What A Difference A Year Makes

What a difference between the Summer of 2009 and the 2010 Summer thus far. Last summer in the Tri-State region as well as the entire Northeast was cool and wet. We had very few days that were ideal for going to the beach. This summer so far has been the direct opposite. June 2010 went down as the 4th warmest on record at Central Park according to climate statistics maintained by the National Weather Service. The average monthly temperature of 74.7 degrees was a whopping 3.5 degrees above normal. June 2009 on the other hand tied for the 8th coolest on record with an average monthly temperature of 67.5 degrees. As I composed this entry, a heat wave was in progress across the entire East Coast including our region. This heat wave began on July 4 at Central Park and shows signs that it may last for several days. Why such a dramatic difference from last summer?

Last summer, we had a trough of low pressure in place in the mid and upper levels of the atmosphere across the Great Lakes and Northeast. It was a pool of cool and moist air that led to unsettled and cool conditions at the surface. The threat for showers and thunderstorms was more of the rule than the exception. This pattern just did not break down.

This summer so far has an extensive ridge of high pressure both at the surface and in the mid and upper levels of the atmosphere. This ridge has been in place over the southern two-thirds of the United States and has nosed into the Northeast. This ridge contains hot temperatures at the surface and warm temperatures aloft. Thankfully, at some point the ridge will break down and allow for cooler temperatures and rainfall to replace the heat in our region. However, I feel that we will see several bouts of heat during July and August. This ridge is strong and will affect us often this summer, just like the trough affected us last summer. That is this meteorologist's view for the rest of the summer, but as always we'll see what Mother Nature decides.

Meteorologist Iggy Camporeale