Beautiful Summer Weather 

By Russell Russ

If you like nice summer weather, then August was your month. Weather-wise, it was very much an average August for Norfolk. Although other parts of the state recorded numerous days with heavy rain, strong thunderstorms and even a possible tornado or two, Norfolk experienced little or no severe weather. 

August’s high temperature of 86 degrees was observed on August 19. That 86 degrees tied the 1987 record high temperature for that date. The low of 47 degrees was observed on August 26. The monthly mean temperature of 67.4 degrees was 1.0 degree above normal. Norfolk’s warmest August on record was in 2001 with a temperature of 71.0 degrees. August 2018 with 70.9 is the second warmest. The coolest August on record was in 1964 with 61.5 degrees.   

The total precipitation recorded for the month was 4.45 inches, just 0.17 inch below normal. Norfolk’s wettest August and wettest month of any month was in 1955 with 23.67 inches. The second wettest August was in 2011 with 13.36 inches. Norfolk’s driest August was in 1953 with just 0.65 inch, ranking it as Norfolk’s fourth driest month of any month. The month of August can have big swings for precipitation amounts here in Norfolk. Hurricanes obviously play a large role in this.       

Through August, the total precipitation for the year was 32.11 inches. This is 2.37 inches below normal. Norfolk is carrying a small deficit for 2019, but it is not all that bad. Many other areas in the region have seen much more precipitation. There is no widespread deficit in the Northeast this year. 

A look ahead into September’s weather through mid-month shows that the beautiful weather, for the most part, continued to bless Norfolk. Temperatures and rainfall were running about average for September. It has been a relatively quiet hurricane season and so far there have been no hurricanes that have affected northwestern Connecticut. As is usually the case, Norfolk’s fall foliage season started in late August to early September. It should be a beautiful fall foliage season in Norfolk this year. The peak day for foliage will be . . . anyone’s guess. Get out and enjoy the beautiful weather while it lasts.

Weather observations are recorded by the Great Mountain Forest at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2 SW.