Meteorology

Summary of Autumn 2023

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Meteorological Autumn is officially over. Here is a brief summary of September 1-November 30 in Stormstown, PA:  

Number of days Max T >= 90 F: 1

Number of Days Max T <= 32 F: 2

Number of Days Min T <= 32 F: 18

The first freeze of the season occurred on October 31.

Max T: 90.0 F – September 5, 2023

Min T: 17.0 F – November 29, 2023

Sep Dep from Normal: 0.0 F

Oct Dep from Normal: 1.7 F

Nov Dep from Normal: -0.5 F

Heating Degree Days: 1267

Cooling Degree Days: 129

Sep Precip: 2.43″, 1.52″ below normal

Oct Precip: 2.33″, 1.13″ below normal

Nov Precip: 2.29″, 0.70″ below normal

The first snowfall of the season occurred on November 1.

November 2023 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment
The morning of November 1, 2023

November was 0.5 deg F below normal for temperature. The high for the month was 67.4 deg. F, recorded on November 7. The low for the month was 17 deg F, recorded on November 29. There were 17 days at or below 32 F and 2 days when the maximum temperature was at or below 32 F. There were 730 heating degree days and 0 cooling degree days.

November was a below-normal month for precipitation with 2.29 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.70 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.38 inches recorded on November 21. There were 6 days of rain >.01 in, 2 >.10 in, and 1 > 1 in.

The first snowfall of the season was November 1.

High wind speed of 31 mph on November 28.

November 2023 Data

October 2023 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment
Fall Foliage on Bald Eagle Mountain

October was 1.7 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 81.5 deg. F recorded on October 3. The low for the month was 31.8 deg F, recorded on Oct 31, the first freeze of the season. There were 0 days at or above 90 deg F and 1 days at or below 32 deg F. There were 383 heating degree days and 29 cooling degree days.

October was below average for precipitation with 2.33 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 1.13 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.00 inches recorded on October 14. There were 7 days of rain >.01 in, 5 >.10 in and 0 > 1 inch.

High wind speed of 32 mph on October 8.

October 2023 Data

September 2023 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment

September was near normal for temperature. The high for the month was 90.0 deg. F recorded on September 5. The low for the month was 43.1 deg F, recorded on September 15. There was 1 day at or above 90 deg F and 0 days at or below 32 deg F. There were 154 heating degree days and 100 cooling degree days.

September had 2.43 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 1.52 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.68 inches recorded on September 9. There were 10 days of rain >.01 in, 7 >.10 in, and 0 > 1 in. There was enough rainfall to end the moderate drought conditions in Pennsylvania.

High wind speed of 25 mph on September 4.

September 2023 Data

Summary 0f Summer 2023

Bill1 Comment

Meteorological Summer is officially over. Here is a brief summary of June 1-August 31 in Stormstown, PA:

Number of days Max T >= 90 F: 1

Max T: 91.2 F – June 2, 2023

Min T: 38.4 F – June 8, 2023

Jun Dep from Normal: -2.7 F

Jul Dep from Normal: 0.0 F

Aug Dep from Normal: -1.0 F

Heating Degree Days: 165

Cooling Degree Days: 538

Jun Precip: 3.89″, 0.20″ below normal  

Jul Precip: 6.39″, 2.60″ above normal  

Aug Precip: 5.58″, 1.42″ above normal  

The main event of the summer was the Canadian wildfire smoke in June.

August 2023 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment

August was 1.0 deg F below normal for temperature. The high for the month was 87.5 deg. F recorded on August 21. The low for the month was 51.5 deg F, recorded on August 2. There were 0 days at or above 90 deg F. There were 38 heating degree days and 174 cooling degree days.

August was an above-normal month for precipitation with 5.58 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 1.42 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.22 inches recorded on August 14. There were 11 days of rain >.01 in, 8 >.10 in, and 1 >1 in.

High wind speed of 29 mph on August 8.

August 2023 Data

July 2023 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment

July was a normal month for temperature. The high for the month was 89.9 deg. F recorded on July 28. The low for the month was 54.6 deg F, recorded on July 31. There were no days at or above 90 deg F. There were 17 heating degree days and 240 cooling degree days.

July was an above-normal month for precipitation with 6.39 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 2.60 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.03 inches recorded on July 20. There were 15 days of rain >.01 in, 11 >.10 in, and 2 >1 in.

High wind speed of 37 mph on July 20.

July 2023 Data

June 2023 Weather Summary

Bill3 Comments

June was 2.7 deg F below normal for temperature. The high for the month was 91 deg. F recorded on June 2. The low for the month was 38 deg F, recorded on June 8. There were 110 heating degree days and 124 cooling degree days.

June was a below normal month for precipitation with 3.89 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.20 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.83 inches recorded on June 12. There were 11 days of rain >.01 in, 8 >.10 in and 0 >1 in.

High wind speed of 30 mph on June 14.

June 2023 Data

Here is the latest drought summary for Pennsylvania:

On two occasions, smoke drifted down from the Canadian wildfires into our region. The first was June 6-8.

The second was June 28-30.

The air quality became unhealthy during both events and the first one was slightly worse.

Canada Wildfire Smoke Reaches Stormstown

Bill1 Comment
Afternoon at Stormstown, PA on Wednesday, June 7, 2023

On Wednesday, June 7, 2023, smoke from several major wildfires in Canada drifted into the central Pennsylvania region. The air quality in the area became unhealthy as a result.

This is a graph of air quality parameters collected during the week of June 7. A Davis AirLink sensor at my home collected the data. The wood smoke adjustment was enabled.

The graph shows that the general air quality index (AQI), the index for particulates that are 10 micrometers and smaller (PMI 10) was quite high, and particulates of 2.5 micrometers and smaller (PMI 2.5). In fact, the overall AQI was in the red or unhealthy range, nearly at the purple or very unhealthy level. Particulates of 1 micrometer or smaller (PMI 1) were in the moderate range.

More information can be found in the EPA AQI guide.

May 2023 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment

May was 1.9 deg F below normal for temperature. The high for the month was 85.0 F, recorded on May 29. The low for the month was 39.9 deg F, recorded on May 18. There was 1 day at or below 32 F. There were 286 heating degree days and 67 cooling degree days.

May was a below-normal month for precipitation with 0.59 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 3.05 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.14 inches recorded on May 3. There were 7 days of rain >.01 in, 2 >.10 in, and 0 > 1 in.

It is abnormally dry throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with a small area of moderate drought conditions in the southeast quadrants.

The high wind speed for the month was 27 mph on May 1.

May 2023 Data