Video

Winter Is Coming: 1,097 Record Low Temperatures Broken So Far In August

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Michael Bastasch DCNF Managing Editor
Font Size:

It’s been a cool summer so far for many across the U.S. as 1,097 record low temperatures were set in August, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) temperature data.

NOAA reports that 1,097 “low maximum” temperature records were broken between Aug. 1 and Aug. 23 at locations across the country this year. This means that these temperatures on the day they were recorded were the coolest on record.

After a particularly long and frigid winter, summer for much of the U.S. has been cooler than normal, according to NOAA data. The average temperature for July was just 73.3 degrees Fahrenheit — 0.3 degrees below the 20th century average. The average maximum temperature was 85.8 degrees Fahrenheit, or 0.9 degrees below average.

“Below-average temperatures stretched from the Midwest, through the Mississippi River Valley, and into parts of the Southeast, where 13 states had one of their 10 coolest July’s on record. Arkansas and Indiana each had their coolest July on record,” NOAA noted in its July climate release.

“There were more than twice as many record cool temperatures during July (5,508) than record warm temperatures (2,605), with most of the cool temperature records (3,333) being cool daytime temperatures and most of the warm temperature records (1,882) being warm nighttime temperatures,” NOAA added.

But the whole country did not experience such a cool summer. The West Coast saw above average temperatures and California is in the midst of drought. NOAA says that “the Intermountain West to the Pacific Coast. Six states had one of their 10 warmest July’s on record, but no state was record warm for the month.”

Even with the warm weather and dryness, wildfires have been lower as well this season. Only about 2.9 million acres have been burned this year, according to government data — well below the 5.8 million acre yearly average for the nine years.

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center projects that parts of the South and Northeast will experience above normal temperatures this fall. The West Coast will also see a warmer fall while the Midwest and some Mountain states get hit with below normal temperatures.

The Farmer’s Almanac, however, predicts another harsh winter in store for the U.S.

“Shivery and shovelry are back,” the Almanac’s managing editor Sandi Duncan told the Associated Press. “We’re calling for some frigid conditions, bitter conditions.”

The Farmer’s Almanac is reportedly accurate about 80 percent of the time and relies upon a secret mathematical formula to make its predictions. The formula supposedly uses sunspots, tides and planetary positions.

The Almanac made a more accurate weather prediction for the U.S. than NOAA did last winter, which saw harsh weather. But the Almanac incorrectly predicted this summer was going to be “exceptionally hot across much of North America, with ‘oppressive’ humidity throughout the eastern half of the United States.”

(H/T Sunshine Hours)

Follow Michael on Twitter and Facebook

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.