CT Summer 2020 Recap

Meteorological summer has ended, and it is now time to take a look at the big climate stories in Connecticut for summer 2020. As I've discussed on this blog all summer, it has been hot and dry. The data don't lie, so let's take a look at things. Again, I'll be using Bradley International Airport (BDL) as my location for the data. Note that the weather at BDL is not indicative of what happened throughout the state this summer (it's especially different from the shoreline). I'll also mention that meteorological summer lasts from June 1 to August 31, so anything that I discuss in this blog post is related to that time frame.

Temperatures

It was a summer for records, and we started summer on day 1 with a cold temperature record. On June 1, the temperature at BDL dipped to 37 °F, one degree lower than the previous low temperature record which was set in 2001. The June 3 low temperature record of 42 °F was also tied this summer. After these two low temperature records kicked of summer on a cool note, the heat cranked up.

BDL summer 2020 temperature data (NOAA Regional Climate Centers/xmACIS)

On July 27th and 28th, and again on August 23rd and 24th, daily high temperature records were set at BDL. July 19th was the day with the hottest temperature this summer at 99 °F, but it did not even tie that day's record, which is 100 °F set in 1991. We had 6 heatwaves this summer, and the longest one was 8 days, ending on August 1st. That 8 day heatwave ties for the fifth longest heatwave on record.

Officially, the mean temperature at BDL for summer 2020 was 74.4 °F, which ties the record for the warmest summer at BDL, set in 1973. The average mean summer temperature at BDL is 71.4 °F.

BDL historical summer mean temperatures (NOAA Regional Climate Centers/xmACIS)

Although we did have a record warm summer this year, that is no crazy anomaly. Summertime temperatures have been getting higher in CT, as evidenced by the red regression line in the graph above. 

(NOAA Regional Climate Centers)

It was a record setting summer at BDL, but it was also extremely hot throughout the state. In the above map, you can see that temperatures ran between 2 and 4 °F above normal this summer in almost all of Connecticut. Bridgeport had a 3.2 °F departure from normal while BDL's was 3.0 °F.

Precipitation

BDL was especially dry this summer - in fact, it was the driest summer on record. We saw 4.42 inches of total precipitation, when a "normal" summer would have 12.40 inches. This means we saw only 36% of the average rainfall for BDL this summer.

BDL Summer 2020 accumulation (NOAA Regional Climate Centers/ xmACIS)

Right from the start of the summer, we were slow to pick up any significant precipitation, as evidenced from the accumulation graph above.

The following graph shows just how dry it was this summer when compared to other summers. Notice how 2020 had the least total precipitation.

BDL historical summer total rainfall (NOAA Regional Climate Centers/xmACIS)

Interestingly, there was a large disparity in the rainfall we saw throughout the state. While BDL had 36% of its normal rainfall, Bridgeport had 99% of its normal precipitation. In Connecticut, the further north and west you were this summer, the more likely you were to have an abnormally dry summer.

(NOAA Regional Climate Centers)

Wrap up

A drought persists for much of Connecticut, especially in northern parts of the state. The main causes of this drought are the lack of rain and the warm temperatures that we had this summer. 

Connecticut had its fair share of severe weather this summer - from severe convective storms that brought large hail to a few tornadoes in August to Tropical Storm Isaias. For me though, the big story was the heat and the dryness. Hopefully fall will bring some more precipitation, since we definitely need it.