Sunset Watchin' Weather

grand ferry by i'mjustsayin on Flickr

Today is going to be a very, very pleasant summer day. Sunny, dry and mild with a high right around the normal of 84. A few clouds may move in this evening, which would be a shame as it's time for the second Manhattanhenge of the year. Well, Manhattanhenge proper isn't until tomorrow night, but tonight will be almost as good! The full ball of the sun will be on the horizon at 8:24 this evening at an azimuth of 300 degrees, which is parallel to the street grids of Manhattan. For the last 10-15 minutes of daylight every east-west street on the Manhattan grid will be fully bathed in sunlight. Tomorrow night, which should also be clear, will be the true Manhattanhenge, when half the sun's disk will be parallel to the streets as it sets. Can't make it either night? There's a Nova ScienceNOW video with Neil deGrasse Tyson explaining Manhattanhenge to a somewhat startled bystander.

Except for the south facing beaches, tomorrow will be a couple degrees warmer across the city. Highs are expected to be in the mid- to upper-80s. Along the shore a sea breeze will keep the maximum down to the lower 80s. If you head out to the beach beware of the rip current. Hurricane Bertha may be far away but swells from the storm may kick up rip currents this weekend, especially along the Jersey shore.

More sunny and seasonable weather is expected on Sunday. By that time though the humidity will have returned. Showers and thunderstorms are a possibility late Sunday and into Monday.