August 2026

[straphanger]

Beautiful late August weather this morning.  The clear skies were perfect to see the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fly by this morning on the southern horizon between 0537 and 0541 with a very visible jellyfish tail to it.

[Stormlover74]

A friend got a nice pic

[SACRUS]

71 / 58 clear a gorgeous day today and much of tomorrow, pending on the arrival of clouds.   Next round of unsettled weather Thu-Fri with showers/rain and some heavier 1-2/3 amounts a bit north.  Clears out by Saturday for a nice weekend.  RIdges push east / west from Atlantic for an overall warm to potentially hot Aug 30 - labor day and beyond.

 

[SACRUS]

Records:

Highs:

EWR: 97 (1993)
NYC: 95 (1948)
LGA: 96 (1948)
JFK: 97 (1969)


Lows:

EWR: 48 (1940)
NYC: 52 (1940)
LGA: 53 (1940)
JFK: 54 (1987)

 

Historical:

 

1635: Boston, Massachusetts region hit by the "Great Colonial Hurricane". (Ref. NOAA Boston Weather Events) (Ref. AccWeather Weather History)

1814 - In the early afternoon, a strong tornado struck northwest Washington D.C. and downtown. The severe tornadic storm arrived the day after the British Troops had set fire to the Capitol, the White House, and other public buildings. The storm's rains would douse those flames. The tornado did major structural damage to the residential section of the city. The tornado's flying debris killed more British soldiers than by the guns of the American resistance. The storm blew off roofs and carried them high up into the air, knocked down chimneys and fences and damaged numerous homes. Some homes were destroyed. It lifted two pieces of cannon and deposited them several yards away. At least 30 Americans were killed or injured in the heavily damaged buildings, and an unknown number of British killed and wounded.

1885 - A severe hurricane struck South Carolina causing 1.3 million dollars damage at Charleston. (David Ludlum)

1910: Bowen, MT set the record for lowest temperature ever observed in the lower 48 states in August with a reading of 5 °F. Wisdom, MT was not very far behind with a reading of 11°. Great Falls, MT set an early season and August record snowfall of 8.3 inches on the 22nd and 23rd, while St. Mary, MT reported a foot. Cheyenne, WY reported an all-time August record low of 25°, while Scottsbluff, NE set their lowest August temperature and earliest freeze on record, with a low of 30°. Kimball, NE recorded a low of 26° while the temperature fell to 25° near Lusk, WY. (Ref. AccWeather Weather History)

1914: Boston, Massachusetts had its lowest maximum temperature for August of 57 °F. (Ref. NOAA Boston Weather Events)
 

1940 - New Jersey experienced its coldest August morning of record, with lows of 32 degrees at Layton and Charlotteburg. (The Weather Channel)

 

1958: Record chill occurred across parts of the upper Midwest. Cities recording their coldest August temperature included: Austin, MN: 34°, Decorah, IA: 35°, and Genoa, WI: 41°. (Ref. Additional Temperatures Listed On This Link)

1972: Philadelphia, PA measured their 25th consecutive day without measurable rainfall. (Ref. AccWeather Weather History)


1974: Ocala, Fla.--Lightning struck a lakeside dock just west of Ocala killing a 17-year-old boy and injuring five other youths. Tampa, Fla.--A 32-year-old Largo, Fla. woman was killed and two children were injured when lightning struck into a crowd watching an air show at McDill Air Force Base. The two children injured were the woman's 3-year-old son and an 11-year-old Clearwater girl.  (Ref. Lightning-The Underrated Killer.pdf)
 

1987 - Morning thunderstorms produced heavy rain in eastern Nebraska and southwestern Iowa. Stanton IA reported 10.50 inches of rain. Water was reported up to the handle of automobiles west of Greenwood NE. Rainfall totals for a two day period ranged from 7 to 14 inches across southwestern Iowa. Crop damage was in the millions for both states. Subsequent flooding of streams in Iowa the last week of August caused millions of dollars damage to crops, as some streams crested ten feet above flood stage. (Storm Data)

1988 - Seven cities in California reported record high temperatures for the date, including Sacramento with an afternoon reading of 104 degrees. Thunderstorms produced locally heavy rains in Arizona. Chino Valley was drenched with 2.50 inches of rain in just thirty minutes washing out a couple of streets in town. (The National Weather Summary)

1989 - Morning thunderstorms drenched Spencer, IN, with 4.10 inches of rain in three hours causing extensive street flooding. Evening thunderstorms in eastern Kansas produced up to six inches of rain around Emporia, and four inches of rain in just forty-five minutes near Parsons, and also produced wind gusts to 70 mph at Lake Melvern. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1992: After unleashing sustained winds of around 165 mph around Homestead/Florida City, FL, Hurricane Andrew headed for the Louisiana coast. Hurricane Warnings were posted from Pascagoula, MS to the Bolivar Peninsula on the northeast Texas coast. Billings, MT fell to 35°, their coldest August temperature on record. This was the 3rd consecutive day with a low temperature in the 30s at that location.(Ref. AccWeather Weather History) (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1993: In Augusta County, VA people took refuge from a thunderstorm under a solitary tree. Lightning struck the tree and injured four people.(Ref. Lightning - Virginia Weather History)

1998: Torrential tropical downpours from the remnants of Tropical Storm Charley caused flash flooding along Texas State Highway 349 between Iraan and Sheffield. Just south of Iraan fast moving waters swept pavement away from this highway. Unconfirmed reports of 7 inches of rain were received from citizens of Sheffield.(Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

2003: Record high temperatures occurred across parts of the Midwest. Rockford, IL set a new record high with 97° while O’Hare Airport in Chicago, IL tied their record high with 95°. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

2005 - Katrina becomes a hurricane just before landfall in south Florida between Hallandale Beach and North Miami Beach. Maximum sustained winds at the time of landfall were near 80 mph. There were eleven fatalities in South Florida, including four by falling trees. More than 1.3 million customers lost electrical services, and preliminary insured loss estimates ranged from $600 million to $2 billion in the state of Florida (Associated Press).

2011: Earthquake Aftershock West Henrico Co. - Glen Allen VA. area had another 4.5 aftershock this morning at 1:07 AM that woke us up as it rattled the pulls on the chest of drawers. (West Henrico Co. - Glen Allen VA. Weather Station )

2017: Harvey's intensification phase stalled slightly overnight from August 24–25, however Harvey soon resumed strengthening and became a Category 4 hurricane late on August 25. Hours later, Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas, at peak intensity. The strongest winds were focused just northeast of Corpus Christi, around Rockport. The highest reading of 132 mph was registered at Port Aransas. (Satellite-before-Landfall on the 24-25 landfall near Rockport, Texas) (Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas)(2017 Hurricane Summary Weatherwise Harvey,Irma,Maria)

2020: Tuesday-August 25 Entering over the waters of the southeastern Gulf of Mexico during the predawn hours of Tuesday, Laura became better organized and began strengthening to become the fourth hurricane of 2020 after sunrise as NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft data determined that maximum sustained surface winds had reached 75 mph. At the time, the center of Hurricane Laura was continuing toward the west-northwest and was located approximately 145 miles to the northwest of the western tip of Cuba. Throughout the remainder of Tuesday Laura continued to strengthen slightly while traveling to the west-northwest across the waters of the central Gulf of Mexico. During the predawn hours, Hurricane Laura strengthened to a category two hurricane as it began to curve to take a track toward the northwest and then to a major category 3 hurricane as winds reached 115 mph as the hurricane's center was slightly less 300 miles to the south of the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Thus, Laura became the first major hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.

[FPizz]

2 hours ago, straphanger said:

Beautiful late August weather this morning.  The clear skies were perfect to see the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fly by this morning on the southern horizon between 0537 and 0541 with a very visible jellyfish tail to it.

Nice that you got to see it. I forgot about it and woke up at 6.  I should have gotten up at 530, doh.   55 degrees this morning.

[SACRUS]

Hope much of this breaks up a bit otherwise those sunny forecasts will again miss a partly - variable cloudy afternoon

 

[forkyfork]

warming trend continued on the overnight models

[bluewave]

Great graphic from the NWS showing how Bridgeport was significantly ahead of the other major sites for summer rainfall this year.

 

[SACRUS]

33 minutes ago, forkyfork said:

warming trend continued on the overnight models

Aug 30 - Sep 7 period trending warm - hot ' er we'll see the ridge position key for pushing a late season heatwave and matching 3 summer months early hot starts.

[Dan76]

4 hours ago, straphanger said:

Beautiful late August weather this morning.  The clear skies were perfect to see the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fly by this morning on the southern horizon between 0537 and 0541 with a very visible jellyfish tail to it.

I saw that when I went fishing thought it was a UFO lol got a good video.

[SACRUS]

More clouds now and despite that still a gorgeous day

[MarcmmKU]

2 hours ago, SACRUS said:

Aug 30 - Sep 7 period trending warm - hot ' er we'll see the ridge position key for pushing a late season heatwave and matching 3 summer months early hot starts.

I can see our last 90 occuring during this time frame. I think we easily hit 90 and high dews at the hot spots. Then hopefully kick summer out-good riddance.

[FPizz]

2 hours ago, SACRUS said:

More clouds now and despite that still a gorgeous day

Yeah, mostly cloudy now with a few breaks, 75

 

[LibertyBell]

On 8/24/2026 at 1:00 PM, SACRUS said:

August 90 degree days - it really depends on the year and not easy to make a blankt generalized call 2022 was plenty hot in august:

90 Degree days Augist

Year	EWR	NYC	JFK	LGA
2025	8	3	0	6
2024	7	6	3	6
2023	5	0	0	0
2022	18	11	5	13
2021	13	5	4	8
2020	9	4	2	10
2019	4	3	0	5
2018	14	7	4	16
2017	2	1	0	2
2016	13	7	6	10
2015	13	8	6	8
2014	2	3	0	1
2013	3	1	0	1
2012	7	3	2	6
2011	4	3	2	2
2010	11	12	8	11
2009	10	5	5	7
2008	2	1	1	0
2007	7	4	4	7
2006	9	3	6	6
2005	12	9	10	10
2004	2	1	0	2
2003	7	2	4	6
2002	14	14	6	13
2001	8	8	4	6
2000	2	1	2	3
1999	7	3	1	2
1998	7	2	1	3
1997	3	2	2	3
1996	1	1	0	1
1995	14	13	8	11
1994	9	2	0	5
1993	11	10	2	7
1992	4	3	0	2
1991	12	10	3	9
1990	9	4	1	3
1989	8	4	3	4
1988	17	10	4	10
1987	8	4	1	3
1986	2	0	0	0
1985	4	2	1	2
1984	8	3	5	2
1983	11	9	6	8
1982	1	0	0	0
1981	3	4	2	2
1980	12	15	7	9
1979	9	8	2	7
1978	4	5	6	1
1977	6	7	5	3
1976	4	4	2	3
1975	5	4	5	3
1974	3	5	1	2
1973	12	6	4	7
1972	4	3	1	0
1971	7	5	7	2
1970	8	8	6	9
1969	6	5	5	2
1968	9	8	4	6
1967	1	1	0	0
1966	8	8	2	6
1965	5	1	0	3
1964	5	4	0	1
1963	3	0	1	0
1962	2	2	1	1
1961	8	6	4	1
1960	8	3	3	4

 

 

NYC (Central Park) looks fairly flat overall.  But we know the vegetation plays a roll there amongst max

JFK is also pretty flat to only slightly variable.

EWR shows a modest upward drift.

LGA shows the clearest upward drift of the four.

 

Statistic	EWR	NYC	JFK	LGA
Mean / Average	7.18	4.83	2.88	4.94
Median	7	4	2	3.5
Mode	8	3	0	2
Mode occurred	9 yrs	11 yrs	15 yrs	11 yrs
Minimum	1	0	0	0
Maximum	18	15	10	16
Range	17	15	10	16
Standard deviation	4.13	3.59	2.51	4.00
25th percentile	4	2	1	2
75th percentile	9	7	5	7
Total 90° days	474	319	190	326

Some of those 80s and 90s summers really were endless summers which we dont get anymore nor do we get heat covering the entire country cosst to coast like we did in 1980 and 1988. We always talk about how we dont get coast to coast cold like we did in 1979 but to be fair we dont get coast to coast heat anymore either. Its always heat in one part of the country but not the other now.

Also EWR and LGA are most heavily affected by UHI, population density and increased volume of traffic and the resultant pollution from car exhaust.

1980 had the hottest July August combo on record 60 day average over 80 degrees how did both LGA and JFK have far fewer 90 degree days than NYC and EWR? Also it was around this time in the endless summer of 1983 JFK had their latest 100 degree temperature and the last time it happened there in August. One time in July and one time in August there in 1983.

[SnoSki14]

5 hours ago, SACRUS said:

Aug 30 - Sep 7 period trending warm - hot ' er we'll see the ridge position key for pushing a late season heatwave and matching 3 summer months early hot starts.

The warm start to each month has been interesting to say the least. Its been hot spell followed by a lot of rain/storms to cooler finish. 

[donsutherland1]

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny and pleasantly cool. Highs will generally top out in the upper 70s and lower 80s. Showers and thundershowers could move through the region on Thursday night. Temperatures will remain in the upper 70s and lower 80s into the weekend. No excessive heat appears likely through the remainder of August and opening days of September.

The ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly was +4.0°C and the Region 3.4 anomaly was +2.6°C for the week centered around August 19. For the past six weeks, the ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly has averaged +3.87°C and the ENSO Region 3.4 anomaly has averaged +2.43°C. The ongoing strong El Niño, which has reached super El Niño threshold, will continue to strengthen through the summer.

The SOI was -6.74 today. 

The preliminary Arctic Oscillation (AO) was -0.425 today. 

Based on sensitivity analysis applied to the latest guidance, there is an implied near 53% probability that New York City will have a cooler than normal August (1991-2020 normal). August will likely finish with a mean temperature near 76.0° (0.1° below normal). 

Supplemental Information: The projected mean would be 0.8° above the 1981-2010 normal monthly value. 

 

[LibertyBell]

6 hours ago, MarcmmKU said:

I can see our last 90 occuring during this time frame. I think we easily hit 90 and high dews at the hot spots. Then hopefully kick summer out-good riddance.

Good riddance? This is your kind of summer, cool and wet. Personally I can't stand it (thats what fall is for) but I'm looking forward to next summer which I'm pretty sure will be very hot and dry, just as sure as I am that the upcoming winter will be mild and rainy.

[TriPol]

17 minutes ago, LibertyBell said:

Good riddance? This is your kind of summer, cool and wet. Personally I can't stand it (thats what fall is for) but I'm looking forward to next summer which I'm pretty sure will be very hot and dry, just as sure as I am that the upcoming winter will be mild and rainy.

No one can look back at this summer and say it was cool. In fact, this is one of the hottest summers on record.