“Tis moonlight summer moonlight, all soft and still and fair.”
— Emily Bronte

Summer has arrived … right on time June 21 at 4:28 a.m. Looking outside on the morning of the beginning of this new season the valley and foothills were blanketed with fog. If one were not familiar with this area they could easily think rain and cool weather would be expected for the day. No, this was not the case, as by early afternoon the skies were blue and the temperatures were in the low 80s. The rest of the week has continued in this pattern, with the exception of less morning fog.  Nighttime temperatures have been around 60 degrees. This year spring and so far summer have been cooler than average. The scientific evidence I use, among (possibly) more accurate ones, is last year our pool was warm enough to use by the end of May. Not so this year! June 30 brings us to the end of the rain season. The total rainfall for the C.V. area was approximately 28.79 inches. Our average rainfall is 23 inches. The new rain season starts July 1. Keep the umbrella in the closet!
So, what do we have to look forward to in the upcoming week? Well, there will a full moon on June 26. Not quite exciting enough, how about a partial lunar eclipse? If you plan to be in Hawaii you will view a total eclipse. Here on the west coast a partial eclipse will occur around 4:00 a.m. and end after sunrise. Here is an Astronomy 101 lunar eclipse definition: Moon passes behind the Earth, blocking the sun’s rays from striking the Moon. At this time the Sun, Earth and Moon are in alignment or close to, with the Earth in the middle. No fog allowed!
Not feeling scientific or inclined to get up early? Here is a fun bit of trivia. The name for the full Moon in England is the Rose Moon. The Native Americans called it the Strawberry Moon. Perfect names! I almost forgot – the weather for the next week will be the same … perfect!

Sue Kilpatrick is a longtime CV resident and amateur weather watcher. Reach her at suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.

  crescenta valley, weather