TheClimateChanger

I don't think so. Just last summer was the most 90+ days since 1995 at Pittsburgh (24). Humidity is WAY up and average July lows have climbed up about 3-5F just in the past 3 to 4 decades.

I tend to think July 2020 was the worst of my lifetime. The mean high temperatures were comparable to 1988, but lows were in the mid 60s at most sites. Just lacked the few days in the upper 90s/low 100s, instead topping off mostly in the mid 90s. Most places did not even have a single night below 55, several did not drop below 60 the entire month. Contrast that to 1988, and most rural/suburban sites had average monthly lows in the 50s.

Sorry but you are wrong. Most sites in southwest Pennsylvania were in the 30s those days. Burgettstown was the coldest location, but there were several others in the mid 30s and several more in the upper 30s on the same date. And it wasn't even the coldest temperature in the State of Pennsylvania that month - two others reached 32F, and one reached 31F. The 49F at PIT was a massive outlier, probably UHI & faulty HO-83 thermometer. In recent years, the statewide low is typically like 40F in July. In 2020, it didn't drop below 49F officially anywhere in the State. You can really see the impact of the airport effect/faulty temperatures in the data from northwest PA that month. Most places had lows in the low to mid 50s, with a few in the upper 50s. Two of the three airport sites were huge outliers... DUJ: 62.1F and ERI: 65.0F, although the latter, of course, was elevated due to the proximity to Lake Erie as well. Not the case with DUJ, which is a relatively high elevation site to begin with (~1,800 feet ASL). It's funny because you are always pretending the airport heat island temperatures are a new phenomenon, when I can look back decades and see there was actually even a larger discrepancy back then versus today.

The average July low is up like 3-5F at all of the airports nearest me since 1990. Like here's a more distant suburb of Pittsburgh in 1988. The low was 35, 32 & 36 on July 1-3, 1988. Does anyone think such temperatures are possible today? The only place where such lows can occur today are places like Canaan Valley, West Virginia, which is an elevated (3-4k) frost bowl. Like this is supposed to be the Hottest Summer Ever (TM) and the average low at this location was a cool 55.7F. That's open window weather. Even on the days of 100F, it cooled down into the 50s and low 60s, enabling efficient cooling by a window fan at night.

84F at Duluth. I think the bigger shocker is the record high for today was an insane 92F (see below). Many places way further south have never recorded such a high temperature this early in the year. The earliest 92F reading at Dayton, Ohio occurred on May 9, 1896. Since 1962, the earliest 92F reading was on May 28, 2012.

Bradford, in the mountains of northern Pennsylvania, warmed nearly 4.5F over the same period.

Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania. My memory is well supported by data. Erie lakeshore used to be freezing cold deep into May. A linear regression shows an increase in May high temperatures of nearly 3.5F since 1990, which is a lot more than the Coastal Plain. It's gone from several degrees colder than New York City to only a couple of degrees colder. May high temperatures have barely budged at New York City over the same time period.

It makes a big difference though with air conditioning needs. Just in my lifetime, a linear regression shows an increase in July minimum temperatures of 3 to 4F. But that's just the daily low. IMO, it also cools off more slowly. Whereas in the past, it might reach near the daily low by 1 am and then kind of hang steady, now it's only for a little time before sunrise. I bet 8pm to 11pm temperatures have risen 5F or so.

Actually, I remember going to fireworks and occasionally needing a hoodie at night because it was in the low 60s. You don't need that today, because it's still 70+ at 11 pm.

I was living in the 90s, and I don't recall it as "much hotter." We didn't even have air conditioning in my bedroom. I don't think you could do that today. It doesn't cool down enough at night to open a window.

Yes, overall, that looks like a cool summer. Compared to most modern summers, a summer of yesteryear, no doubt.

I think 1977 is exaggerated or something. It was the second coldest on record at Pittsburgh, behind only 1976.

Going to tough to break those inflated numbers from the HO-83 era. Big warm bias at the first order sites.

Wow, JB doesn't seem to understand the difference between an ice sheet and sea ice. Odd.

Not sure I buy that. It looks like a 5-period moving average is near the maximum for 90-degree days at both LGA and EWR, with the LOESS curve predicting the highest value of 90+ days in the POR at both sites. Looks like we are on the precipice of a big upswing in heat. Even a small additional increase in 90+ days would likely push your area outside of historic norms. Also, as I have noted numerous times, the heat spike from 1986-1995 very likely an artifact of the data collection due to the defective HO-83 sensors in use during that brief era. The increase in 90+ days matches up temporally with the proliferation of HO-83 units. After installation of ASOS, the 90+ days rapidly drop back to pre-1986 levels, from which they have since steadily climbed. The impact of the HO-83 cannot be dismissed a small bias. It was a substantial bias, the magnitude of which varied by site. At Lincoln, Nebraska, it averaged nearly 2F warmer than the ASOS, although at times, it could be as much as 7F warmer. See: Central Region Technical Attachment 93-07, Comparison of ASOS and HO83 Temperatures at Lincoln, Nebraska from November 1991 through October 1992, George H. Grosshans, NWS Lincoln (1993).

Through yesterday, this has been the sixth warmest spring to date. By my calculation, May would need to finish with an average temperature of 68.1F to tie the record for warmest spring (set in 2024). Currently, the month to date is at 65.4F. We will lose some ground this week; however, there are some indications of a warmer weather pattern by the middle of the month. Either way, a top five warmest spring season is looking increasingly likely.

Spartaman is not going to like the Old Farmer’s Almanac outlook for the summer. Hot and dry pretty much everywhere, except in Ohio and surrounding areas. At least it’ll still be hot - although with all that rain, you have to assume it would be more from warmer minimum temperatures.

I think some people are missing out on how much warming has occurred globally since the 1990s. Just look at the UAH temperature data [which uses a 1991-2020 baseline] and the 1990s look as warm globally as the 1800s used to look in the 1980s & 1990s, which to me suggests as much warming occurred in the last 25 years as had occurred in the preceding 100+ years.

April checked in at +0.61C [versus 1991-2020] on UAH V6.1.

Hoping we miss the severe weather today after the wild storm on Tuesday. Not looking super good though, with the temperature up to 80F already.

Up to 85F in the Motor City, besting the 126 year old record of 83F.

Similar story in many spots, with unprecedented morning temperatures.

Very impressive warmth this morning. Rewriting the record books, with the highest hourly observation (since 1942) for every hour between 3 and 8 am, inclusive, and tying the record value for 9 am.

Thank you for the update. One correction, however, just to be clear... Copernicus uses an 1850-1900 baseline. I know they refer to it as "pre-industrial" which may imply before 1850, but it is, in fact, based on the second half of the 19th century averages [even if a fair amount of industrialization had occurred by that time]. Not trying to be critical, just wanted to clarify. A lot of times, the choice of baseline can make a big difference. Of course, in that era, the changes were relatively smaller. Still, a baseline of 1800-1850 could be 0.1 or 0.2C cooler. Just not enough data from that era to say for sure.