August 2026

[winterwarlock]

1.56 for event but places close by me got over 2 inches

[Prue11]

2.28” central suffolk 

[donsutherland1]

A few locations could still see a shower or thundershower this evening. Most of the region will likely be dry.

Rainfall totals through 4 pm include:

Bridgeport: 0.97" (old record: 0.95", 1954)
Hartford: 3.54" (old record: 3.18", 1954) ***7th Highest August Daily Amount***
Islip: 1.89" (old record: 1.36", 1987)
New York City-Central Park: 1.93"
New York City-JFK Airport: 2.75" (old record: 1.90", 1948)
New York City-LaGuardia Airport: 1.22"
Newark: 2.27" (old record: 1.60", 1885)
Westfield: 1.69"
Westhampton: 1.63" (old record: 1.41", 1961)
Worcester: 1.52" (tied record set in 1996)

No exceptional heat is likely through the first week of August. However, it will turn warmer during the second half of the week.

The ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly was +4.1°C and the Region 3.4 anomaly was +2.3°C for the week centered around July 30. For the past six weeks, the ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly has averaged +3.53°C and the ENSO Region 3.4 anomaly has averaged +2.02°C. The ongoing strong El Niño, which has reached super El Niño threshold, will continue to strengthen through the summer.

The SOI was -10.38 today. 

The preliminary Arctic Oscillation (AO) was -0.154 today. 

 

[bluewave]

Typical uneven nature of rainfall from convection. We would probably need a tropical system to have the heaviest totals spread out more evenly. Bridgeport currently has the heaviest totals since June 1st of the major reporting stations. 
 

June 1st through August 3rd rainfall

NYC….10.28….+0.67

LGA…..9.61……+0.83

EWR….9.74…..+0.27

JFK…..9.31……+1.19

ISP…..10.33……+2.66

BDR….15.84…..+8.36

[psv88]

7 minutes ago, bluewave said:

Typical uneven nature of rainfall from convection. We would probably need a tropical system to have the heaviest totals spread out more evenly. Bridgeport currently has the heaviest totals since June 1st of the major reporting stations. 
 

June 1st through August 3rd rainfall

NYC….10.28….+0.67

LGA…..9.61……+0.83

EWR….9.74…..+0.27

JFK…..9.31……+1.19

ISP…..10.33……+2.66

BDR….15.84…..+8.36

that looks very even to me...5/6 stations within 1 inch over a 60 day period is very even. 

[SACRUS]

a few 90s in NJ extending the mini heatwave for those that hit 90 Fr-Sat-Sun

[bluewave]

25 minutes ago, psv88 said:

that looks very even to me...5/6 stations within 1 inch over a 60 day period is very even. 

Most major sites are just a little above average since June 1st. Bridgeport is the only major station with an uneven big departure. So for the heavy rain to be more even most sites would need to be like Bridgeport.

[psv88]

27 minutes ago, bluewave said:

Most major sites are just a little above average since June 1st. Bridgeport is the only major station with an uneven big departure. So for the heavy rain to be more even most sites would need to be like Bridgeport.

Disagree with that. Bridgeport is the clear outlier and most stations were nearly identical. For the rain to be more even, Bridgeport would need to be more like the other 5 sites, not the reverse. 

[bluewave]

8 minutes ago, psv88 said:

Disagree with that. Bridgeport is the clear outlier and most stations were nearly identical. For the rain to be more even, Bridgeport would need to be more like the other 5 sites, not the reverse. 

If you read my post more clearly that is what I said. Bridgeport is the only major site with such a heavy rainfall departure since June 1st. So for the heaviest totals to be more spread out more sites would need to be like Bridgeport. The other major sites are similar in that they missed the heaviest totals. 

[Psychguy]

1 hour ago, SACRUS said:

a few 90s in NJ extending the mini heatwave for those that hit 90 Fr-Sat-Sun

Thinking it might have hit 90 in Philadelphia today as well... so far only showing 89, but the inter hour readings showed several 90's after today's high was reported. If so, mini heatwave here with 90 Saturday, 91 yesterday, and possibly today. If that is the case our tally would now be up to 29 for the summer season.

[jm1220]

Beautiful ending to the day and humidity definitely dropping. 

[the_other_guy]

What beautiful weather behind the storm! I said it earlier, and I’ll say it again definitely had echoes of a coastal storm, including the rapid clearing and beautiful conditions behind it

[SACRUS]

Today's Highs: (nice recovery)

EWR: 89 
PHL: 89
New Brnswck: 88
ACY: 87
TTN: 87
TEB:  86
LGA: 86
BLM: 85
JFK: 84
ISP: 80
NYC: 80  (wet park doing its work 5 - 7 below other metro sites)


 

[qg_omega]

4 hours ago, bluewave said:

Typical uneven nature of rainfall from convection. We would probably need a tropical system to have the heaviest totals spread out more evenly. Bridgeport currently has the heaviest totals since June 1st of the major reporting stations. 
 

June 1st through August 3rd rainfall

NYC….10.28….+0.67

LGA…..9.61……+0.83

EWR….9.74…..+0.27

JFK…..9.31……+1.19

ISP…..10.33……+2.66

BDR….15.84…..+8.36

very even outside BDR for summertime convection, just a total drought buster without any tropical system.  Amazing

[psv88]

Beautiful night. 73/64 and a breeze 

[LibertyBell]

18 hours ago, bluewave said:

It sounds like you would enjoy the climate out West which averages under 25” a year of precipitation. Just had some friends get back from San Diego and they really loved it out there. We got close to that here back in the 1960s for a time. 

 

I love San Diego but the climate would get kind of boring.  I like a strong variance in weather between the seasons. So for example a hot and dry summer followed by a snowy winter. 2010 into 2011 is probably the best example of that followed by 1993 into 1994. 1995 into 1996 and 2002 into 2003. 1966 into 1967. 1977 into 1978. Come to think of it i think our snowiest winters come after hot and dry summers.

[LibertyBell]

20 hours ago, bluewave said:

Harrison, NJ is on track for their first 9 consecutive years with over 30 days reaching 90°. The last time they had under 10 days was 1996. That year is still the reigning champ for the most snow and least 90° days across the area.

 

Time Series Summary for HARRISON, NJ - Jan through Dec 90° Days
Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending.

2026	26	151
2025	37	0
2024	41	0
2023	33	0
2022	44	0
2021	38	0
2020	39	0
2019	39	0
2018	47	0
2017	23	0
2016	40	0
2015	32	0
2014	16	0
2013	25	0
2012	35	21
2011	31	30
2010	50	30
2009	15	42
2008	22	19
2007	22	5
2006	30	4
2005	41	9
2004	17	6
2003	14	8
2002	47	8
2001	30	7
2000	15	14
1999	39	4
1998	18	2
1997	20	5
1996	8	17

I think the summer pattern leads into the winter pattern which is why there's a rubber band effect so our snowiest winters come after our hottest summers. Examples

1966 into 1967

1977 into 1978

1993 into 1994

1995 into 1996

2002 into 2003

2010 into 2011

 

[LibertyBell]

On 8/2/2026 at 11:30 PM, winterwx21 said:

It's good to see you back, but I disagree with your posts that deny that there's been a drought. As Bluewave has pointed out, we've been in a long term dry pattern since the fall of 2024 and the drought monitor maps have shown the type of drought we've been in. We've had serious issues with wildfires off and on the last couple years due to the very dry conditions. I'm not sure how anyone can deny that there's been a drought. Finally things have gotten better the last few weeks.

The hot dry weather is very bad for gardeners. I lost some of the first tomatoes that were about to ripen up in early July due to sunscald. It was that horrific heat wave to start July (4 days in a row of 100+ degree weather) combined with the bone dry conditions. Thankfully things turned around after that with a cooler pattern and a good amount of rain the rest of July, so I've been getting a big crop of tomatoes the last couple weeks. It wouldn't have happened though had we stayed in the hot very dry pattern. We don't want too much rain, but it's important to get enough. Drought combined with heat is the worst and it makes is very difficult for gardeners. 

I'm glad you mentioned the Perseid meteor shower. It wasn't very good last summer due to the moon, but will be great this summer as long as we have clear conditions. Keeping my fingers crossed for good conditions next week!

I'm glad you're back and I hope you decide to stay. I'm sure you were not happy about being 5 posted, and I didn't agree with that being done to you. But you can still be a strong contributor here with 5 posts per day, so I hope you keep posting. 

I appreciate you. I used to grow tomatoes years ago but I stopped somewhere in the 2010s when I couldn't tolerate their acidity anymore. I grow cucumbers now less acidity and they still taste great. Tomatoes are notoriously sensitive to weather, Too hot too cold too wet too dry etc. Up here in the mountains back in 1996 there was rather sadly a killing frost on May 14 I remember that one clearly because i came back to NY after that weekend and saw a heavy frost the following Monday even on Long Island

As far as droughts go I think this one is more localized than the ones I remember from the 1980s and 1990s. 1999 and 2002 stand out clearly in my mind, 1999 even moreso than 2002 because of how it ended with Hurricane Floyd and massive flooding. Both of those droughts were far more expansive. Where I am now there has been at least one inch of rain every week since I relocated here in early April. I've only used air conditioning twice since you can just open the windows at night regardless of how hot it is during the day it almost always gets down into the 50s at night here. Sometimes even colder even in the middle of summer.

It's good to get a nice short extreme heatwave around the 4th of July it made up for the monstrous Memorial Day weekend washout. July 4th is notorious for that kind of weather it happened in 1966, 1999 and 2010 too. As far as tomatoes go one of my best growing seasons for pretty much everything was 1993 which saw unparalleled heat all summer long. I dont remember if there was a drought or not that year what I do remember is 5 straight days at or above 100 and 10 straight days at or above 90. I also remember growing corn that year, cantaloupes, sunflowers 9 feet tall and weeds even taller than that lol! I used to garden with my dear Dad and he used some undisclosed fertilizer that is probably illegal now and can't be found anywhere haha. All I remember is seeing a big mound of it in the backyard and a giant beetle flying out of it turning and flying towards me quite slowly and me screaming very loudly and running back into the house. Probably a dung beetle? Good memories that stay with you forever!

[bluewave]

9 hours ago, qg_omega said:

very even outside BDR for summertime convection, just a total drought buster without any tropical system.  Amazing

While the drought monitor will show improvement when it updates across the area in a few days, there will still be drought especially in the areas which have been the driest during recent years like in NJ. The northern areas like around Bridgeport didn’t have as much of  deficit as parts of NJ. So this multiyear drought has always been the strongest in parts of NJ. 

 

[doncat]

58 minutes ago, bluewave said:

While the drought monitor will show improvement when it updates across the area in a few days, there will still be drought especially in the areas which have been the driest during recent years like in NJ. The northern areas like around Bridgeport didn’t have as much of  deficit as parts of NJ. So this multiyear drought has always been the strongest in parts of NJ. 

 

For me this was the most impressive drought I've seen. Two years with deficits of around 15" so a 30" deficit in total since 9/24. Much better lately of course .

[doncat]

2.04" here yesterday with high temp of 87°.

[Brian5671]

21 minutes ago, doncat said:

For me this was the most impressive drought I've seen. Two years with deficits of around 15" so a 30" deficit in total since 9/24. Much better lately of course .

My lawn was decimated after those 2 dry summers-we re-seeded last fall....looks incredible today lol with all the rain

[doncat]

14 minutes ago, Brian5671 said:

My lawn was decimated after those 2 dry summers-we re-seeded last fall....looks incredible today lol with all the rain

Yeah same here...reseeded, looking good now!

[SACRUS]

76 sunny - dewpoints in the low-mid 60s.  Nice day on tap low - mid 80s some stray areas to 87/88.  The mainly northerly flow comes around southerly later today humidity pump back up, more storms tomorrow and Southern Florida style in/out clouds warm/steamy and some drenchers.  Thu - Mon warm-hot / humid scattered storm chances a opportunity for 90s (low). Overall warm / humid through the 11th.  Cold front moves through 8/12 with moderation back to normal with heat capped south of us looks to moderate warmer towards mid month and beyond again.

 

[SACRUS]

 

Records:

Highs:

EWR: 100 (1993)
NYC: 100 (1944)
LGA: 99 (1944)
JFK: 93 (2006)


Lows:

EWR: 58 (1945)
NYC: 55 (1874)
LGA: 62 (1964)
JFK: 57 (1964)


Historical:

 

 

1609: Sir Thomas Gates, future governor of Virginia, was on his way to England from Jamestown. On Saint James Day, while between Cuba and the Bahamas, a "most terrible and vehement storm" raged for 44 hours. One of the small vessels in the fleet sank to the bottom of the Florida Straits. Four of the remaining vessels reached Virginia soon after the storm...followed a few days later by three other ships. The flagship, known as Sea Adventure, disappeared and was presumed lost. A small bit of fortune befell the ship and her crew when they made landfall on Bermuda. Although the vessel was damaged on a surrounding coral reef, all survived and spent ten months on the unsettled isle. The Spaniards, though shipwrecked on the island many times, had failed to colonize there. The British claimed the island and quickly settled the subtropical isle. In May 1610, they set forth for Jamestown, this time arriving at their destination. This near catastrophe provided the inspiration and background for William Shakespeare's play, The Tempest. (Ref. The Tempest)

1882 - A vivid aurora was visible from Oregon to Maine, down the east coast as far as Mayport FL, and inland as far as Wellington KS. Observers at Louisville KY noted merry dancers across the sky, and observers at Saint Vincent, MN, noted it was probably the most brilliant ever seen at that location. (The Weather Channel)

1915: Tropical storm from the North Bahamas moved over the Washington, DC area on a northeast track gave 2.34 inches of rain and winds to 46 mph from the SE. (Ref. Washington Weather Records ) 75 people died in flooding at Erie, PA. Many streets were flooded and bridges washed away. (Ref. AccWeather Weather History)

1930: The temperature at Moorefield, WV soared to 112 degrees to establish a state record, having reached 110 degrees the previous day. Widespread drought after April of that year caused some towns to haul water for domestic use, and many manufacturing plants were barely operational.(The Weather Channel) (Ref. Additional Temperatures Listed On This Link)
 

1930 - The temperature at Moorefield, WV, soared to 112 degrees to establish a state record, having reached 110 degrees the previous day. Widespread drought after April of that year caused some towns to haul water for domestic use, and many manufacturing plants were barely operational. (The Weather Channel)

 

1961 - Spokane, WA, reached an all-time record high of 108 degrees. Kalispell, MT, set an all-time record with a reading of 105 degrees. (The Weather Channel)

1980 - A record forty-two consecutive days of 100 degree heat finally came to an end at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. July 1980 proved to be the hottest month of record with a mean temperature of 92 degrees. There was just one day of rain in July, and there was no measurable rain in August. There were 18 more days of 100 degree heat in August, and four in September. Hot weather that summer contributed to the deaths of 1200 people nationally, and losses from the heat across the country were estimated at twenty billion dollars. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)

 

1981: This was a day to remember in portions of south central South Dakota as an unusually long lived thunderstorm wind event hit the area. In St. Francis a radio station reported a gust of 86 mph, but that was only the beginning. For the next 20 minutes winds of 50 to 70 mph hammered the area doing massive damage to trees and a few trailers in the area. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1982: The low temperature at Billings, MT was 60°. This began a string of 19 consecutive days on which the low temperature did not drop below 60°, the record longest such streak in August. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1987 - A cold front brought relief from the heat to a large part of the Midwest, while hot weather continued in the south central and eastern U.S. Morning thunderstorms in Nebraska deluged the town of Dalton with 8.71 inches of rain, along with hail three inches in diameter, which accumulated up to four feet deep near the town of Dix. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)

1988 - Thunderstorms produced severe weather from eastern Iowa to Lower Michigan during the afternoon and evening hours, producing golf ball size hail and spawning several tornadoes. A thunderstorm at Maquoketa, IA, produced wind gusts to 75 mph. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)

1989 - Thunderstorms produced severe weather from eastern Nebraska and northeastern Kansas to the Great Lakes Region, with 150 reports of large hail or damaging winds during the afternoon, evening, and nighttime hours. Thunderstorms produced tennis ball size hail at Claremont, MN, and wind gusts to 75 mph at Milwaukee, WI. Thunderstorms representing what once was Hurricane Chantal produced five inches of rain at Grant, MI, and deluged Chicago, IL, with more than three inches of rain in three hours. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)


1994: Boston, Massachusetts had 16 days from July 20 to August 4 giving the greatest number of days with temperatures of 70 degrees or above. (Ref. NOAA Boston Weather Events)

1995: Thunderstorms over northwest Iowa storms grew quickly, producing golf ball to baseball size hail over Palo Alto County near Ayrshire and Webb. As the storms moved south, a copious amount of hail was dropped. Just north of Rush Lake in Palo Alto County, pea-sized hail covered the ground to a depth of 12 inches. The storms then moved into northern Pocahontas County where they dropped softball size hail, which has a diameter of 4.50 inches, just north of Laurens. Golf ball size hail also continued to fall over Pocahontas County near the communities of Pocahontas and Havelock. The storms weakened a bit as they moved into Sac and Calhoun Counties. Crop damage totaled about $335,000 from these storms. Record heat prevailed across parts of the East. Record highs included: Philadelphia, PA: 98°, LaGuardia Airport (NYC), NY: 96°, Wilmington, DE: 96° and Bridgeport, CT: 93°.
(Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1998: College Station, Texas: The last of a string of 30 consecutive days with temperatures greater than 100 °F. 49 such days will be recorded in the blistering Summer of '98. (Ref. WxDoctor)  Dallas, TX saw its streak of 29 consecutive days with temperatures 100° or hotter come to an end. It was the second longest streak of 100° plus days in the city's history. Record highs occurred across the southwest including Borrego Springs, CA: 116°, Redding, CA: 112°, Victorville, CA: 110°, Stockton, CA: 109°, Sacramento, CA: 108°, Riverside, CA: 106°, Escondido, CA: 99°, Idyllwild, CA: 96°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 95° and Big Bear Lake, CA: 88° and San Francisco (Airport), CA: 87°. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

2006: Washington DC: The temperature at Ronald Reagan National Airport reaches 101 °F the hottest ever for that day in the nation's capitol. (Ref. WxDoctor)


2008: Severe storms moved across northern Illinois and Indiana with tornadoes and stiff winds reported. With tornado sirens blaring, the game at Wrigley Field between Cubs and Astros was stopped as fans were told to evacuate to the lower concourse. Passengers at O’Hare International Airport were evacuated to lower levels of buildings as well. An estimated 350 flights were canceled. 


2012: Third of the top ten weather events - Summer Heat Wave. June 22-August 4. Extreme heat that began over the High Plains, expanded to the Fast Coast, and then centered on the Heartland broke thousands of temperature records and resulted in July 2012 edging out July 1936 as the hottest month on record for the contiguous United States. The heat, which was blamed for over 100 deaths, contributed to the drought that affected much of the country. Top 2012 Weather Events (Ref.Weatherwise May/June 2013 volumn 66 /number3 page 17)

2020: Tropical Storm Isaias hit the eastern third of Virginia hardest on Tuesday morning during its brief but destructive journey up the Eastern Seaboard. Several hours of torrential rain flooded dozens of roads, while winds gusting past 45 mph downed trees and put hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the dark. The storm left scattered road closures and power outages in metro Richmond and more widespread disruption across the Tidewater region, where winds approached 70 mph. No serious damage was reported in the western half of the state. (Ref. The Richmond Times Dispatch)(Ref. The Richmond Times Dispatch)

[SACRUS]

Alls clear on the waters so far

 

[FPizz]

21 hours ago, MarcmmKU said:

Hopefully all this rain means a great fall foliage season. The last few have been rotten because of severe niña induced summer droughts.

Last year wasn't good, 2 years ago was great

[bluewave]

1 hour ago, doncat said:

For me this was the most impressive drought I've seen. Two years with deficits of around 15" so a 30" deficit in total since 9/24. Much better lately of course .

Yeah, my area along the CT Shoreline is showing marked improvement compared to how dry last summer was. Much greener now at the open spaces around Tweed airport.

It was completely brown last summer. The water levels at my local reservoir are much higher this summer.

Very impressive high dew point surge starting tomorrow and perhaps lasting till next Tuesday. Another near record ridge amplification. So continuing opportunities for convection.

 

 

[FPizz]

20 hours ago, SACRUS said:

Another narrow and quick line of storms forming as cleearing is working through from the west - in WNJ

 

I was driving down 287 in that line from NY.  Brutal drive home.  I had 2.52" total yesterday

[psv88]

62 this morning. Beautiful