Nice Summer Weather

By Russell Russ

This June was a beautiful summer weather month in Norfolk. May was not so great, but June was a beauty. If you had a big outdoor event, chances are you had nice weather for it. While even Norfolk can get some hot and humid weather, it usually does not last long, and that was the case this month. There were only about four really warm days with high humidity. We can take that. June is also the month for local mountain laurel blooming, and this year was a good one. Blooming occurred June 5-20, about normal for this area.

June’s low temperature of 41 degrees was observed on June 2, and the high of 87 degrees was observed on June 11. There were no days with record temperatures and no days in the 90s. With a monthly mean temperature of 65.9 degrees, it was 2.5 degrees above normal. It may not have felt that warm, but it was tied with 1976 as Norfolk’s 11th warmest June on record. Norfolk’s warmest June was in 1943 with 68.3 degrees; the coolest was in 1958 with 58.8 degrees.

Notable in June was the high pollen level, especially June 3-8. Pine pollen is always high about this time and it is common to see yellow clouds of pine pollen drifting down from the trees and covering everything below. This is one of the downsides of June. Fortunately, a little rain on June 6 helped to minimize the pollen situation.

On a historical note, since 1932, this weather station has only once recorded a temperature of 100 degrees or higher. A high of 101 degrees recorded on June 29, 1933, stands as Norfolk’s highest “official” recorded temperature.

The total precipitation recorded for the month was 2.35 inches, 2.46 inches below normal. This was considerably below normal, but not high ranking for being dry. The rainfall we did get was evenly distributed throughout the month. There were four non-severe thunderstorms observed at the weather station in June. Other parts of the region have had more thunderstorms and more rainfall. So far this summer, Norfolk has narrowly missed the heavier rain and severe weather. Norfolk’s driest June was in 1988 when only 0.61 inch was recorded. The wettest was in 2013 with 13.38 inches.

For the first half of 2026, Norfolk’s total precipitation was 19.44 inches, 5.98 inches below normal. Norfolk is building a deficit, but we are not talking about drought conditions just yet. With other areas of Connecticut and neighboring states getting average or above-average rainfall this summer, any near-drought conditions are very localized.

July really turned up the heat. Three days in a row, July 1-3, all topped 90 degrees. A high of 94 on July 2 was a record for that date. Temperatures moderated later in the month, and by July 24 both temperatures and rainfall were near average for July.

Norfolk only reaches 90 or above two to three times each year and rarely do we get to 94 or above. A deep dive into the weather record files showed that Norfolk has recorded 94 degrees only five times in the last 95 years. Norfolk has hit 95 or above only seven times, meaning that Norfolk has only 12 times (at this station) recorded 94 degrees or above—in 95 years. The Icebox gets warm, but not often. Interestingly, most of Norfolk’s highest recorded temperatures occurred during the summers of 1933 and 1936. Weather observations are recorded by the Great Mountain Forest at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2SW.