Warmest Month on Record

by Russell Russ

Historically, July is Norfolk’s warmest month of the year. It is the summer season, and it is supposed to be warm during summer, but July 2020 was something special. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for many states in the Northeast, South and East it was either the warmest month on record or at least in their top-10 for warmest. For the Norfolk 2SW weather station it was the warmest month ever recorded since observations began in 1932. NOAA also said that across the country July was above average or very high-ranking for precipitation. Norfolk certainly did not fall into that category. Norfolk recorded another below-average month for precipitation, and its yearly precipitation deficit continued to grow. 

July’s low temperature of 57 degrees was observed on July 2 and the high of 93 degrees was observed on July 19. The July 19 temperature of 93 was a new daily record for that date, beating the 92 degrees recorded in 1991. The high of 89 on July 27 tied the 1955 record for that date. Even though there were not many record-setting days for high temperature, the monthly average was still very high. There were many days in the 82- to 88-degree range and many nights that did not dip down to more normal July overnight temperatures. The end result was Norfolk’s warmest month on record. 

July’s average monthly mean temperature of 73.1 degrees was 4.9 degrees warmer than normal. Norfolk’s warmest months of July (and of any month) on record are now July 2020 with 73.1, July 2013 with 72.7 and July 1955 with 72.1. July 2019 ranks fourth with 71.9 degrees. Norfolk’s coolest July occurred in 1962 with a monthly mean temperature of 63.9 degrees. The second coolest July was in 2000 with 64.4 degrees. 

The total precipitation recorded for the month was 3.17 inches, 1.17 inches below normal. Still, it was not even in the top 20 for being a dry July. Comparatively it was not all that dry, but it was just another lack of a drop in the bucket so to speak. Norfolk was already working with a sizable precipitation deficit after June. Other parts of Connecticut and the Northeast are seeing similar conditions. There are, however, some areas in the Northeast that have seen more rainfall and are less worried about drought conditions. Through July, Norfolk was 8.90 inches below normal for the year. Norfolk’s wettest July was in 2014 with 12.76 inches, the driest was 1939 with 1.29 inches.  

Norfolk’s August weather, through two-thirds of the month, was highlighted by two big weather events that hit during the first week. A small tornado touched down in North Norfolk on Aug. 2. The tornado in town was actually from one fairly small storm cell that had several touchdown points spanning from Sharon to Tolland, Mass. There was damage to some property, and many trees blew down at the touchdown points, but damage was not widespread. For widespread damage we only had to wait until Aug. 4 when Norfolk was hit with effects from Tropical Storm Isaias. Most of the heavy rainfall from this storm went just to the west of Connecticut. Norfolk recorded 1.16 inches of rainfall, a manageable amount. The big weather story from this storm for Norfolk and many locations throughout the state was the relatively high winds associated with Isaias. The highest gusts recorded here were between 40 and 45 mph, but it’s likely that the area saw gusts as high as 50 mph. There was extensive tree and powerline damage all across the state, though perhaps the worst was in western and northwestern Connecticut. Power was out for several days (or more) in many locations. Needless to say at this point, Norfolk’s fine emergency personnel and many utility companies were very, very busy in town for many days and nights, and many homeowners and businesses had to deal with a long-duration power outage.   

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