News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Judy Ford, left, and her father Jacob Ford enjoy the warm weather on Wednesday as they play together at the Kiwanis Kiddie Park in Alpena. The weather in the Alpena area has been much warmer than normal with temperatures reaching 80 degrees or higher frequently.

ALPENA — August was a banner month in Alpena if you like the summer heat and severe storms.

On Wednesday, the National Weather Service released its preliminary weather data for August and Alpena posted an average high temperature of 82.7 degrees, which is nearly 4 degrees higher than the 78.8 degree long-term average for August.

Check out the video below. Viewing on mobile? Turn your device horizontally for the best viewing experience. Story continues below the video.

In total, there were 24 days in the month where temperatures were at, or exceeded, 80 degrees. The highest temperature was 90 degrees, which occurred three times.

Danielle Zorski, who was at the Kiwanis Kiddie Park on Wednesday with her children, said the run of nice weather allowed her to spend more time outside with her kids and dog. She said it won’t be long before that becomes more difficult, so she capitalizes on it now.

“The kids love to be outside and in the lake,” she said. “It tires them out and helps them sleep better at night too and that’s not all bad,” she said with a chuckle.

It may have seemed like the area received a lot of rain in August, but in fact the 2.43 inches it did receive came in about four days where pop-up thunderstorms dumped heavy rain for brief periods. In the middle of the month, Alpena went 14 straight days without any measurable precipitation.

On several occasions there were severe thunderstorms that brought high wind gusts that topped trees in Alpena County, and heavy rain.

The storms were often short-lived however, and the sun and heat returned, often with high humidity.

As summer winds down, the long range forecast shows temperatures will hover in the low to mid 70s. Those types of temperatures are expected over the Labor Day Weekend, with a slight chance of rain on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Anthony Timms was fishing at the small boat harbor in Alpena on Wednesday. He said he is eager for summer to move on, and for fall and winter to arrive. Timms said he isn’t a fan of the heat and humidity, and prefers to fish, hunt, and snowmobile in cooler temperatures.

“I’m ready to take my bow out and head out to camp,” Timms said. “Fall is my favorite time of the year and when I do most of the things I enjoy..”

Autumn begins on Sept. 22.