Summer 2009 Heat Compared to Summer 2010

[TWCmatthew]

2009:
West Coast: Well above average temps.

East Coast: About average temps.

My area (Monroe, MI): Below average. (exception: June 24-25: mid 90's and high humidity.) I had the third coolest July on record eith a few days not getting out of the 60's.

2010:
West Coast: About average temps.

East Coast: Well above average temps.

My area: Above average. So far the warmest summer on record next to 2005. (I can't believe 1988 doesn't place.  )

My Theory:
Last year was an El Nino year but this year is a La Nina year. A ridge of high pressure may have built in a different area due to those effects.

[Localonthe8s]

Last summer was below average, and rainy. I never turned on my downstairs a/c once last summer because it was cool almost every day, and during the nights I would open my window to allow the cool air to come in. This summer is above average for sure, since there have been around 6-7 heatwaves already for cities like Boston, New York, Philadelphia and DC and less rainfall. We need more rain.

[Anistorm]

I don't think the west coast reached their average temps. We've been stuck below 110 all summer. Yeah, it's still hot, but not as hot as we're used to this time of the year. We also got a monsoonal thunderstorm here and there, so that's also a plus, because it's been years since we've seen a monsoonal thunderstorm.

[twcclassics]

IIRC, last summer was pretty normal (hot and humid), while this summer has been a little below normal. It hasn't been very hot, but it hasn't exactly been cool either.

[TampaMillTWC88]

Here in Tampa, the summer has been pretty brutal. There seems to be a lot more 95+ degree highs this summer compared to last year. Plus the heat indices have gone upwards of 115 or so.

[Donovan]

Here in South Carolina, The Humidity has been way lower than usual for this time of year but we have seen alot more days with 95+ Degree Days and the Heat index went to and over 110-115.

[Zach]

Here in Tampa, the summer has been pretty brutal. There seems to be a lot more 95+ degree highs this summer compared to last year. Plus the heat indices have gone upwards of 115 or so.

Out here in NE Hillsborough my thermometer has gotten up to 115 to 120 in the afternoons this summer and rainfall is definitely up from last year. iirc last year August which is Tampas wettest month in climatology was one of the driest months in 2009

[TWCC_DJK5555]

Here's an interesting assessment of summer 2010 in Chicago.

Record Stretch of Warmth & Record Stretch of No Real Heat

[bergone]

IIRC, last summer was pretty normal (hot and humid), while this summer has been a little below normal. It hasn't been very hot, but it hasn't exactly been cool either.

No it hasn't...at all. It's been much above average for much of the east and midwest and other parts of the world, and has made 2010 one of the warmest years on record, safely on par with 1998.

[Lightning]

Are La Nina summers hotter than average in the midwest, south and eastern U.S.? The summers of 1988, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2007 and this year have been warmer than average for the eastern U.S, in some cases, the south and midwest and in other cases, the south and east coast. All of those summers were either during or just starting a La Nina pattern.

[TWCmatthew]

Are La Nina summers hotter than average in the midwest, south and eastern U.S.? The summers of 1988, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2007 and this year have been warmer than average for the eastern U.S, in some cases, the south and midwest and in other cases, the south and east coast. All of those summers were either during or just starting a La Nina pattern.

I have noticed a pattern. In the Great Lakes, El Nino summers are cooler and wetter than average, with their winters warmer and drier.

In the Great Lakes, La Nina summers are hotter and drier than normal, with their winters cooler and winter. La Nina years seems to have a higher range of temperatures.