August 2026

[qg_omega]

10 minutes ago, donsutherland1 said:

August finished with a monthly mean temperature of a preliminary 75.8° (0.4° below normal). That was 0.6° above the prior 1981-2010 baseline.

It will turn somewhat warmer tomorrow with the temperature topping out in the middle 80s. Showers and thundershowers are possible late tomorrow and Wednesday. 

Excessive heat with highs in the middle and upper 90s will be just south of the region in such cities as Baltimore and Washington Tuesday through Thursday.

The ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly was +4.2°C and the Region 3.4 anomaly was +2.6°C for the week centered around August 26. For the past six weeks, the ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly has averaged +3.93°C and the ENSO Region 3.4 anomaly has averaged +2.50°C. The ongoing strong El Niño, which has reached super El Niño threshold, will continue to strengthen through the summer.

The SOI was -0.79 yesterday. 

The preliminary Arctic Oscillation (AO) was +0.654 today. 

 

El Niño summer pattern finally kicking in 

[SACRUS]

Today's Highs:
 

PHL: 82
EWR: 80
New Brnswck: 80
TEB: 79
LGA: 78
ACY: 78
JFK: 78 * missing intra hour highs
NYC: 78
TTN: 78
ISP: 77
BLM: 76

[SACRUS]

August Dep:

 

PHL: +2.3 (7.44)
JFK: +1.4 (7.49)
ISP: +1.4 (7.94)
EWR: +0.9 (10.18)
TTN: +0.7 ( 7.69)
LGA: +0.3 (7.85)
NYC: -0.5 (8.56)

[psv88]

21 minutes ago, SACRUS said:

August Dep:

 

PHL: +2.3 (7.44)
JFK: +1.4 (7.49)
ISP: +1.4 (7.94)
EWR: +0.9 (10.18)
TTN: +0.7 ( 7.69)
LGA: +0.3 (7.85)
NYC: -0.5 (8.56)

So only the park was below normal. Makes sense that we focus on it so much. 

[LibertyBell]

14 hours ago, bluewave said:

JFK was able to finish this summer with the 4th highest number of 95°+days similar to some of the big 90° summers you mentioned.

But stronger sea breezes overall lead to a lower total of 90°+ days than those years. So the higher end heat early on boosted JFK into the top 10 of warmest summers.

While the developing super El Nino summer of 2015 was also warm for average temperatures  at JFK, it didn’t have the major 95°+ and 100°+ heat this summer had. 

So the magnitude of the heat this summer was a first for such a high end El Niño event. 

 

Time Series Summary for JFK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, NY - Jun through Aug 95°+ days
Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending.

1	2010	10	0
2	1963	8	0
3	2002	7	0
-	1999	7	0
4	2026	6	2
-	2013	6	0
-	1949	6	0
5	2012	5	0
-	1983	5	0
-	1966	5	0
-	1955	5	0
6	2025	4	0
-	2022	4	0
-	2006	4	0
-	1993	4	0
-	1991	4	0
-	1974	4	0
-	1968	4	0

 

Time Series Summary for JFK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, NY Warmest Summers
Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending.

1	2010	77.1	0
2	2016	76.5	0
3	2022	76.1	0
4	2015	76.0	0
5	2024	75.8	0
-	2011	75.8	0
6	2020	75.7	0
7	1983	75.6	0
8	2026	75.4	2
-	1984	75.4	0
9	2012	75.3	0
-	1991	75.3	0
10	2025	75.2	0
-	1971	75.2	0
-	1949	75.2	0

 

All-time Maximum 1-Day Mean Max Temperature 
for JFK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, NY
Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending.

1	104.0	1966-07-03 through 1966-07-03
2	103.0	2011-07-22 through 2011-07-22
3	102.0	2026-07-02 through 2026-07-02
-	102.0	2025-06-25 through 2025-06-25
-	102.0	2025-06-24 through 2025-06-24
-	102.0	2011-07-23 through 2011-07-23
-	102.0	1999-07-05 through 1999-07-05
-	102.0	1963-07-01 through 1963-07-01
4	101.0	2010-07-06 through 2010-07-06
-	101.0	2010-07-04 through 2010-07-04
-	101.0	1993-07-09 through 1993-07-09
-	101.0	1966-07-04 through 1966-07-04
-	101.0	1966-07-02 through 1966-07-02
-	101.0	1957-07-22 through 1957-07-22
-	101.0	1948-08-27 through 1948-08-27
5	100.0	2026-07-04 through 2026-07-04
-	100.0	2026-07-03 through 2026-07-03
-	100.0	2013-07-18 through 2013-07-18
-	100.0	2010-07-07 through 2010-07-07
-	100.0	1993-07-10 through 1993-07-10
-	100.0	1983-08-20 through 1983-08-20
-	100.0	1983-07-16 through 1983-07-16
-	100.0	1972-07-23 through 1972-07-23
-	100.0	1948-08-26 through 1948-08-26

 

Was 1963-64 an el nino summer Chris? If so there are two el nino summers ahead of it, 1963 and 2002. This was an extremely front loaded summer, no really hot days after the middle of July. Summer ended after July 15th. Too much rain for it to be hot. The early part of July was like a less extreme version of 1966 but the pattern didn't hold because the dryness in 1966 lasted until the blockbuster winter of 1966-67 began. What do you think of the idea that a very wet last month of summer leads to a warm less snowy winter?

[donsutherland1]

August finished with a monthly mean temperature of 75.8° in New York City (Central Park). That was 0.3° below normal (1991-2020).

 

[LibertyBell]

5 minutes ago, donsutherland1 said:

August finished with a monthly mean temperature of 75.8° in New York City (Central Park). That was 0.3° below normal (1991-2020).

 

Only one 90 degree day in August and even that was a very weak 91, how often has August not had any 90 degree days, Don?

[rclab]

1 hour ago, SACRUS said:

August Dep:

 

PHL: +2.3 (7.44)
JFK: +1.4 (7.49)
ISP: +1.4 (7.94)
EWR: +0.9 (10.18)
TTN: +0.7 ( 7.69)
LGA: +0.3 (7.85)
NYC: -0.5 (8.56)

The next ‘Climate Change is a myth’ publication will probably have its book signing in front of the Central Park ASOS. As always ……

[gravitylover]

That was a quick .35

edit: Make that .65

[etudiant]

7 hours ago, rclab said:

The next ‘Climate Change is a myth’ publication will probably have its book signing in front of the Central Park ASOS. As always ……

News flash: 

The vegetation around that site has been extensively cleared in order to remove a large tree next to the enclosure.

This may reduce the apparent discrepancy in temperature trends relative to other NY area sites.

[jm1220]

About 0.9” this morning. 

[donsutherland1]

9 hours ago, LibertyBell said:

Only one 90 degree day in August and even that was a very weak 91, how often has August not had any 90 degree days, Don?

JFK had two such days and LaGuardia had five. There have been 21 years where Central Park had none in August. The most recent such year was 2023.

[bluewave]

If we correct for the trees close to the NYC ASOS artificially cooling the highs, then NYC finished August warmer than average like the other stations.

August maximum temperature departures

NYC….-0.7

EWR….+0.9

LGA….+0.2

JFK…..+1.2

HPN…..+0.9

BDR….+0.4

ISP……+0.8

NBW….+1.5

PHL…..+1.5

MPO….+0.6

SMQ…..0.0

FWN….+1.5

[Brian5671]

2 hours ago, etudiant said:

News flash: 

The vegetation around that site has been extensively cleared in order to remove a large tree next to the enclosure.

This may reduce the apparent discrepancy in temperature trends relative to other NY area sites.

wonder if anyone can grab a photo of that

[uofmiami]

 

[etudiant]

On 9/1/2026 at 8:02 AM, Brian5671 said:

wonder if anyone can grab a photo of that

This is an upslope view after the tree removal. The shrubbery was trashed, but not removed.

There was no other clearing, so only the east side of the enclosure was affected.

 

[MANDA]

15 hours ago, etudiant said:

This is an upslope view after the tree removal. The shrubbery was trashed, but not removed.

There was no other clearing, so only the east side of the enclosure was affected.

 

What a hot mess that site is.  You have to wonder if the precipitation readings are also affected as well as the temperatures.  Can't tell what the tree canopy looks like but quite possible it could be affecting the rain gauge.  Doubt that tree removal makes anything more than a minimal difference in temperature readings.  That little plot of land must have its own micro climate going on.

Thanks for the picture.