by Barney Leach
We crossed the mid-point of summer on August 6 at 47 days into summer with 46 days remaining. The summer of 2022 began similar to the summer of 2011 with triple-digit temperatures in June. The summer of 2011 was the hottest and driest summer we have experienced in the past 28 years with 66 days of triple-digit temperatures. For July and August combined, we had fifty-seven 100 degrees plus days and an average daily high temperature of 102 degrees over the 62-day period. We had only 0.18 inch of rain for July and August combined in 2011.
Our normal high temperature for the first day of summer is 92 degrees. The summer of 2022 kicked off at a high of 99 degrees and so far, we have had 38 triple-digit temperature days, more than half of what we had for the summer of 2011. Average daily high temperature for the summer thus far has been 101 degrees.
Temperatures normally peak around the mid-summer point. For the ten-year period of 1997 to 2006, summer on an average, came in at 92 degrees, peaked at 98 degrees on August 5 and 6 and went out at 91 degrees.
However, average daily highs for the past ten days was 103 degrees, two degrees higher than the average for the summer so far which could mean we have not reached the temperature turn-around point yet.
On the rainfall side for the summer, we have had three showers of 0.12 inch on June 26, 0.15 inch on July 2 and 0.16 on July 14 for a total of 0.43 inch of rain.
