It seems to me that we are experiencing more than our usual share of thunderstorms here in Connecticut this summer. Joe Brumbach's monumental 1965 work, The Climate of Connecticut tells us that most Connecticut thunderstorms occur in the northwest hills. Thunderstorm frequency drops off as one heads south and east towards the Rhode Island shoreline. The reason, ostensibly, is that cool breezes coming off Long Island Sound tend to stabilize the lower atmosphere near the shoreline, reducing the frequency of thunderstorms.
But this summer, the entire state seems to be getting a lot of thunderstorms. Over the past two weeks, it feels like there are storms across the state on an almost daily basis. The atmosphere has been unstable for quite awhile now, and it only takes a little local heating, or a weak cold front moving across the state to set off the fireworks.
So, is it global warming that's giving us all the thunderstorm activity? Who's to say. We've already had temperatures reach 99 degrees this month, far earlier than normal. But early June heat waves are not that uncommon here. I remember a doozy of a heat wave in early June of 1984. But one of the main features of the global warming model is an increase in extremes of weather, and a lot more storminess. I guess we'll just have to wait on this one. The jury is still out.
