Nice Summer Weather

by Russell Russ

As it was last year, June was a very pleasant summer month for weather in Norfolk. Temperatures were on the warm side, and there were many clear, sunny days without too much humidity. There was rain scattered throughout the month, but Norfolk didn’t see much for rainfall totals even when it did rain. Parts of the state, and the Northeast in general, did get a decent amount of rainfall in June. The storms producing higher rainfall totals just kept missing Norfolk this month. It was on the dry side, but not dry enough to cause browning of lawns or dried-out gardens.

June’s low temperature of 41 degrees was observed on June 1, and the high of 91 was observed on June 29, an impressive 50-degree temperature differential. With an average monthly mean temperature of 66.8 degrees, it was 3.4 degrees above normal. This June was tied with June 1999 as the fourth warmest June over the last 90 years. There were two days this month that reached 90 degrees or higher: June 29 recorded 91 and June 30 recorded 90. Norfolk gets to 90 or above on average about two or three times a year. There were two days with daily record high temperatures this month: June 6 with 87 degrees (was 85 in 1934), and June 7 with 88 (tied the 2008 record). Norfolk was close to daily record highs on June 5, 8, 27, 28 and 30. The highest temperature ever recorded at this weather station was 101 degrees, which occurred on June 29, 1933. Norfolk’s warmest June was in 1943 with 68.3 degrees; the coolest was in 1958 with 58.8 degrees. 

The total precipitation recorded for the month was just 2.01 inches, 2.80 inches below normal. It was Norfolk’s ninth driest June over the last 90 years. The driest June was in 1988 when only 0.61 inch was recorded. The wettest June was in 2013 with 13.38 inches. There were four relatively small thunderstorms this month, occurring on three days. The largest storm rainfall total was 1.12 inches, during the morning of June 14.

For the first half of 2021, Norfolk’s total precipitation amount was 20.40 inches. This was 5.02 inches below normal through the month of June. A five-inch deficit is not too bad, and fortunately there are currently no widespread drought concerns here in the Northeast. Let us hope that things turn around a little for Norfolk and we pick up more beneficial rainfall in the coming months. A few summer thunderstorms can help bring up the total in a hurry.

An early look at July showed that we most certainly made huge gains toward reducing our yearly precipitation deficit. In fact, during the first three weeks of the month our deficit was changed to a surplus. The normal monthly rainfall amount for July is 4.33 inches. By July 22 this year the total was already a whopping 11.74 inches. With a week and a half yet to go, July 2021 was already the second wettest July over the last 90 years. Another inch or so will make this July the wettest on record. 

During the first 19 days of July, rainfall occurred on 18 of them. Not surprisingly with all of the rainy weather, temperatures were running a little below normal for the first three weeks of the month. July 2020 was the warmest on record. Could July 2021 be the wettest? Stay tuned. 

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