the month, from highs in the upper 70s early in the month to the low 70s in mid-September and to the mid 60s by the end of the month, Snyder said.

Vincek said the wet summer produced an excellent sweet corn crop, but the moisture that was the direct cause of an unusual outbreak of late blight wiped out most of his tomato crop.

He said he did plant a crop of tomatoes inside his greenhouse, keeping the leaves and stalks dry through a special watering system. He said this produced a nice crop not affected by this year’s widespread tomato blight.

“The pumpkins look great, despite the damp conditions,” said Vincek, who has a farm stand on Smith Bridge Road.