A Review Of Summer 2021: It Was Wet! Pretty Warm Too
METEOROLOGICAL SUMMER IS OVER: WHAT A SEASON IT WAS!
Some of the statistics are pretty impressive so I wanted to compile them all in one place. Summer 2021 will go down in history as a pretty “uncooperative” summer for many as it was pretty wet at times and it was also steamy….especially at night. Air conditioners were busy.
THE BIG PICTURE
Let’s talk temperatures first. It was our 6th consecutive warmer-than-average summer but we did not have a lot of “extreme” heat. Only 4 90 degree days (although many 88s and 89s could have easily become 90 degree days. Luck of the draw). However, thanks to the elevated humidity and higher-than-usual cloud cover…the nights were warm. Overall our summertime low temperatures were the warmest in 27 years.
Rain was the big story. It was the 2nd wettest June-August on record and August was (EASILY!) the wettest in recorded history. Our area’s weather observations and records are from the Youngstown-Warren Airport in Vienna (Trumbull County). This happens to be the wettest spot in our entire area for the summer season although just about the entire WFMJ viewing area was wetter-than-average. The “driest” areas were between Rt 224 and Rt 30.
It was really humid this summer. Using the metric of number of hours with dewpoints at or above 65 degrees, it was the 2nd most humid summer on record, trailing only 1995.
20 of the last 23 summers have featured above-average dewpoints! Climate Change is here and while the impacts in a climate zone such as ours tends not to get the headlines that are generated from wildfires and more intense hurricanes…..it’s having an impact here. More moisture in the air=more precipitation=more flooding problems.
