As the kids go back to school, the nights begin to get a chill in the air, and days get shorter, that can only mean one thing. Meteorological summer is almost over! :( Well...any summer for that matter, I suppose...but I always think in terms of weather :)
Incase you missed me talking about all of this on the 10pm broadcast on Fox 44 News, I talked about our meteorological summer (what is that, you might wonder...). Meteorological summer includes the months of June, July, and August. No, it does not coincide exactly with the calendar summer, but it is widely accepted in the meteorological and scientific community. These 3 months comprise the summertime in the weather world, and on Saturday, it will be over. boo-hoooooo!
Anyway...this summer has been pretty interesting! It's almost felt more like a summer in the mid Atlantic at times with heat and humidity frequently barging in. I did some number chugging, and found some interesting values!
As of my math today (on the 29th), the average temperature in the Burlington area (average meaning a combination of both daily highs and nighttime lows) was 72.5°. And according to the climate data, that makes this summer the #1 warmest average temperature on record! And with 2 more days of warmth expected to round out the month, there's no doubt we will keep that #1 spot secured. Here are the current ranks (see photo, left):
#1) 72.5° (2012)
#2) 72.2° (1949)
#3) 71.5° (2005)
#4) 71.4° (1995)
Turns out, despite everyone's recent cry for rainfall, this summer has not particularly unusual for precipitation. Yes, while we are low on water these days, we were a far cry from setting any records. See the picture on the left for precip totals from a few of the local airports across our region (which keep accurate weather records on a day to day basis)....
The Burlington area is the only long standing climate location nearby, so we often compare the Burlington numbers to "climate" or "average". These readings are taken by the staff at the National Weather Service at the Burlington International Airport. As I mentioned, no noteable precip tallies this summer. While we have had only about 10" (about 1.6" below average), we are nowhere near the top 10 summers for lowest precipitation. Those numbers start ranks with #10 only having seen 7.26", that was in the year 1924. The driest summer ever recorded had a measly 4.51" of rainfall, that was back in the year 1894!
So we will once again be in the record books for something. Seems like it's happened so much recently!
Get more local climate data here at the NWS Climate Page.
For more seasonal/top 10 ranks, click here.
