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Jun 15, 2018 By Jack Hughes for The 3 min read

While East Coast and Middle Atlantic cities bake and broil in the heat and humidity of summer, itÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ comforting to know that the mountain areas of Southwestern Pennsylvania offer a respite from the hot and humid weather that on occasion overstays its visit.

Shady bike trails and state parks, along with cool mountain streams and lakes, make for some comfortable days to enjoy the outdoors. Judging by the increased number of out-of-state license plates I see, folks are catching on to our little secret. Several plates from nearby Maryland, Virginia and Ohio and more frequently, plates from the Carolinas and Georgia where summers keep many indoors are popping up.

Summer days in Baltimore, Washington and Richmond can be very uncomfortable for outdoor activities with not only hot temperatures, but very uncomfortable humidity levels. Temperatures frequently in the 90s and occasionally at or above 100 are not much fun. In the summer months, our mountain-area temperatures are usually some 4-8 degrees cooler than Uniontown and Pittsburgh and some 8-12 cooler than cities in Maryland and Virginia. The reason for this is that temperatures decline about 5 degrees per thousand feet of increased elevation. Washington with an elevation near sea level on a summer day can have a temperature near 100 degrees, while a mountain elevation of 2,500 feet will be in the low to mid 80s.

ItÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ only June, but much of the country quickly shed the cold of March and April while May turned out some unprecedented heat. It was the warmest May ever recorded in the United States with above average temperatures in every state. Our area saw average temperatures 8 degrees above normal for the month and on every day of the month we experienced temperatures above normal. Records for the country go back 124 years. While we are looking for the summer to have slightly above normal temperatures, at this point, the heat should not be extreme or long lasting.

Lower elevations like Uniontown and Pittsburgh on average see about 8 days per summer with temperatures 90 degrees or better. Mountain areas rarely get above 90 and average only one or two days above 90 degrees per season.

The average number of days with 90 degrees or better and the reason we see those license plates:

Harrisburg — 21 days

Washington — 34

Philadelphia — 23

Richmond — 41

Baltimore — 31

Charlotte — 44

If you like hot temperatures, you might enjoy Las Vegas with 134 days above 90 each year. Much of Texas will experience 100 days each year with temperatures above 90. In the summer of 1980, Dallas recorded 69 days with temperatures above 100 degrees and 42 of those days were consecutive from June 23 until August 3. Again in 2011, Dallas had 40 consecutive days from July 2 until August 10 with readings of 100 or more. Many folks from Dallas fled the city for a few days or a week or two just to experience some cooler weather. Enjoy your summer and letÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ be thankful we live in such a beautiful place.