2006 Summer in Review
Although the summer season doesn’t officially end until Saturday (September 23rd), the winds of change have arrived across Kentuckiana and for all practical purposes the cool season has already begun. Looking back, it turned out to be both a wet and hot summer here in 2006…
The unofficial start to the summer started off on a very wet note as Louisville picked up nearly two and a half inches of rain during the first two days of June. In total, June brought more than six inches of rain and temperatures that averaged about a half degree below average. June also delivered four 90-degree days including a 92 degree temperature recorded on the 22nd.
After seeing only four 90-degree days during the entire month of June, July started out with a hot streak of four straight 90-degree days including a 94 degree temperature recorded on July 2nd. After a cool stretch of 80-degree weather from the 5th through the 13th which included nearly 3 inches of rain, the heat was on once again. Louisville saw six 90-degree days in a row between the 14th and the 19th including another 94 degree temperature set on the 16th. In total, July brought about four and a half inches of rain and temperatures that averaged about a degree above average and included thirteen 90-degree days.
August started out even hotter than July recording six 90-degree temperatures during the first seven days of the month and included the hottest temperature of the summer at 95 degrees, which was recorded on three occasions; August 2nd, 7th and 10th. In total, Louisville saw eleven 90-degree days in August as temperatures averaged almost two and a half degrees above normal for the month. Louisville also received more than five inches of rain during August.
Including three 90-degree temperatures recorded in May, the summer of 2006 totaled thirty-one 90-degree days. Comparatively, Louisville averages about thirty 90-degree days per summer. However, the average temperature during the months of June, July and August ran about two and a half degrees above normal as rainfall totaled about fifteen and a half inches, which is also above normal by more than four inches.
Since the beginning of September, Louisville has not seen a 90 degree mark as temperatures have averaged nearly three degrees below normal. No complaints here though. I say bring on the cool days of autumn and we’ll quit counting 90-degree days again until next summer.