Super Summer Soaker Phloods Philadelphia Rainfall Record; Second Extreme in 3 Years

Images (click to enlarge): Top 10 wettest summers in Philadelphia, CapitalClimate chart from National Weather Service (NWS) data; Philadelphia precipitation percentage of normal for 90 days ending August 12, 2013, from NWS

There's a good reason if the Philadelphia Phanatic is looking greener than usual lately. After the summer rainfall record was broken just 1 day into August, another 2.02" this morning has pushed the Philadelphia seasonal precipitation total even further into record territory. With over 2 weeks left, the unofficial June-August rainfall total of 27.56" is barely less than 3" above the old record of 24.58" set just 2 years ago. The seasonal total to date is 245% of the climatological average for the entire 3 summer months.

San Juan Swamps Century-Plus Rainfall Record

Image (click to enlarge): Puerto Rico 24-hour precipitation ending 8 am EDT, July 19, 2013, from National Weather Service

Midnight Update: The final daily rainfall for San Juan is 9.23", the second highest for any day on record.

The year-to-date rainfall total is now 185% of normal and only about 8" below the normal for the entire year. If San Juan were to tie the record low rainfall for each of the remaining 5 months in the year, it would still finish 2013 less than 1" below normal.

5 PM Update: It's baaack! With 0.67" more in this hour, the total of 9.11" is now the second highest for any day in San Juan history and a little more than half an inch from the top spot. Moderate rain continues.

4 PM Update: Rain ended with only 0.02" in the past hour, but less than half an inch in the rest of the day would make second place on San Juan's all-time daily record list. The NWS reports that more is on the way.

The monthly total of 11.64" also breaks the old July record of 11.08" just 2 years ago.

3 PM Update: Another 1.91" in the past hour brings the San Juan daily rainfall total to 8.42", which is the second highest for any summer day and the 4th highest of all time.

2 PM Update: With light rain continuing to fall, the daily total so far is now 6.51", which is the 10th highest for any day in any month. The previous top 10 San Juan daily rainfall amounts:

15-Aug 9.67 in 1944
18-Sep 8.84 in 1989
14-Dec 8.84 in 1910
10-Sep 8.20 in 1996
11-Nov 7.92 in 1931
13-Sep 7.39 in 1928
15-Apr 7.10 in 1988
25-Nov 7.07 in 1979
12-Dec 6.96 in 1981
7-Apr 6.19 in 1915 

Original Post:
Puerto Rico should get a lot of heavy downpours in the summer with tropical cyclones, right? Well, with no organized tropical system whatever, San Juan has just smashed its all-time July daily rainfall record. The National Weather Service reports that the 4.92" so far today has exceeded by a wide margin the old record for July 18 of 3.19", set in 1950. As of that report, heavy rain was still falling.

Today's amount is also well above the old daily record for July of 4.04" on July 7, 1901. It's only the 5th time July daily precipitation has exceeded 3" in a climate history which began in 1898.

The previous top 5 July daily rainfall amounts for San Juan, from the National Climatic Data Center:

7-Jul 4.04 in 1901
23-Jul 3.66 in 1926
18-Jul 3.19 in 1950
12-Jul 3.01 in 1905
24-Jul 3.00 in 1949 

Record Heat in Northern Maine, Eastern Canada

Image (click to enlarge): U.S. temperatures at 4 pm EDT, July 15, 2013, from Unisys

Record heat extended from northernmost Maine into eastern Canada on Monday, July 15:
- The high temperature at Millinocket of 94° tied the record for the date set in 1952.
- The 94° also at Caribou broke the record of 93° set in 1952 and tied in 1968. It was also the hottest day there since July 20, 1991. Caribou climate records began in 1939.
- The CBC reports that St. John's, Newfoundland had its second hottest temperature for any day since records began there in 1942. The 31.2°C (88°F) high was only slightly below the all-time record of 31.5°C on July 6, 1983.

Caribou also broke a record the previous day with 91°, which beat the 90° in 1943.

Record Rainfall Drenches Dulles; Update: Rain Ransacks Roanoke Record

Images (click to enlarge): Washington, DC regional radar, 12:49 am EDT, July 12, 2013, from The Weather Channel; 24-hour precipitation ending 8 am EDT, July 13, 2013, for Washington region, from National Weather Service

2 PM EDT Update: The 3.88" a day earlier (July 10) at Roanoke smashed the daily record of 2.67" in 1931. It was also a new all-time July daily record in a climate history which began over a century ago in 1912. Daily amounts of 3" or more had been observed only twice before in July at Roanoke.

The 1.84" at Richmond also broke a July 10 record of 1.36" set just last year.

To the north, the 2.44" at Pittsburgh beat the daily record of 1.81" in 1958.

10 AM EDT Update: The preliminary July 11 record daily total rainfall for Dulles is 3.71". The 24-hour total ending at 8 am is 4.49", with some light rain continuing.

2 AM EDT Update: Dulles has added 0.22" from lighter thundershowers in the past hour for a storm total so far of 3.79". The reported month-to-date total is now 370% of normal.

Original Post:
Persistent thunderstorms Thursday evening have produced record rainfall in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. At Dulles Airport, the unofficial total of 3.61" through midnight (standard time) was over 3 times the old record for July 11 of 1.12" in 1977. Climate records at Dulles date back only a half-century to 1962, but this was also enough to beat the all-time July daily record of 3.50" on July 27, 1994.

The official climate record for Washington, DC, which began in 1871, shows that July daily rainfalls of 4" or more have occurred on at least 3 occasions:
4.69", July 9, 1970
4.35", July 22, 1969
4.25", July 30, 1878

Southwest Scorched by Historic Heat; Update: All-Time June Records at Death Valley, Needles

Image (click to enlarge): U.S. daily high temperatures, June 28, 2013, from Unisys. Note the bright blue area of 120°+.

July 1 Update: The 129° at the aptly-named Furnace Creek in Death Valley on June 30 was a new all-time June high temperature record there. The previous record of 128° was set on June 29, 1994 and tied on the same date this year. The June 30 reading also tied the all-time June record for the U.S. which was originally set 111 years ago on June 23, 1902 in the former town of Volcano, California.

The June average temperature of 101.3° at Death Valley easily surpassed the old June record of 100.4° in 1960. The June average daily minimum of 87.1° also set a record, exceeding the 86.8° in 1977.

At Needles, California, where climate history extends back to 1888, all-time June records were set for:
- Average temperature of 95.8° (old record 94.8° in 1994)
- Monthly maximum 123° on the 29th (old record 122° on June 11, 1918 and June 29, 1924)
- Average minimum 81.5° (old record 81.0° in 1981)

June 30, 5 PM PDT Update: As of 5 pm, Las Vegas is reporting a high so far of 117°, which ties the all-time record. The preliminary monthly average of 91.5° smokes the old June record by a full degree.

June 30, 4 PM PDT Update: The current temperature of 116° at Las Vegas ties the all-time June record set on June 15, 1940. This is the third consecutive day of 115°+ at Las Vegas.

Phoenix tied its record for June 30 at 115°.

June 29, 9 PM Update: More major heat records were set today. Some preliminary highlights:
- The 115° at Las Vegas tied the record for the date.
- Needles, California hit 123°, which set a new all-time June record in a climate history extending back to 1888.
- Kingman, Arizona beat its old June all-time high by 2° in a climate record which began in 1901.
- Salt Lake City had 105° for the second consecutive day. This was a new all-time June record.

June 29, 10 AM Update: The National Weather Service has provided additional record reports for Needles and Death Valley, California and Kingman, Arizona, included in the table below.

The 115° at Las Vegas was the first time that level was reached in June since 1994. It was also the hottest June temperature at Needles since 1994. At Kingman, it was the second earliest 110° temperature; the earliest was June 16, 1917. That also ties the all-time June record.

Original Post:
It was historically hot in the desert Southwest today. Over a dozen major National Weather Service climate locations in Arizona, Nevada and interior California tied or broke temperature records for June 28, in some cases by big margins. The highest readings in absolute terms were 118° at Palm Springs, California, which tied its 1979 record, and at Yuma, Arizona. Yuma climate records began nearly 140 years ago, in 1876. The previous record of 116° was tied 3 times, but it was soundly broken by a margin of 2°. At Winnemucca, Nevada the previous record of 101° was set just 3 years ago in a climate history which dates back to 1877, but this was surpassed by an impressive margin of 4°.

Here's a preliminary summary of today's records (POR indicates first year of period of record):

	Location	Record	Previous	Date	POR
AZ	Flagstaff	96	94	1990/1974	1898
	Winslow	107	104	1973	1898
	Prescott	104	100	1990	1948
	Yuma	118	116	1994/1990/1985	1876
	Kingman	110	107	1914	1901
NV	Elko	103	101	1892	1888
	Eureka	100	95	2010/2007	1963
	Tonopah	101	101	1956	1954
	Winnemucca	105	101	2010	1877
	Las Vegas	115	115	1994	1937
	Reno	103	100	2010	1888
CA	Bishop	107	105	1956	1943
	Palm Springs	118	118	1979	1893
	Death Valley	125	125	1994	1911
	Needles	121	119	1994	1888

New York on Track for Wettest June in 145-Year Climate Record

Images (click to enlarge): June total rainfall to date for New York and southern New England from National Weather Service (NWS); 48-hour total precipitation forecast through Friday evening, June 28, from WPC/NWS

June 27 (Thursday), 10:30 PM Update: The 0.23" so far tonight brings the monthly total to 10.09", which surpasses the 10.06" in 2009 as the second wettest June on record.

Original Post:
The 0.05" of rain which fell at New York's Central Park in light showers this evening brings the month-to-date total to 9.86". This puts June 2013 firmly in position as the 3rd wettest June in a climate history which extends back to 1869. Less than half an inch now separates the current month from the June record of 10.27" in 2003. With over 1" of rain forecast for Thursday and Friday (June 27-28), the record is well within reach.

The 3 wettest Junes in New York have now all occurred in the past 11 years. The all-time wettest month was August 2011, when 18.95" fell.

Early Summer Heat Krushes Kansas Records

9 PM CDT Update: The preliminary final high temperature at Goodland was 107°, smashing the old record by 7°. Other records were tied or broken in Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas.

	Location	Record	Previous	Date
AZ	Winslow	99	99	1956/1921/1918
	Douglas	105	101	1981/1956
NM	Albuquerque	101	101	1981
	Clayton	101	99	2010	June 10
WY	Cheyenne	92	91	1956/1893
CO	Colorado Springs	97	93	1956
	Pueblo	104	100	2001/1956
	Denver	100	95	1956
	Burlington	107	102	1918
	Yuma	106	100	1956	Unofficial
NE	Sidney	96	96	1956
	McCook	108	106	1918
KS	Goodland	107	100	2001/1953/1952
	Hill City	111	106	1953
	Garden City	108	102	1953
	Dodge City	104	103	1977
	Tribune	111	102	2010	Unofficial
	Colby	107	104	1918	Unofficial

Original post:
Triple-digit temperatures are crushing temperature records in western Kansas this afternoon. At Goodland, Kansas, where climate records began in 1895, it was 100° on June 11, 2001, which tied a record previously reached in 1953, 1952, and also in some previous years. Today, the temperature broke that record with 101° at 1 pm CDT, 102° the following hour, 105° the next, and retreated slightly to 104° in the current hour.

At Garden City, where a new record of 105° was reported at 2 pm (old record 102° in 1953), the thermometer has kept right on soaring to 108° in the current hour.

More records will be posted as the reports become available.