Summer of 2010 Hagerstown's hottest

September 01, 2010|By DAVE McMILLION

By Ric Dugan, Staff Photographer

HAGERSTOWN -- If you found yourself grimacing at the sun more than usual this summer, it probably was for a good reason.

Hagerstown weather observer Greg Keefer reports on his website -- http://www.i4weather.net -- that Hagerstown had the hottest summer on record with a three-month summer average temperature of 77.7 degrees. That broke the record of 76 degrees set in 1995, according to the website.

Keefer's records consider summer to be June 1 to Aug. 31.

This was the second driest summer on record with 4.96 inches of rain, according to Keefer's records. The driest summer was in 1966 with 4.49 inches of rain, the website shows.

This summer also saw the third-hottest August on record with an average temperature of 77.1 degrees, Keefer's records show. The hottest August was in 1995, when the average temperature was 78.3 degrees, according to the website.

Hagerstown residents also endured the hottest June on record this summer. The average temperature for the month was 76 degrees, topping the previous hottest June by one degree, according to Keefer's records. During June, there were three days in which the city tied or set a record for high temperatures, the website shows.

The unusually hot weather can be attributed to weather systems that ushered in domes of high pressure, according to Greg Schoor, a National Weather Service meteorologist. If the high pressure domes are in the right place, they draw warm air from the south, Schoor said Wednesday. The systems also can be resistant to moving, Schoor said.

Despite the unusual weather, Schoor said he has not witnessed any new debates about global warming.

"This is just normal weather phenomena," Schoor said. "It happens all the time."

The same patterns can occur in the winter and drive temperatures into the 50s, he said.

The Tri-State area is expected to get some relief from the heat this weekend. Saturday's high temperature is expected to be 76 degrees and Sunday's forecast is for a high temperature of 77 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

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