Dry conditions were prominent again this month across most of the Northeast. Maryland was the driest state, reporting 45% of the normal August precipitation and recording their 7th driest August in 104 years of record. August precipitation in Vermont, however, continued to follow the wet pattern that was initiated in June. Vermont was the only state to report wetter than normal conditions this month, recording 116% of their normal monthly rainfall. The Northeast overall received an average of 79% of the normal precipitation for their 24th driest August on record.
Precipitation for the three-month summer season (June-July-August) ranged from quite low to record-breaking high amounts across the Northeast. Delaware and Maryland both reported over 3 inch deficits for the summer season. This represented 71% of normal for each state. It was the 8th driest summer on record in Maryland and the 16th driest in the last 104 years in Delaware. Vermont was at the other end of the spectrum. The state received an excess of 6.24 inches or 152% of normal for the three months, making it the wettest summer this century. Burlington, VT, set a record for the wettest summer on record. The total of 24.78 inches beat the summer of 1892, which had 22.74 inches. New Hampshire reported its 9th wettest summer on record (135% of normal) and Rhode Island had its 12th wettest (143% of normal). The region overall leaned slightly toward the wet side of normal with 109% of the average summer accumulation.
August average temperatures around the twelve-state region ranged from 0.5 degrees warmer than normal in New Hampshire to 1.8 degrees warmer than normal in Massachusetts. The area-weighted regional average was 1.4 degrees warmer than normal. Summertime temperatures averaged well within the normal range. All states reported three-month departures that were within a half degree of normal. The summer average temperature for the entire region was just 0.2 degrees warmer than normal and 0.6 degrees warmer than last summer.
Monthly Summary of State Temperature and Precipitation Averages.
Daily Precipitation Records (inches) City Date New Previous Burlington, VT 11th 3.62* 1.39 in 1995 Rochester, NY 18th 1.38 1.24 in 1914 Rochester, NY 25th 2.51 1.32 in 1892 Bridgeport, CT 26th 0.74 0.38 in 1967* - also record for month of August. Previous record was 3.59 inches on 8/17/95.
Maximum Temperature Records (degrees F) City Date New Previous Caribou, ME (tie) 8th 88 88 in 1995 Caribou, ME 9th 90 89 in 1995 Caribou, ME 10th 79 75 in 1997 Beckley, WV (tie) 24th 87 87 in 1968 Washington Ntnl AP (tie) 25th 97 97 in 1968 Minimum Temperature Records (degrees F) City Date New Previous Binghamton, NY 1st 49 50 in 1964 Elkins, WV 2nd 46 46 in 1912 Baltimore, MD 2nd 55 55 in 1952 Baltimore, MD 3rd 55 55 in 1959 Albany, NY 20th 45 46 in 1964 Binghamton, NY 20th 45 47 in 1988 WB-Scranton, PA (tie) 20th 45 45 in 1944 Parkersburg, WV 20th 50 51 in 1953 Baltimore, MD 20th 49 54 in 1964