Summer is ending on a cool note across northern Ohio and surrounding states after a very humid start to summer through July (see previous post). August ended up being far less humid across the Ohio Valley vs the June/July period. It was still very humid especially the first half of the month but not historic.
June and July was the most humid on record for northern Ohio. Yet the June through August period ended up being the 6th most humid in northern Ohio.
Between August 20th and September 9, much of the eastern half of the US has been well below normal.
Since August 15, we've only had six days at/above 80 degrees. Five of those occurred before August 23rd. The last time we had six or less days at/above 80 degrees between August 15 and September 10 was in 1997!
When was the last time we had overall average temperatures this cool this time of year? How about 43 years ago...1982!
Notice how quickly our temperature fell after August 15th.
On top of the cooler pattern, rainfall is also well below normal after a very wet spring and first half of summer.
A large portion of Ohio is in a slight/moderate drought. Interestingly, compare this late summer/early fall to 2024 and you can see drought similarities.
Most of the Ohio Valley is running more than 4 inches below normal since mid August.
What does all of this mean for the rest of fall and into winter 2025-26? Details in the weeks ahead.