Third Warmest Month on Record

By Russell Russ

July was another one for the record books. As you felt, and as you probably heard on the news, July was a very warm month. For Norfolk, it was the third warmest of any observed month since 1932.
It was a typical hazy, hot and humid summer month, which Norfolk has seen many of over the years, but this July ramped it up a notch. With such a warm month, you would expect to see at least a few record daily high temperatures, but there were no daily records set. What seems to be happening is that the evening temperatures are just not dipping down as low as they used to.

July is trending warmer and wetter. Over the last 10 years, eight Julys have ranked in the top 10 for warmest. While precipitation this July was near normal, the 30-year trend shows July’s average rainfall has increased by about one inch. This is mostly due to three very high July rainfall totals over the last 12 years, in 2023, 2021 and 2014.

July’s low temperature of 49 degrees was observed on July 22 and the high of 90 was observed on July 29. The average monthly mean temperature of 72.3 degrees was 4.0 degrees above normal.
There was just one day this month that hit 90 degrees. For 2025, that makes a total of three days that reached 90 or above. Based on old Norfolk weather summaries, the general rule of thumb has Norfolk hitting 90 or above two to three times per year. A deeper dive shows that the average over the last 10 years has been two times per year and the 30-year average is only 1.5 times per year. The warmest July (and warmest of any month) was in 2020 with 73.1 degrees. The coolest July was in 1962 with 63.9 degrees.

The total recorded monthly precipitation was 4.29 inches, just 0.04 inches below normal. There were five thunderstorms observed at the station in July; none were overly severe. Perhaps the most notable storm occurred during the late afternoon of July 3 when a strong thunderstorm hit town. Rainfall was just 0.54 inches, but a brief burst of hail up to a half inch in diameter was observed. The largest rainfall total came on July 31 when 2.25 inches fell, but according to the NWS, that amount goes in August’s total since it occurred after 8 a.m. on July 31. The wettest July was in 2023 with 15.53 inches. Norfolk’s driest July was in 1939 with 1.29 inches.

Through July, Norfolk’s yearly precipitation total was 27.18 inches. This is 2.57 inches below normal. It seemed like a wet spring and summer, but only the month of May was above average for precipitation. Rain on weekends, which we saw frequently from January into mid-June, plays heavily on the mind, making us think it is wet all the time.

An early look at August’s weather through Aug. 22 showed some improvement in our local weather. For the most part, August offered up some very nice “late summer” weather for Norfolk. Except for nearly two inches of rain on Aug. 20-21, it was very dry. Temperatures were normal and may trend down toward the end of the month as they typically do in late August. There is a chance that we may see a cooler than normal month for a change. It will not be long before we feel the crisp autumn air and see the foliage changing color.

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