Heat and drought: this summer entered the New York book of records

Residents and visitors to New York pretty sweat this summer. Such a hot summer has not been here for more than ten years, reports Spectrum News.

New York City had the most 32-degree days this summer since 2010. The count was 30 days at LaGuardia Airport, 24 at Central Park, and 16 at JFK. During a typical summer, there are about 15 days with similar temperatures.

The reason for the hotter days in La Guardia is that the area gets more sun than the temperature gauge in Central Park.

Overall, this summer was the 6th hottest on record. This is the 5th summer since 2000, included in the top of the hottest. With all this talk of summer statistics, you might be asking, “Doesn’t summer end on the autumnal equinox in a few weeks?” Well, not quite.

In the weather world, we keep track of the seasons differently than most people do. There are meteorological seasons and there are astronomical seasons. Most people are familiar with the astronomical season. They begin and end on the equinoxes and solstices.

In the scientific world, they track the seasons by month. Summer is June, July and August, and autumn is September, October and November. Winter is December, January and February, and spring is March, April and May.

So when you hear statistics about a record winter or spring, they refer to meteorological seasons. And not to the usual seasons of equinox and solstice.

The reason scientists keep track of the seasons differently is that when months are used, the times in a season are always the same. The solstices and equinoxes can shift by a few days each year.

So why was it so hot this summer? The answer has to do with the lack of rain.

This summer has been dry. Overall, the rainfall was almost eleven and a half millimeters below the average. August was especially dry. This month saw the least rainfall in New York City since 1994.

In August there were 11 days with a temperature of 32 degrees or more. It was the 4th hottest August in 153 years.

The average temperature in August this year was almost the same as in July. This is unusual as July is usually the hottest month of the year for New York City. The lack of rain contributed to the increased heat in August.

On the subject: Severe weather warning issued in New York: floods possible due to downpours

Dry soil requires less energy to heat than wet soil. This is because it takes more heat to heat the water. So as the dry streak in August intensified, so did the heat.

The dry second half of summer also brings with it a lackluster fall foliage season for New York.