Weather: Nice Stretch Ahead!
By Geoff Bansen
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Break out the shades, you're going to need them! Bright sunshine will take over the Delaware Valley for the next several days as high pressure settles in. The humidity will also take a hike and highs will be warm and comfortable in the low 80s. These conditions are expected to continue into the weekend. There may be a few more clouds later Saturday into early Sunday as a disturbance passes to the south, but the region will likely stay dry.
You may also want to keep an eye to the sky this weekend ... at night, that is. The Perseid Meteor shower will be in full force starting Sunday night and lasting through early next week. This event is typically easy to view because it produces 40-50 of meteors each hour. Just before they are set to peak this time, however, viewing will be limited by another amazing astronomical event: the second and largest of three supermoons this summer. It is called a supermoon because it will be full at perigee, or the point when the Moon is closest to the Earth in it's monthly orbit. This occurs at 1:44PM on Sunday, August 10th. At its closest point the Moon will be fewer than 222,000 miles away and appear 14% larger and 30% brighter. It will be full at 2:09 p.m. on Sunday.
In the central Pacific, we are still tracking Hurricanes Iselle and Julio. Iselle is now expected to remain a category 1 storm and make a landfall on the Big Island of Hawaii, which would make it the first hurricane to directly hit the state since 1992. Flooding rains are the biggest concern, as the mountainous terrain of the Hawaiian Islands makes for very poor drainage. Hurricane and tropical storm warnings are up for most of the islands. Thankfully, Julio is expected to curve to the northwest of Hawaii, so direct impacts are unlikely.
Today's Highs:
Philly -- 85
Shore -- 81
Poconos -- 75
On This Date In Weather History:
1918 -- Philadelphia established an all-time (and August) record high with a reading of 106 degrees, since official records began in 1870. NYC (Central Park) also set an August record of 104. Afternoon highs of 108 degrees at Flemington and Somerville, NJ, established state records for the month of August.
