Warm, wet August makes way for cooler Labor Day weekend
Trending
ALPENA --Warm and wet.
That is how National Weather Service-Gaylord meteorologist Andy Sullivan described the weather in Northeast Michigan last month.
The month started out somewhat cool, but temperatures rebounded and a string of 11 straight days from, Aug. 6 through Aug. 16, recorded temperatures of 80 degrees or higher.
The highest recorded temperature in Alpena for the month was 91 degrees on Aug. 10.
For the month, the average temperature was 67.8 degrees, 2.4 degrees above the long-term average. The average high temperature was 78.9 degrees and the average low temperature was 56.8 degrees.
The coldest temperature registered in Alpena last month happened Monday, when the mercury dipped down to 47 degrees overnight.
Both the average high and low temperatures were above the historical average.
Sullivan said August pretty much followed suit with the other summer months, in that there was a lot of sunshine and hot conditions. He said the jet stream was held farther north than normal, allowing warm southern air to move into the area and stay.
"It wasn't as warm as July, but it continued the thought that we were going to have a warm summer, overall," Sullivan said. "We are having the type of summer that they have in the Ohio Valley because of how north the jet stream is."
With the heat came high humidity, Sullivan said. There were also some pop-up thunderstorms, some of them severe, producing high wind and hail.
Sullivan said there was more rain in August than normal, as the area saw 3.51 inches of rain, eclipsing the 3.23-inch historical average.
"We had a lot of rain, but that helped to keep the grass nice and green, which is nice," he said.
Now that the calendar has flipped over to September, more cool air is expected to move in more frequently.
Sullivan said the Labor Day weekend will be chilly Friday but climbing to the mid-70s Saturday through Monday. He said there is also a slight chance of rain showers Sunday.
Beyond the holiday, Sullivan said weather will vary for the balance of the month, with temperature swings as fall nears. He said the Climate Prediction Center has predicted September will fall below average, temperature-wise.
It will be more volatile," he said. "Temperatures will go from cool to warm and be up and down a lot. We should get a few more warm-ups, though, before fall really sets in."
Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.
August weather, by the numbers
∫ Average high: 78.9 degress
∫ Average low: 56.8 degrees
∫ Average temp: 67.8 degrees
∫ Highest temp: 91 degrees (Aug. 10)
∫ Coldest temp: 47 degrees (Monday)
∫ 11 days: Stretch from Aug. 6 to Aug. 16 with recorded temperatures of 80 degrees or higher.
∫ Rainfall: 3.51 inches
∫ Historical average rainfall: 3.23 inches
Source: National Weather Service