First Alert Weather Extra 4-21-26 segment #1

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[00:00:00]Now, Connecticut's [music] only all-weather show. This is First Alert Weather Extra.

[00:00:07]All right, everyone. Welcome to First Alert Weather Extra. We appreciate you being here. I'm Mary Connolly, joined alongside Chief Meteorologist Mark Dixon and Meteorologist Mike Slafer. And if you were up early this morning, then you know it was very, very cold out.

[00:00:21]>> Oh, I Okay, so normal lows are around 40.

[00:00:24]>> Yeah. Yeah, we were well below >> than that. Yes.

[00:00:26]>> Yes. Yes, it was it was unseasonably [laughter] cold. A little record-tying action for us.

[00:00:31]>> we got to 27°.

[00:00:33]So, a record from 1961.

[00:00:35]We tied that for the Hartford area, but 24 Salisbury, 23 Torrington, 27 Putnam and Tolland, uh 25 in Meriden. And even along the shore, many communities bottoming out just below freezing. 30 New Haven also in Groton. Bridgeport, the low temperature there 33. So, that was near record levels. The record for the Bridgeport area 29. That was set back in 1956. So, again, a tie from 1961 with that low temperature today of 27°.

[00:01:05]Uh here's a look at current readings in the 6:00 hour. Upper 40s, low 50s inland. We officially hit 53 for the Hartford area, right on track with what our forecast was for today. Uh mid and upper 40s along the shoreline. So, uh at times today, some scattered clouds moving through, but otherwise, uh uh a really nice day despite the cold start.

[00:01:23]A nice rebound. If you are heading out and about this evening, certainly jacket weather. Temperatures inland and along the Connecticut coastline are dropping slowly through the 40s, and cloud cover will be increasing.

[00:01:35]Uh that with a little disturbance heading our direction will bring the likelihood for some showers toward and after midnight. And the stage is certainly set for a much milder night relative to last night. Instead of 20s, we're forecasting upper 30s, if not even some lower 40s. So, First Alert Futurecast here over the last 30 minutes, you see some returns uh in eastern New York. Uh little light rain there trying to reach the ground. Uh but as we head again later on tonight, that's when we're going to see a a better chance for some showers here across Connecticut. So, cloud cover increasing as we head toward 11:00, midnight points thereafter. Some showers become likely. Here's 3:00 in the morning. Some shower activity moving across the state. Here's 8:00 in the morning. This is a a brand new run of First Alert Futurecast, which is indicating uh lesser uh coverage and intensity of showers. And at one point, some of our models are trying to highlight in the northern part of Litchfield County and up across the Berkshires, perhaps even in the pre-dawn hours of a few flakes mixing in. This most recent run saying, "Hey, maybe not at all." Uh regardless, by late morning, early afternoon, showers are winding down. But do note how the cloud cover uh lingers all the way through the evening commute. So, tomorrow, Earth Day, the 22nd of April, it's going to be a cool one like today.

[00:02:47]Temperatures running below average, but at least today felt better given the sunshine. Tomorrow, even through the afternoon, we remain cloudy uh with temperatures topping out near 50. So, uh 10 to 12° below average for this time of year. Our next big thing surrounds the uh likelihood of 60° warmth and some brighter, drier weather for Thursday.

[00:03:07]But in the meantime, for much more on Earth Day, continue our team coverage now with Mike Slafer.

[00:03:12]Mark, a lot of events going on tomorrow to celebrate and highlight Earth Day here in our state. Uh we have events from Mystic to Ansonia and into parts of the Litchfield Hills. And uh there are some events that are scheduled for the weekend, as well. Uh Earth Day, we'll give you a quick snapshot of the history and talk a bit about how you can actually get involved. So, Earth Day began uh April 22nd, 1970.

[00:03:35]So, this is going to be the 56th Earth Day that we are going to celebrate. And at the time, this was before the Clean Air Act, before the Clean Water Act. We had issues with uh pollution in our rivers, in our waterways, down into Long Island Sound locally. And other parts of the country especially dealt with a lot of smog. You may have uh know of the infamous smog that was always present in Los Angeles. So, it was time that we did something about this. And uh this was started by a senator uh out of Wisconsin. And uh again, the first Earth Day declared April 22nd, 1970. And the idea behind Earth Day is to bring awareness to pollution and consumption.

[00:04:15]And uh these uh things are are topics that we still discuss now. How can we reduce our pollution? How can we make vehicles more efficient? What's the best way to cut back maybe on things like single-use plastics, straws, bags being uh taken out of our state here in Connecticut, too. And uh this is known as the largest secular holiday in the world. Earth Day, uh at the time of its inauguration, was celebrated by uh uh over 20 million people, about 10% of the uh population here in the uh United States at the time.

[00:04:48]Now, it's celebrated by over a billion people worldwide. And the idea behind Earth Day is that you don't need to travel far. You're thinking globally while acting locally. The small impact uh rather, the small action uh that you have locally has a much larger impact, especially when everybody is working together toward that same common goal.

[00:05:09]So, if you want to get out there and get involved tomorrow, or really, maybe when the weather turns a little bit nicer later this week, uh you can get out there and plant a tree, clean up some litter. There are events involving both across uh parts of the state. Also, uh not a bad idea to think about energy efficiency in your home. Swapping to LED bulbs. In the summertime, using curtains to block out the sunlight. That will keep the temperature of your home cooler, a little bit lower, so you don't have to worry about running the AC as much. And then you can always reduce, reuse, recycle in that order. Best to try to find ways of producing, reuse where you can, and recycle, especially things like plastic, glass, and aluminum. So, enjoy Earth Day tomorrow.

[00:05:48]Mark will tell you a bit more about when you you can finally maybe put that jacket away for a little while. That's coming up a little later in our First Alert Weather Extra. Okay, Mike. Thank you so much. Tonight in Wildlife versus Weather, when you hear this bird, it means spring has really sprung. Jill Jalali has more.

[00:06:03]Well, song sparrows are a familiar and delightful sight during spring, and a bird you'll learn all about in this evening's edition of a Wildlife versus Weather. These small, streaky brown birds with a distinctive dark spot on their chest are year-round residents, meaning they don't migrate far and are among the very first to become active as temperatures warm. Right now, they are fully engaged in breeding season. Males establish and defend territories, often singing from prominent perches, fences, shrubs, or low trees to announce their presence and attract a mate. Their rich, melodious songs are surprisingly complex with multiple phrases repeated in each performance. Song sparrows are open cup nesters. So, that usually means that they build their nests low in dense shrubs, grasses, or small trees. Now, nests are usually made up of grasses, leaves, and plant stems lined with finer materials for comfort. Well, that's lovely. Females take the lead on nest building and incubation, while males defend the territory and provide the food. Their spring diet shifts towards high-protein foods, insects especially, which are essential for egg production and feeding nestlings. They are also opportunistic and will take seeds and grains from feeders, or pick it off the ground that's dropped from the feeder, like at my house you're seeing there. Uh water sources like bird baths are frequently used for drinking and bathing, especially as activity levels rise in the warming spring weather. Now, song sparrows may raise two or even three broods per season. Oh my gosh, I would love to see babies. Uh so, your yard can remain busy with their feeding and singing well into early summer. So, keep an eye out for repeated trips to a specific shrub maybe or tree. These may be clues that a nest may be nearby, along with the adult's persistent singing and territorial displays. So, you want to look for these cuties, the song sparrow, maybe hopping around on your lawn more than anywhere else. And take a moment to really enjoy their sweet, cheerful songs, which is exactly how they earn their name.

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