July was Hot, Hot, HOT!

July 2012 ended up as the hottest month on record for the contiguous United States since records began being kept in 1895 according to NOAA.

Closer to home, in Bangor, July ended about two degrees above normal for the month.  The average maximum temperature was 81.5 degrees compared to the normal (1981 - 2010) of 79.4 degrees. The warmest day was July 14th when it was 91 degrees, with the record high (since 1925) being 99 on July 14, 1995. The average low temperature was 58.8 degrees, compared to the normal low average of 57.7 degrees. The lowest temperature occured on July 21 when it fell to 50 degrees. The record low occured on July 16, 1946 when it was 37 degrees. Most DownEast areas experienced two to three days at or above 90 degrees.

If your brown lawn is any indication, you know that July 2012 was extremely dry! In fact July 2012 ended as one of the driest months on record. Bangor only received .59 inches of rain, which made it the second driest July since 1925. Usually Bangor averages 3.46 inches of rain. July 1983 holds the record as the wettest July when 7.25 inches of rain fell, and July 1952 is the driest July when only .27 inches of rain fell.

You can read the full climate report for July 2012 from the National Weather Service in Caribou here http://www.maine.gov/mema/weather/pwmclmbgr. Now excuse me while I go turn up the air conditioner.