Trip Recap

Happy Monday!

I apologize for the lack of posting over the past few weeks, and I will try to get back on a more regular schedule over the next few days (though I may not be posting every single day).

I visited Nantucket, MA with one of my friends, and it was a nice change from the monotony of being at home for the last few months. During the hot summer months, many like to flock to island or coastal destinations to escape the heat of inland areas that arises due to the ocean effect (see my June 26 post on the Ocean Effect). A quick glance at some climate data from Wikipedia shows that temperatures remain much cooler on Nantucket than they do in CT at Bradley International Airport during the summer months.

Nantucket, MA climate normals (Wikipedia)

Notice that the July daily mean temperature for Nantucket is 68.6 °F, while at Bradley (an inland area) it is 73.6 °F. That 5 degree difference can be very noticeable during the summer, making coastal areas in New England attractive places to visit.

Hartford, CT climate normals (Wikipedia)

We had a lucky week weather-wise, with no precipitation and sunny skies every day except Monday. A phenomena that typically occurs on islands or coastal areas like Nantucket is a morning fog that makes way for sunny skies, and this occurred every day. Here's a view from Children's Beach right near the center of town, and this photo was taken at around 7:30 a.m.

Morning Fog at Children's Beach

Each day, though, the fog cleared out and we were lucky to have spectacular sunny skies. The humidity increased throughout the week, but temperatures were quite pleasant throughout.

Sunny skies on a preservation

On one day, at Cisco Beach on the south side of the island, the beach was completely engulfed in an afternoon haze, while the north side of the island (where the town is) was completely clear.

Cisco Beach Haze

Of course, we had to catch the sun setting over the Atlantic Ocean, and we did this at Brandt Point on the north part of the island. Given that the summer solstice occurred on the day that we left Nantucket, sunset was quite late (around 8:15 p.m.) while the sun rose just after 5 a.m.

Sunset from Brandt Point

Overall, it was nice to have some time to relax in the sun and a change of scenery for the week. I had never been to Nantucket before, so it was nice to check out a new part of New England.

Thanks for reading, and I'll try to get back into more of a regular schedule posting about weather and climate in New England this week!