Central PA Summer 2026 Discussion/Obs Thread

[mahantango#1]

[pawatch]

48 degrees this morning. Maybe start the day in jeans  

[Voyager]

3 minutes ago, pawatch said:

48 degrees this morning. Maybe start the day in jeans  

53 this morning here. I'd be wearing jeans today for work if I had an earlier start than 8am. By the time I load the first tank of the day, the sun is starting to warm things up.

Gonna need the heat in the car, though, for starters.

[Blizzard of 93]

57 for the low in Marysville.

Should be a beautiful late July day.

[mahantango#1]

US National Weather Service State College PA 

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Next 3 days: Doesn't get much better for late July

Humidity and rain risk ramp up for early next week

7/23/26|638am

[mahantango#1]

16 minutes ago, Voyager said:

53 this morning here. I'd be wearing jeans today for work if I had an earlier start than 8am. By the time I load the first tank of the day, the sun is starting to warm things up.

Gonna need the heat in the car, though, for starters.

Please refrain from using the heater in your vehicle in July. One must not use the heater in a vehicle until late September. Don't give in to temptation.

[Albedoman]

While many people are enjoying the recent stretch of cooler temperatures and low humidity, this weather pattern is becoming increasingly concerning for farmers and water resources throughout the Lehigh Valley.

Lehigh County is now officially under a Pennsylvania DEP Drought Warning, reflecting the continued deterioration of soil moisture, groundwater supplies, and streamflows. Residents are being asked to voluntarily conserve water as the drought continues to worsen.

The comfortable weather is actually working against agriculture. Lower humidity, cool nights, breezy afternoons, and the lack of widespread soaking rains continue to dry out already stressed soils. Corn, soybeans, hay, vegetables, orchards, and pasturelands are all feeling the effects, and each rain-free day adds more stress to this year's crops. Lehigh County already has thousands of acres of corn, soybeans, and hay currently experiencing drought conditions.

Another concern has been the apparent pattern over the past three weeks where numerous showers and thunderstorms have weakened, split apart, or tracked around portions of the Lehigh Valley, leaving many locations with little or no meaningful rainfall while surrounding areas received much heavier amounts. Whether you call it the local "donut hole" or simply an unfortunate weather pattern, the result has been the same—many farms have missed the widespread soaking rains desperately needed to recharge soil moisture.

Perhaps most concerning, there are currently no tropical systems or significant tropical moisture plumes on the immediate horizon that appear capable of delivering the widespread one- to three-inch rainfall that would substantially improve drought conditions.

Many people are enjoying this beautiful summer weather today, but if this dry pattern continues into August, opinions will likely change quickly. Brown lawns, stressed crops, falling stream levels, declining groundwater supplies, and increasing wildfire concerns could become the story of the summer.

The Lehigh Valley doesn't need another picture-perfect day—it needs several widespread soaking rains.

[canderson]

It is October outside!!!