As we turn the page to September, a look back at the month of August shows some serious heat here in the northeast. August 2016 will go into the books hottest on record at the Portland Jetport.


Records at the Portland Jetport go back to 1941, and prior to that, records were kept at various locations throughout the city dating back to 1873.

I dove into the records prior to the Portland Jetport location, and found only one August warmer than 2016.  August 1937 was the hottest on record with an average temperature of 72.5 degrees.  The observing location during that summer was 57 Exchange St. pictured here.

There’s no question we’re in a warm period.  Winter 2015/16 was the 4th warmest

Spring 2016 was the 6th warmest on record

The  numbers are in for meteorological summer (June, July, August) and 2016 will go into the books in the number one spot for hottest on record.

Based on how your lawn looks, you might be wondering how the summer months stack up in the ranking in the category of precipitation. You might be surprised to find out,  of the 75 years of Jetport Records, summer 2016 ranks only  26th driest.  The numbers can be deceiving though. The first week of June, Portland received 2.4″ inches of rain  followed by 1.6″ the final week of the month.

It appears there’s no end to the warmth this fall as NOAA’s fall forecast is for more above normal temperatures.


Based on the current and forecast weather pattern, I suspect we’ll get into a slow start to winter.   This season is a transition from El Nino to La Nina which typically suggests a return to a more normal winter conditions here in the northeast.  My hunch is the coldest and snowiest part of winter 2016/17 will arrive during the second half.  More to come on that winter forecast in the coming weeks. Enjoy the nice weather!