Summer of 2012 Breakdown.....(8-31-12)
We are squeezing out the last few hours of August which means we are almost done with meteorological summer. While technically September 21st is the official start to the fall season we usually consider June, July and August the ‘summer’ months.We mentioned in a previous blog that this is the 4th warmest summer on record. Here are some other interesting numbers from the summer compared to some of the more recent hot summers.
| Year | Mean | 90s+ | 80s+ | 88/89 | Humid | <70 | Rain |
| 2010 | 71.1 F | 11 | 54 | 8 | 32 | 4 | 37 |
| 2005 | 73.7 F | 20 | 71 | 15 | 29 | 2 | 30 |
| 2002 | 71.5 F | 26 | 61 | 6 | 31 | 9 | 24 |
| 1999 | 71.2 F | 20 | 62 | 14 | 19 | 4 | 29 |
| 1995 | 71.6 F | 16 | 70 | 10 | N/A | 2 | 28 |
| 1988 | 70.0 F | 25 | 57 | 4 | N/A | 11 | 32 |
| 2011 | 72.2 F | 13 | 67 | 10 | 17 | 3 | 31 |
| 2012* | 72.7F | 26 | 69 | 8 | 20 | 4 | 29 |
90s+ = Days at least 90 for a high temperature80s+ = Days at least 80 for a high temperature88/99 = Days with a high of 88 or 89 (near misses of 90 F)Humid = Days where the dew point reached or exceeded 70 F< 70 = Days where the high temperature failed to reach 70 FRain = Days with at least .01” of rainA couple of observations from the numbers above. First, we ended up with less 80 degree days then during the hottest summer, 2005. In addition, we had more days in the 60s. That probably accounts for the difference between the two summers.While it was hot, notice how we were down in numbers of what I would call ‘humid’ days (days with dew points 70 F or above). We had about a third less of those days compared to the summers of 2002, 2005, and 2010. It wasn’t quite as humid as you think.We have paid a lot of attention to our 90 degree days this summer but how do we stack up to other upstate cities?| City | 90 Degree Days |
| Syracuse | 26 |
| Rochester | 17 |
| Albany | 13 |
| Buffalo | 8 |
| Binghamton | 5 |
Quite a difference here. Rochester and Buffalo’s numbers are influenced by proximity to Lake Ontario and Erie respectively. Binghamton’s numbers are so low because their airport reporting station is up in elevation.
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