The year 2012 will go down in history as the year of broken records.
I’m not talking about the Olympics.
I’m talking about the weather.
The long-awaited annual report from the National Oceanic Atmospheric
Administration was finally released and, to no one’s great surprise, it’s
official: last July was the hottest month on record for the continental United
States.
The previous record holder? July
1936, the heart of the Dust Bowl era.
For 32 states, last July now ranks as one of their top ten hottest months
ever.
Remember that warm winter? Well,
consider another record broken, a record that’s stood for the last 117
years. It’s been the warmest 12-month
period in the United States since 1895.
Records are shattering all over the country.
Oklahoma has been suffering a heat wave that has lasted over 20 days. Iowa had ten days in July of triple-digit
heat…and that’s a state where they average only one of those days per year.
Denver also has an average of one day of 100-plus temperatures per year. Last month, seven Denver days went over
100-degrees, making July 2012 their hottest month ever…and that’s after
suffering through their hottest June ever, back to back record-breaking
months. Remember July 7th? You’d remember if you lived in
Indianapolis. That turned out to be
their hottest day in history. And Wisconsin? They normally get seventeen days of 90-degree
weather for the entire year…and one day of triple-digit heat every two
years. This last July? It was all sizzle. Seventeen days of 90-degree heat and three
days when it broke over 100-degrees. That’s
an unbelievable anomaly. Hottest month
ever. It’s not even a competition.
And for Philadelphia? We fall right
in line. It’s been an average of three
degrees warmer for the last twelve months and, for July 2012, it was an average
of four degrees hotter, breaking the record for our hottest month ever. Our previous record holder? July 1947.
So take your place on the pedestal, July 2012. The gold medal goes to you…and, thank Coyote,
it’s over and done with…July 2012 is officially history.
Stay strong, citybillies. The endless
summer is almost ending…and, if you know your trees and plants, you’ll be able
to see the signs of cooler weather even sooner than most.
One sign of the impending fall? The
sunflowers are starting to droop down, dry up and close.
Do you need some hope from the heat?
Then just pay attention to the trees.
