Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
000 CXUS51 KGYX 030943 CLSAUG PWMCLSAUG 000 TTAA00 GYX 011114 CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 714 AM EDT FRI SEP 01 2023 ................................... ...THE AUGUSTA CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE SUMMER SEASON, FROM 6/1/2023 TO 8/31/2023... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1948 TO 2023 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 100 08/05/1955 LOW 36 06/09/1955 HIGHEST 93 06/01 93 0 93 08/04 08/07 LOWEST 43 06/04 44 -1 44 06/01 AVG. MAXIMUM 76.8 77.8 -1.0 80.3 AVG. MINIMUM 60.0 57.7 2.3 59.9 MEAN 68.4 67.7 0.7 70.1 DAYS MAX >= 90 3 4.0 -1.0 10 DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MIN <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 18.94 2009 MINIMUM 4.76 1949 TOTALS 17.36 10.62 6.74 9.17 DAILY AVG. 0.19 0.12 0.07 0.10 DAYS >= .01 52 35.6 16.4 33 DAYS >= .10 29 19.9 9.1 22 DAYS >= .50 11 6.5 4.5 5 DAYS >= 1.00 5 2.3 2.7 1 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 2.96 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 113 122 -9 77 SINCE 7/1 7 28 -21 1 COOLING TOTAL 456 377 79 575 SINCE 1/1 475 387 88 610 ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 5.4 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 25/350 DATE 06/06 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 35/040 DATE 06/03 SKY COVER AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.54 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 77 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 13 HEAVY RAIN 19 RAIN 27 LIGHT RAIN 53 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0 LIGHT SNOW 0 FOG 68 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 31 HAZE 8 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && THE SUMMER OF 2023 WAS WET IN THE AUGUSTA AREA. MORE OFTEN THAN NOT A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WAS IN THE VICINITY OF THE NORTHEAST WHICH LED TO FREQUENT PRECIPITATION EVENTS. MANY OF THESE PRECIPITATION EVENTS INVOLVED VERY HEAVY RAIN ACROSS MAINE WITH WFO GYX ISSUING MORE FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS WITHIN THE FORECAST AREA THAN ANY OTHER YEAR. THE BULK OF THESE FLASH FLOODING EVENTS OCCURRED ACROSS THE INTERIOR OF MAINE INTO THE MOUNTAINS. A WARM START TO THE SUMMER SAW TWO DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORDS FALL ON THE FIRST TWO DAYS WHEN JUNE 1ST HIT 93 AND THE 2ND HIT 91. AFTER THIS WARM START TO SUMMER THE NAO QUICKLY DROPPED INTO NEGATIVE TERRITORY WHILE THE PNA TURNED POSITIVE. THESE TELECONNECTIONS FAVORED A PATTERN OF UPPER LOWS LINGERING OVER NEW ENGLAND AS A BLOCKING RIDGE OVER EASTERN CANADA INHIBITED THE EASTWARD PROGRESSION OF THESE SYSTEMS. THIS PATTERN RESULTED IN TEMPERATURES RUNNING BELOW NORMAL FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE, WITH THE 4TH ONLY REACHING A HIGH OF 50 WHICH SET A NEW RECORD COOL HIGH FOR THE DAY. THE PERSISTENT UPPER LOWS LED TO 22 DAYS OF THE MONTH WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION AND 25 DAYS WITH FOG. WHILE THE NAO DID TREND TOWARDS NEUTRAL DURING THE SECOND HALF OF JUNE THE POSITIVE PNA HELPED TO MAINTAIN THE UNSETTLED PATTERN THROUGH THE END OF THE MONTH. THE NAO TURNED SHARPLY NEGATIVE IN EARLY JULY AND STAYED THERE THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH. THIS CONTINUED THE UNSETTLED PATTERN THROUGH MUCH OF JULY WITH FRONTAL SYSTEMS OFTEN STALLING OVER THE AREA DUE TO A DOWNSTREAM BLOCKING RIDGE NEAR LABRADOR CANADA. THE AUGUSTA AREA REMAINED ON THE WARM AND HUMID SIDE OF THESE STALLED FRONTS RESULTING IN A STRETCH OF 25 DAYS WHERE THE DEWPOINT DID NOT DROP BELOW 60 DEGREES. ALONG WITH THE PROLONGED HUMIDITY, THE LOW TEMPERATURE IN AUGUSTA STAYED ABOVE 60 DEGREES FROM THE END OF JUNE THROUGH MUCH OF JULY. AT THE END OF JULY THE NAO TRENDED TOWARDS NEUTRAL ALLOWING FOR FRONTAL SYSTEMS TO SWEEP ACROSS THE AREA LEADING TO COOLER AND DRIER AIR TO ARRIVE INTO THE AREA. TEMPERATURES AVERAGED ABOVE NORMAL IN JULY, LARGELY DUE TO WARM NIGHT TIME TEMPERATURES. THE THEME OF FREQUENT PRECIPITATION EVENTS CONTINUED THROUGH AUGUST. DURING THE FIRST HALF OF AUGUST THE NAO REMAINED NEGATIVE WHILE THE PNA REMAINED POSITIVE WITH THESE TELECONNECTIONS FAVORING A TROUGH JUST WEST OF NEW ENGLAND. THE NAO DID TREND TOWARDS NEUTRAL AT TIMES, WHICH ALLOWED THE TROUGH AXIS TO SHIFT NEAR OVERHEAD OF THE AUGUSTA AREA AND SOMETIMES EAST OF NEW ENGLAND. THIS EASTWARD SHIFT OF THE TROUGH AXIS ALLOWED FOR COOL AND DRY HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEMS TO BUILD INTO THE AREA BRINGING PERIODS OF DRY WEATHER WITH TEMPERATURES TRENDING NEAR NORMAL. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE SUMMER WAS 68.4 DEGREES, WHICH WAS 0.7 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THE WARMEST SUMMER ON RECORD WAS IN 1973 WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 71.2 DEGREES. THE COOLEST WAS 63.7 DEGREES IN 1968. A TOTAL OF 17.36 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL, WHICH WAS 6.74 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL AND THE 3RD WETTEST SUMMER ON RECORD. THE HEAVIEST RAIN FELL ON AUGUST 8TH WHEN 2.96 INCHES FELL IN 24 HOURS. THE WETTEST SUMMER WAS IN 2009 WHEN A TOTAL OF 18.94 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL. THE DRIEST WAS 4.76 INCHES IN 1949. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE WETTEST SUMMERS ON RECORD AT AUGUSTA. MOST PRECIPITATION IN SUMMER (SINCE 1948)... RANK PRECIP YEAR 1 18.94 2009 2 18.05 2006 3 17.36 2023 <=== 4 16.58 2013 5 16.51 2014 6 15.63 1976 7 14.98 1954 8 14.08 1991 9 13.67 1973 10 13.31 2012 THE AUGUSTA AREA EXPERIENCED 52 DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION DURING THE SUMMER OF 2023. THIS WAS THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION DURING SUMMER. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE SUMMERS WITH MOST DAYS OF MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION. MOST DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION IN SUMMER (SINCE 1871)... RANK DAYS YEAR 1 52 2023 <=== 2 47 2009 3 45 2013 45 2008 5 44 2006 6 43 2004 7 41 2000 41 1986 9 39 2005 39 1999 39 1954 THE FOLLOWING DAILY RECORDS WERE SET OR TIED IN SUMMER 2023... DATE RECORD PREVIOUS JUN 1 93 - WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 92 IN 2013 JUN 2 91 - WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 86 IN 1990 JUN 4 50 - COOLEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 55 IN 2018 JUL 2 1.18 - GREATEST PRECIPITATION 0.85 IN 1986 JUL 16 71 - WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 70 IN 2013 AND OTHERS JUL 29 0.93 - GREATEST PRECIPITATION 0.93 IN 1981 (TIED) AUG 8 2.96 - GREATEST PRECIPITATION 1.20 IN 2008 $$ DS