Summary 0f Summer 2023

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

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

Robin’s Nest

On Friday afternoon July 21, 2023, I was trimming back the Hydrangas by our front door. It was then that I discovered a bird’s nest, with 3 light blue eggs. I immediately stopped trimming and let them be. A few days later, on July 25, I found that the eggs had hatched.

On July 29 they had grown quite a bit.

On the morning of July 30, I found that one of the hatchlings was not in the nest. I found it nearby and rescued it. It seemed to be uninjured, but it was probably tired, thirsty, and hungry.

On August 1, their flight feathers were developing.

On August 4, I took my last photograph of the young birds in their nest.

On August 5, the nest had fallen from its original location with no sign of the young Robins.

Later, one hatchling was spotted on the ground in the shrubs. It is hoped that the others survived as well.

Update: Early in the evening I found one of the fledglings in our backyard.

June 2023 Weather Summary

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.

March 2023 Weather Summary

March was 1.6 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 60.9 deg. F, recorded on March 23. The low for the month was 18.5 deg F, recorded on March 19. There were 2 days where the maximum temperature was at or below 32 F, and there were 21 days where the minimum temperature was at or below 32 F. There were 815 heating degree days and 0 cooling degree days.

March was a below-normal month for precipitation with 2.81 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.57 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.89 inches recorded on March 23. There were 10 days of rain >.01 in, 7 >.10 in, and 0 > 1 in. There were also 3.9 inches of snow.

High wind speed of 37 mph on March 4.

March 2023 Data

Summary of Winter 2022-2023

Meteorological Winter is officially over. Here is a brief summary of December 1, 2022-February 28, 2023 in Stormstown, PA:

Number of Days Max T <= 32 F: 9  

Number of Days Min T <= 32 F: 66 

Number of Days Min T <= 0 F: 2  

Max T: 70.9 F – February 15, 2023  

Min T: -2.3 F – December 7, 2022

Dec Dep from Normal: -1.4 F  

Jan Dep from Normal: 9.5 F  

Feb Dep from Normal: 7.9 F  

Heating Degree Days: 2725 

Cooling Degree Days: 2 

Dec Precip: 3.32″, 0.14″ above normal  

Jan Precip: 3.35″, 0.43″ above normal  

Feb Precip: 1.99″, 0.47″ below normal  

February 2023 Weather Summary

Stormstown, PA – 02/28/2023

February was 7.9 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 70.9 deg. F, recorded on February 15. The low for the month was 5.2 deg F, recorded on February 4. There were 2 days when the maximum was at or below 32 F and 22 days when the minimum temperature was at or below 32 F. There were 786 heating degree days and 2 cooling degree days.

February was a below-normal month for precipitation with 1.99 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.47 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.74 inches recorded on February 28. There were 9 days of rain >.01 in, 7 >.10 in and 0 > 1 in.

There were 1.0 inches of snow for the month, with a maximum daily total of 1.0 inches on February 28.

High wind speed of 41 mph on February 21.

February 2023 Data

January 2023 Weather Summary

January was 9.5 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 58.0 deg. F, recorded on January 4. The low for the month was 20.4 deg F, recorded on January 16. There was 1 day when the maximum was at or below 32 F, 20 days when the minimum temperature was at or below 32 F, and 0 days when the minimum temperature was at or below 0 F. There were 878 heating degree days and 0 cooling degree days.

January was an above-normal month for precipitation with 3.35 inches of liquid precipitation recorded, which was 0.43 inches above normal. The maximum liquid precipitation in a single day was 1.03 inches recorded on January 19. There were 16 days of rain >.01 in, 6 >.10 in and 1 > 1 in.

There were 5.2 inches of snow for the month, with a maximum daily total of 3.2 inches on January 26.

High wind speed of 36 mph on January 23.

January 2023 Data

2022 Stormstown Weather Summary

Overall, the year’s temperatures were slightly above normal. The annual mean of 50.5 F was 0.2 F above normal. The annual precipitation of 39.66 inches was 1.87 inches below normal.

2022 Weather Data

January

January was the coldest month of 2022 and was colder than normal with a monthly mean of 24.3 F, which was -2.9 F below normal, with a high of 53.8 F and a low for the month of -6.2 F, which was also the low for the year.. Precipitation was 1.63 inches below normal with 1.29 inches of liquid precipitation. There were 13.8 inches of snow this month.

February

February was an above-normal month for temperature, with a mean of 30.8 F, which was 1.7 F above normal. The high was 11.8 F and the low was 5.7 F. Precipitation was 1.88 inches above normal at 4.34 inches. There were 3.4 inches of snow for the month, with a maximum daily total of 1.7 inches on February 25.

March

March temperatures were also mild at 4.1 F above normal with a high of 71.5 F and a low of 12.5 F. Precipitation was 0.13 inches below normal with 3.25 inches of liquid precipitation. The high wind speed for the month and year was 42 mph. There was also 11.1 inches of snow. There was pea-sized hail observed during a severe thunderstorm on March 31.

April

Temperatures were 1.7 F below normal in April. The high was 83.2 F and the low was 26.8 F. Rainfall was 0.67 inches below normal at 2.84 inches. It snowed about 5 inches on April 18. The last day of temperatures below freezing was April 28.

May

Temperatures were 1.8 F above normal with a high of 89.2 F and a low of 34.3 F. Precipitation was 5.22 inches, 1.58 inches above normal. May was the rainiest month of 2022.

June

Temperatures for the month were near normal at 0.1 F above normal. The high for the month, as well as the year, was 92.6 F and the low was 46.9 F. Precipitation was 0.69 inches below normal with 3.40 inches of rainfall. Potential dry conditions were becoming a concern this month.

July

Thunderstorm north of Port Matilda, PA

July was the warmest month of 2022. The temperatures were 0.8 F above normal. The high for the month was 91.2 F and the low was 50 F. Rainfall was 1.77 inches below normal with 2.02 inches of precipitation.

Drought conditions worsened in July:

August

August temperatures were 0.6 F above normal. The high was 89.7 F and the low was 44.99 F. Precipitation was 0.96 inches below normal at 3.20 inches.

Most of Centre County became abnormally dry:

September

Temperatures were 0.2 F below normal. The high was 87.0 F and the low was 37.3 F. There were 3.72 inches of rainfall, which was 0.21 inches below normal. Dry conditions persisted:

October

October was chilly with temperatures at 2.7 F below normal. The high was 74.2 F and the low was 27.6 F. Rainfall was near normal at 2.05 inches, which was 1.41 inches below normal. The first freeze of the season occurred on October 20.

November

Temperatures in November were mild at 2.5 F above normal. The high was 77 F and the low was 11 F. Precipitation was 4.99 inches, 2.00 inches above normal. The remnants from Hurricane Nicole caused over 3″ of rainfall during November 11-12. There were 5 inches of snow recorded on November 15.

December

December was 1.4 deg F below normal for temperature. The high for the month was 59.3 deg. F, recorded on December 7. The low for the month was -2.3 deg F, recorded on December 23. The temperature plunged over 35 F in 12 hours on December 23:

The hard freeze damaged one polycarbonate measuring tube:

December was an above-normal month for precipitation with 3.32 inches of liquid precipitation recorded, which was 0.14 inches above normal. There were 4.5 inches of snow.

2022 Insolation

2022 Daily Solar Radiation (W/m**2)

December 2022 Weather Summary

December was 1.4 deg F below normal for temperature. The high for the month was 59.3 deg. F, recorded on December 7. The low for the month was -2.3 deg F, recorded on December 23. There were 24 days when the minimum temperature was at or below 32 F, 6 days when the maximum temperature was at or below 32 F, and 2 days when the minimum temperature was below 0. There were 1061 heating degree days and 0 cooling degree days.

On December 23, the temperature plunged over 35 F in 12 hours.

The subzero temperatures caused the precipitation in the polycarbonate measurement tube of a rain gauge to expand and crack the tube.

Cracked measurement tube.

December was an above-normal month for precipitation with 3.32 inches of liquid precipitation recorded, which was 0.14 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.89 inches recorded on December 22. There were 13 days of rain >.01 in, 9 >.10 in and 0 > 1 in.

High wind speed of 43 mph on December 23.

Snowfall for December: 4.5 inches

December 2022 Data