I don't know about your feelings, but this month of October has been a very dark month - especially during the early mornings. We have had rain on twice the normal number of days, and because Standard Time does not begin until this weekend, the mornings have been even dangerously dark. In the past, Standard Time began at the start of October. But now, it gets underway this coming weekend - the end of October. Children on the way to school have to contend with night-like darkness. Joggers and walkers have to keep their guard up. I'm ready to fall back. How about you?

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I've gotten a bunch of emails concerning an outbreak of ladybugs across the state. With thanks to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, here's what's happening.

Asian lady beetle. (Photo Courtesy: Bruce Marlin)

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The sight of the first snow was something not everyone was exactly happy to see, but it did not set any statewide records for early snow. Windsor Locks did set a record for the day with an official "Trace," but the real prize goes to something that occurred back in 1987 on Oct. 4. Remember that one?

That storm was a surprise, too, but it delivered one to two feet of accumulation in western Connecticut. Most of the snow fell from Ridgefield northward. Hardly a tree remained standing without some damage. One of the greatest power outages in the history of the state occurred then.

In a matter of a couple of days, the snow was gone but the power outages lingered. One person died when a snow-ladened branch fell upon a car. It was a storm for the books.

If you're a boater or fisherman, or live along the shore, you most likely keep an eye on the tides. We've got a page for that. We've relaunched our online Tide Tables.

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I have begun the Dr. Mel book tour, and I have had the chance to meet a lot of wonderful people coming out to the book signings. We had a packed house at RJ Julia, and at Written Words in Shelton.

I am hoping for the same this weekend. On Saturday, I will be at Barnes and Noble in North Haven at 1:00 pm, and on Sunday, I will be at Barnes and Noble in Waterbury at 2:00 pm. All profits for the book go to cancer research, specifically multiple myeloma.

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Now that Hurricane "Bill" just brushed eastern New England. What about Danny? A disturbed area near the Carribean Islands shows some promise of development, and yet another is trying off the African coast for late next week. El Nino aside, hurricanes do have minds of their own. They are tough to predict, What do you think-are we getting better at it?

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Dr. Mel was one happy camper walking into the newsroom this morning. He just received a box of copies of his second book "Dr. Mel's Connecticut Climate Book."

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Weather Lore, the wisdom of the weather ages says "July, standby; August, look out you must; September, remember; and, October, all over." Right now, we are in the heart of the hurricane season, and look out, we must - even during an El Nino year. Over the next few days "Ana" will be taking shape, and at this point, it is anyone's guess where the storm will go. It has been a busy summer, and there is no reason why the hurricane season will pass us completely by. But these are rare systems. Do you remember the last big hurricane? It has been awhile.

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