Is This An Abnormal Summer?

A lot of people have been asking me if this summer has been "abnormal". We first must ask ourselves, "is there a such thing as 'normal' in weather"? Many times in our business, the words "normal" and "average" are used as synonyms. I'm guilty of using of using the word "normal" from time-to-time, but usually use the word "average". An average is what-it-is because there are higher numbers and lower numbers. Let's look at the rainfall in August over the past 5 years:

2008: 4.57" VERY WET
2009: 4.17" VERY WET
2010: 0.24" VERY DRY
2011: 2.49" WET
2012: 3.82" WET

The 30 year average for August is 2.54". So far, we have had 3.23" this August and we are only halfway through the month. So, is it abnormal? Let's just say... we are above average! If you just take the first 12 days of August, we are 2.24" above average so far.

We have had measurable rainfall for the past 10 days, which has made us feel like the entire Summer has been wet, but actually, July's rainfall was below average... barely.

It's all about the averages. Some months are wetter than average and some months are drier than average. This happens to be one of the above average years for rainfall in August.

To see this graphically, here is the climate graph for 2013. First, here is a legend:

For those wanting dry weather, the rain chances are much lower today and almost 0% Wed-Fri. In addition, low humidity and sunshine will take over Region 8!

Have a great day,
Ryan