How was your summer?
Compared with last year’s drought and excessive heat this was a pretty nice summer.
We did have a few too many rainy weekends but overall we managed plenty of nice, sunny, comfortable days and the rains we experienced kept lawns green and crops and flowers happy.
Meteorological summer actually ends on the last day of August and while August saw rainfall of 2.52 inches above normal, June and July were 1.39 inches below average so overall summer was a bit on the wet side.
Summer rainfall is difficult to measure since it can vary widely over short distances with one thundershower producing a downpour while just down the road little or no rain falls.
Rainfall for Uniontown this August was 6.47 inches. Pittsburgh measured 7.62 inches and Morgantown had 5.87 inches. Several areas had heavy downpours that produced flooding and once again show how varied rainfall totals can be over a small area with summer type precipitation.
In spite of the fact that a very strong “El Nino” weather pattern has developed we seem to be doing OK so far. Other areas of the country continue to see devastating fires, floods, drought and storms. So far, the Atlantic Basin has not had a hurricane which is typical for El Nino patterns. The Pacific and Gulf of Mexico usually see more activity, Hawaii just had visits from two hurricanes, and Texas got heavy rains from a tropical storm this past week.
While we did have visits from several heat domes that produced 10 90-degree-or-higher days in July. August only had two 90-degree-or-higher readings and June also had two of these warm days. Our total this season was 14 compared with 28 for last year and 29 for 2024.
The annual average is 14. As I write this on Wednesday of this past week, temperatures are expected to flirt with 90 both today and Thursday and the rest of the month looks like the 90s may be finished. The latest 90-degree reading in Uniontown was on Oct. 10, 1949. Last year our last 90-degree day was on Aug. 19.
September across Southwestern Pennsylvania is usually a beautiful month with refreshing mornings and pleasant, sunny afternoons. Temperatures start out on the first with an average of 58 for the low and 82 for the high, and end the month at 47 and 71 degrees.
In the past it has been as warm as 99 and as chilly as 29. Average rainfall is 3.11 inches and any snow holds off until October or later.
Our forecast for September includes temperatures slightly above average and rainfall about normal for the month.
September is one of my favorites and a great time to enjoy the beauty of where we live.
By months end the colors will begin to show and get ready for their annual spectacular in October and with all the sunshine and rain this year it should be a great event.