Think it's been awfully hot in Charleston this summer? You're right.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Think it's been awfully hot in Charleston this summer? You're right. West Virginia's capital city has recorded what appears to be the hottest summer in 67 years, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the National Weather Service.
Ken Batty, meteorologist with the Charleston weather service office, said Charleston's average temperature for the period from June through August was 76.8 degrees.
That's the sixth hottest summer on record, based on data going back to 1901. The last time Charleston had a summer this hot was 1943, when the average temperature hit an all-time high of 78.2 degrees.
Across West Virginia, Clarksburg tied its hottest summer on record, with a 74.6-degree average that matched the Dust Bowl summer of 1934, weather service officials said.
In Elkins, it was the second hottest summer on record, at 71.2 degrees. The hottest there was 72.5 degrees in 2005. Beckley recorded an average summer temperature of 72 degrees, also the second highest on record. The highest was 72.2 degrees in 1931. Parkersburg tied for the ninth warmest on record this year, at 75.2 degrees.
Weather service officials calculate average summer temperatures by averaging the sum of the daytime high and low temperatures for each day for the period from June 1 through Aug. 31.
Batty said the West Virginia temperatures fit with the pattern around the Eastern United States, with cities like New York and Philadelphia -- both with data going back to the 1860s -- recording record high summer temperatures.
"A lot of the east was in this pattern and it's not unique to West Virginia," Batty said. "It's certainly reflective of what's been happening."
Are the West Virginia numbers a sign of global warming? Climate experts hesitate to blame a specific heat wave or other weather event on climate change, and those experts also judge global warming based on average global temperatures, not on numbers from one city or state.
But earlier this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that global land and ocean surface temperatures made this July the second warmest on record, behind 1998, and the warmest averaged January to July period on record.
Also, intense snowstorms like last winter's and heat waves like this summer's are signs of climate change brought about by greenhouse gas emissions, experts say.
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Think it's been awfully hot in Charleston this summer? You're right. West Virginia's capital city has recorded what appears to be the hottest summer in 67 years, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the National Weather Service.
Ken Batty, meteorologist with the Charleston weather service office, said Charleston's average temperature for the period from June through August was 76.8 degrees.
That's the sixth hottest summer on record, based on data going back to 1901. The last time Charleston had a summer this hot was 1943, when the average temperature hit an all-time high of 78.2 degrees.
Across West Virginia, Clarksburg tied its hottest summer on record, with a 74.6-degree average that matched the Dust Bowl summer of 1934, weather service officials said.
In Elkins, it was the second hottest summer on record, at 71.2 degrees. The hottest there was 72.5 degrees in 2005. Beckley recorded an average summer temperature of 72 degrees, also the second highest on record. The highest was 72.2 degrees in 1931. Parkersburg tied for the ninth warmest on record this year, at 75.2 degrees.
Weather service officials calculate average summer temperatures by averaging the sum of the daytime high and low temperatures for each day for the period from June 1 through Aug. 31.
Batty said the West Virginia temperatures fit with the pattern around the Eastern United States, with cities like New York and Philadelphia -- both with data going back to the 1860s -- recording record high summer temperatures.
"A lot of the east was in this pattern and it's not unique to West Virginia," Batty said. "It's certainly reflective of what's been happening."
Are the West Virginia numbers a sign of global warming? Climate experts hesitate to blame a specific heat wave or other weather event on climate change, and those experts also judge global warming based on average global temperatures, not on numbers from one city or state.
But earlier this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that global land and ocean surface temperatures made this July the second warmest on record, behind 1998, and the warmest averaged January to July period on record.
Also, intense snowstorms like last winter's and heat waves like this summer's are signs of climate change brought about by greenhouse gas emissions, experts say.
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.
