Weather in the Foothills

“We are in midsummer; the sun is in full power, and at noon all
nature is silent under his spell … Glancing across the plain, you see the rarefied and glimmering air ascending from the heated earth.”

~Eliza Cook’s Journal, 1850

No fireworks on the 4th of July … The beaches are closed … Picnics and other social gatherings are discouraged. And not a single note of “The Star Spangled Banner” will drift into the summer night from the Hollywood Bowl. Most concerning, of course, are the devastating and far-reaching effects of COVID19. Fourth of July 2020 will be one for the history books, no doubt.

Fortunately, the weather is cooperating and not causing undue hardship during these difficult days. In fact, quite the contrary could be said. May and June were without their usual “grey” and “gloom.” These first days of July are, so far, without fault as well. Typical for this time of year, night through morning foggy low clouds will reach into the valleys (including CV) through tomorrow (Friday.) Over the weekend, these conditions will be limited to coastal areas. Temperatures will then be on the rise as an area of high pressure settles in. Do you want to know, firsthand, just how hot the temperature may be? Get a thermometer!

The earliest thermometers or thermal instruments were developed during the 16th and 17th centuries. These simple instruments were constructed to trap air in glass tubes with the open end of the tube submersed in a reservoir of water. These open thermometers were termed thermoscopes. In 1610, Galileo used wine instead of water and was one of the first to use an alcohol thermometer. While it is sometimes claimed that Galileo was the inventor of the thermometer, what he actually produced was a thermoscope. He did discover that glass spheres filled with alcohol of different densities would rise and fall with changing temperature.

Upper air observations began as early as 1749 in Europe with the use of a kite to carry aloft a thermometer. A few years later, in the American Colonies Ben Franklin conducted a very dangerous experiment by flying a kite near a thunderstorm to demonstrate the electrical nature of lightning. With the invention of hot air and hydrogen balloons in France in the early 1780s, scientists ascended taking with them barometers, thermometers and other instrumentation to investigate weather.

Fourth of July weekend and into early next week, highs are forecast five to 10 degrees above normal. The combination of these weather conditions and illegal fireworks are disastrous.

Celebrate America’s 244th birthday safely!

 

Sue Kilpatrick is a Crescenta Valley
resident and Official Skywarn Spotter for the
National Weather Service Reach her at suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.