How hot was the summer of 2011? Fifth warmest in history
In the end, it wasn’t a record breaker, but the summer of 2011 will definitely go down as a hot one.
June, July and August made up the fifth hottest summer in the Ann Arbor area since modern record-keeping began in 1880, said Dennis Kahlbaum, University of Michigan weather observer.
Temperatures in the 90s made it hard to stay cool during the Ann Arbor Art Fair in July.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
All three of the summer months came in with average temperatures above normal, but it was July that largely made the season one of the hottest in history. Fifteen days of temperatures at 90 or above helped make the month the hottest on record in Ann Arbor.
The average temperature for the month of July was 78.6.The normal average temperature for the month is 72.7, Kahlbaum said. The average temperature in June was 70.2, compared to a normal average of 68.9. The average temperature in August was 71.7 this year, while the normal average is 71.2.
Meanwhile, the season’s steamy weather is not quite over. Today’s high could reach 93, with a heat index of 95. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has also declared today an ozone action day. Residents of Washtenaw and surrounding counties are asked to avoid refueling vehicles if possible and avoid using gasoline-powered lawn equipment and charcoal lighter fluid.
Cooler temperature and possibly rain are in store for the holiday weekend.
For updated weather conditions and forecasts throughout the day, check AnnArbor.com's weather page.
Comments
groland
Fri, Sep 2, 2011 : 7:05 p.m.
We used to believe in credentials. The National Academy of Sciences has a report on climate change. While there are some controversies regarding methods and causes, there is almost unanimous agreement among climatologists that the earth is getting warmer. Glacier melt, arctic and antarctic ice mass reductions, and snow cap levels are all evidence of the process. Are you going to believe the science, or the politicians and think tank analysts who are paid for opinions? We seem to live in a new age where everyone's opinion is regarded equally. Unfortunately, some are based on evidence and others are mere ideology. It is time that the media explain the difference.
chapmaja
Fri, Sep 2, 2011 : 6:31 p.m.
People need to realize that Climate Change is happening. Climate Change is the changing of the weather PATTERNS ocer a period of time. We have seen changes over priors of time before, so there is some of this climate change that is cyclical, but there is climate change occurring. There are a lot of questions revolving climate change, but the biggest is how much is due to man made reasons and how much is simply natural changes. I think a lot is man made changes. We can't argue that there is more CO2 in the atmopshere than has ever been recording, including ice core samples dating back thousands of years. That is proven fact. The question is what affect this is actually having. We can't argue that were are seeing much less ice cap development each winter in the polar regionas, but we can't be certain what is causing it. We know changes are happening and thus who think changes aren't happening need to pull their head out of the sand and wake up. The challenge now is to determine exactly why these changes are occurring.
M Hendrickson
Fri, Sep 2, 2011 : 3:09 p.m.
Keep in mind that we just got off one of the coldest, harshest and gray-ist winters in Michigan history.
groland
Fri, Sep 2, 2011 : 7:09 p.m.
I don't think it was that cold? My heating bills were lower than last year. We did have one of the wettest spring seasons ever.
chapmaja
Fri, Sep 2, 2011 : 6:36 p.m.
Are extereme changes in weather a form of climate change?
andys
Fri, Sep 2, 2011 : 2:08 p.m.
Every summer that's hotter than normal is due to climate change (what happened to "global warming"?), and every summer that is cooler is an aberration, but climate change still exists. Very convenient. And for all you climate change believers, is you fearless leader Al Gore, starting to look weird and creepy to you? He is to me.
chapmaja
Fri, Sep 2, 2011 : 6:35 p.m.
Climate change is the change in the overall climate of a region. All these hot years, as well as the cool years all help determine an area's climate. that is why AVERAGE temperature is used. What has the AVERAGE temprature of Ann Arbor done over the past 20 years compared with the 20 years before that. What are the differences between the different periods of time. Are we seeing changes in the amount of precipitation on an average basis? All of these are examples of things that affect the climate and are subject to climate change. As for Al Gore. He is not a person I even consider listening to when it comes to climate change. I look to people who extensive backgrounds in studying weather and climate, not those who are politicians.
KJMClark
Fri, Sep 2, 2011 : 11:23 a.m.
And how about precipitation? Surely this all has nothing to do with climate change.