LibertyBell

Yes 2010 really stands out on these color coded charts Don. Don, is there a way to rank summers like we rank winters aka the WSI? If so I'd like to rank summers in terms of extreme temperatures, duration of heatwaves, highest average temperature, highest mins, highest dewpoints, etc. Is there some way to factor in all the dimensions and derive a list of the top 10 summers that excel in all categories? Just based on intuition and my memory of the data I'd like to enter my top 10 in chronological order: Let's start with 1944 since that really stood out from that era. 1. 1944 2. 1948 3. 1949 4. 1953 5. 1955 6. 1966 7. 1977 8. 1983 9. 1993 10. 2010 If it wasn't confined to just 10 I would have added a few more-- 1980, 1988, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2005 Maybe we should do a Top 20 instead lol

Thanks Don, it looks like the 1948-1949 period was the hottest until 1983-84 and then 2010 which really stands out. Since then, hotter periods are happening more often although not to the extreme level of 2010. Don, is there any way to ascertain if 1944 would have been hotter than the 1948-49 period even though there were no instruments there in 1944? Did Newark or LaGuardia have data going back to 1944? I know Central Park does, I think they were hotter in 1944.

It's true but at the same time rclab, most of us had not seen triple digit temperatures between 2013 and 2025. This is the first time I've seen triple digit temperatures since 2013. And the same is true of Philly, NYC, JFK and PHL were all at record long 100+ degree temperature droughts. Our shortest gap between triple digit temperatures actually happened between the 1940s and 1960s, since then the return period between triple digit temperatures has been widening, with the gap between 2013 and 2025 the longest to date.

Don this matches my experience of 1983 and 2010 being the two hottest summers of my lifetime. I see Central Park was extremely hot in 1966 too (as was JFK). Can you extend this further back to the beginning of the climate history of JFK which is 1948 (I wish it was 1944 lol). I know 1949 and some of those 1950s summers were all extremely hot.

Yes, the hotter places are hot as usual, not so hot for the rest of us. I finally made it to 90 today for the first time this week. It's not warm at night either, I turn off my a/c in the middle of the night. I know New Jersey has a radically different climate from the rest of us (in the winter and the summer) but for us the 1990s and 2010s (at least the first half) were much hotter. This decade the extreme heat is confined to areas away from the coast (except for that late June heatwave.) For us climate change is much more about higher humidity than it is higher summertime temperatures.

matched you with a 90 here at 3 pm

Yes it's warmer but not necessarily hotter (as in more extremely hot.)

Looks like it wont be as sunny as earlier thought, at least tomorrow and Saturday, Don? Onshore flow?

it hit 90 here today at 3 pm

The longer nights do make it cool down more than it did in June and July though. I don't keep my a/c on all night like I did in those months. That said, it came back on at 11 am today, it's really humid even without any sun.

Yep, my a/c was turned back on at 11 AM and there isn't even any sun today. On Monday I didn't turn it on until 4 PM.

not really lol

wow lots of historic heat in extremely hot summers on this date 1933: Bakersfield, CA reached 117° to set their all-time record for August. Hanford reached 115° for the second day in a row, tying their all-time August high temperature record. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) 1936 - Temperatures across much of eastern Kansas soared above 110 degrees. Kansas City MO hit an all-time record high of 113 degrees. It was one of sixteen consecutive days of 100 degree heat for Kansas City. During that summer there were a record 53 days of 100 degree heat, and during the three summer months Kansas City received just 1.12 inches of rain. (The Kansas City Weather Almanac) 1980: National Airport had a 98° high temperature today the last of 21 consecutive days of 90°F or more. (Ref. Washington Weather Records - KDCA) The temperature reached the century mark for the 53rd time in Dallas, TX, establishing the all-time record for 100 degree plus days in a year. (Ref. AccWeather Weather History) 1988 - Eighteen cities in the northeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, and the water temperature at Lake Erie reached a record 80 degrees. Portland ME reported a record fourteen straight days of 80 degree weather. Milwaukee WI reported a record 34 days of 90 degree heat for the year. Afternoon and evening thunderstorms resulted in about fifty reports of severe weather in the northeastern U.S. One person was killed at Stockbridge MI when a tornado knocked a tree onto their camper. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 2002: A 594 decameter area of high pressure off the Carolina coast produced hot south to southwesterly winds ahead of a cold front bringing record heat to parts of the east. The temperature in Boston, MA reached 101°, equaling their August record (8/2/1975). Other daily records included: Syracuse, NY: 101°, Concord, NH: 99°, Hartford, CT: 99°, Allentown, PA: 99°, Philadelphia, PA: 99°, Milton, MA: 98°, Providence, RI: 98°, Rochester, NY: 97°, Harrisburg, PA: 97°, Burlington, VT: 96°, Binghamton, NY: 95° and Erie, PA: 94°. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) In San Angelo, TX, just after midnight, a descending heat-burst jumped the temperature from 75° to 94° in 30 minutes. The event ended about 90 minutes later when the temperature fell back to 73°. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) (Ref. WxDoctor) The tropics were very active in 1953 and we still managed to have a historic heatwave and triple digit temperatures right at the peak of hurricane season in September!!! 1953 - Hurricane Barbara hits North Carolina as a Category 2 hurricane. Damage from the storm was relatively minor, totaling around $1.3 million (1953 USD). Most of it occurred in North Carolina and Virginia from crop damage. The hurricane left several injuries, some traffic accidents, as well as seven fatalities in the eastern United States; at least two were due to electrocution from downed power lines. Offshore Atlantic Canada, a small boat sunk, killing its crew of two.

There was plenty of rain here even if not 1 inch Don, we rarely ever get 1 inch of rain from thunderstorms around here, they just do not last long enough. That said the 0.5-0.8 inch of rain was plenty.

it's not like they get this right every time.

The skies were purple here just before sunset, that very rarely happens here. I thought I saw the beginnings of a rainbow too, but the rain came in and it got too dark for one to form, it was very pale regardless. It looked like a pink bow in a purple sky lol

there was some heavy rain for awhile with lightning and thunder and an odd purple colored sky close to sunset. Nothing severe (which we don't need) but some heavy rain without flooding was nice to see

You'd think being right on the Sound would make them much cooler. I didn't see any of these places getting as hot as JFK in late June.

The thunder won't even make it here lol

How does Bridgeport which is much cooler than Long Island get a 90 degree day today, they are located right on the Long Island Sound and on a peninsula surrounded by water on three sides. JFK is usually much hotter than Bridgeport, Don.

You actually don't even have to go outside if it's a really good shower. I've been able to spot lots of meteors right from my windows, I just keep all my lights shut off.

I really hate the moon it seems to interfere every year with this shower. Maybe one day we'll figure out a way to shut off its light (an artificial eclipse maybe?)

The problem is the same with people who drive through flash flooding, if someone has to go out there to rescue them their lives are put at risk too. So at a minimum if someone disobeys signs, they can be fined and even charged as criminals.

What about if it's children or minors? Should their parents be charged if they leave them unattended and they go in the water and drown? People can go to the beach they just aren't allowed in the water, they should be prosecuted if they disobey the warnings. If someone has to go rescue them you put their lives in jeopardy too (the same thing with driving through flash floods by the way.)

Yes, I think it's a sign that we're flipping back to the 2010-2013 type summers. Where is that upper ridge right now? Is it to our southwest?