Feels like the tropics
Have we officially been reclassified as a tropical rainforest climate yet?
I am joking, of course, but it certainly feels like Costa Rica out there this late spring and summer. Well, except for the “unofficial” start of summer on Memorial Day weekend, which had us wrapping up in blankets, jeans and sweatshirts during holiday weekend cookouts. Since then, it’s been up, up, up for the temperature and humidity.
Here’s an interesting climate tidbit: As of Sunday in Pittsburgh, since June 1, there have only been 11 days with the average temperature at or below normal. Every other day has come in warmer than normal. The last day in Pittsburgh when the average temperature departure was below normal was nearly a month ago, on June 16. So, no, it’s not your imagination, it really does feel like the tropics out there this summer.
So far, July in Pittsburgh is running 3.2 degrees above normal. Unbelievably, the precipitation total officially for Pittsburgh in July is only 0.75 inches, which is 0.91 inches below normal. What you have to keep in mind is that those measurements are taken at the official climate site in Moon Township, so on a day where a small but strong storm drops 1 to 2 inches of rain on a town just a few miles from there, it won’t count in the official total unless the rain actually falls at the site where the measurements are taken.
While June’s climate numbers show an average temperature of 3.7 degrees above normal, the rainfall for June in Pittsburgh measured 5.57 inches. That’s a whopping 1.45 inches above normal. For the year so far, the total precipitation for Pittsburgh stands at 22.34 inches, which is only 0.54 inches above normal. Yet many areas around where the official numbers are measured have received round after round of deluges and sit several inches above normal for the entire year.
The hottest days so far this year have been 94 degrees on June 24, 93 degrees on June 23 and 25, 92 degrees on June 22, 91 degrees on June 26 (yes, the last week of June felt like the surface of the sun) and 90 degrees on both July 6 and 12. Pittsburgh’s annual average of 90-plus degree days is 10. This year so far, we’ve had seven. Last year, it was even hotter with Pittsburgh reaching 90 degrees or higher on 24 days. The record for most 90-degree days in Pittsburgh was 50, set back in 1881.
Maybe I could still make the best of it by digging a plunge pool in our backyard and soaking there every afternoon with a frosty daiquiri and umbrella for shade. For now, I am very thankful for air conditioning, fans and shade trees! Before we blink, Labor Day weekend will be upon us (most certainly with temperatures far above those over Memorial Day weekend), and we’ll be facing sweater weather once again.
Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.