Summer forecast looks normal for a change
Jack Hughes
Temperatures and rainfall averages for the coming months
Southwestern Pennsylvania looks great at this time of the year. Thanks in part to Mother Nature and in part to the many individuals and groups who landscape their homes and business locations. Our leafy green canopy of trees and the beautiful shrubs and plants look their best in late May and early June. The green at this time of the year always reminds me of the green of Ireland. The little country is green all year thanks to a wet and balmy climate. Warmer summer temperatures combined with less consistent rainfall in the summer months will cause our green to begin to fade in a month or so.
This is also the time of the year when folks start to ask about our summer weather forecast. Will it be like the summer of 1988 when we had 37 days of temperatures above 90 degrees and two days with temperatures over 100. Or will it be like the cool summer of 2003 when we experienced no ninety degree temperatures?
Last year saw the temperature cross the 90-degree mark on at least nine occasions. From a climate standpoint, the average number of 90 plus days are 8 and 100 temperatures occur once every five years in July and once every 10 years in August.
We did have a bit of damp cool weather in May and for the year we are averaging about 3 degrees above normal. The past 14 months have now all seen above normal temperatures in our region. Rainfall so far this year is also averaging three inches above normal. Looks like we are experiencing a strong period of warming global temperatures including those in our area.
The scientists are beginning to be able to see the effects on our weather if these trends continue. Perhaps there is not a whole lot we can do about it or perhaps there is a lot we can do. We do need to approach this with caution as the planet has always been warming and cooling. Certainly we need to slowly transform our energy needs to mitigate the effect on our weather.
As to the coming summer months, it appears that no strong El Nino or La Nina weather pattern has or is developing.
This should set the stage for more normal conditions.
The consensus so far calls for temperatures in our area to be slightly above normal and rainfall to be normal to slightly above the average. (See chart.)
Like almost every summer, we get a few periods of hot and humid weather, but we always seem to get a refreshing cool dry front from Canada just about the time the hot and humid weather wants to overstay it蘑菇视频 visit.
Have a great summer.