July's recent heat wave broke records for longevity and came close to all-time temperature in several major cities, says Jessica Rennells, a climatologist and extension support specialist at the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell.
"The Northeast endured another heat wave as the first full month of summer began. Every day during July 1 through 8 reached 90 degrees or hotter at eight of the 35 first-order stations in the Northeast," Rennells says. "It was the first time for this to happen during record keeping at Dulles, Va., Wilmington, Del., Baltimore, Newark, N.J., and Philadelphia.
"Washington, D.C., reached 100 degrees during four of the days. On July 7, D.C. hit 105, which ranks as its third hottest all-time maximum temperature there. Ten other first-order stations ranked within their top 20 all-time maximum temperatures that day.
"Through July 8, Baltimore had the longest stretch of consecutive 90 degree days -- 12 straight days. Newark, Wilmington, Philadelphia, Dulles, Charleston, W.V., Washington, D.C., and Huntington, W.V., all had 11 straight days of 90 degrees or hotter.
"Will this continue? The short-term outlook is showing above-normal temperatures for July 15 to 23 for the entire Northeast U.S., but beyond that the outlook is less certain."
Below are data tables showing detailing the heat wave.
Record number of days at or above 90 degrees
| Location | 2012 Record | Previous Record | Prior Record Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dulles Ap, VA | 8 | 6 | 2002* |
| Washington, DC | 8 | 8 | 1958* |
| Wilmington, DE | 8 | 7 | 1934 |
| Baltimore, MD | 8 | 7 | 1966* |
| Newark, NJ | 8 | 6 | 1955 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 8 | 6 | 1999* |
| Charleston, WV | 8 | 8 | 1921* |
| Huntington, WV | 8 | 8 | 1999* |
| * Record also occurred in another year. |
Locations that came close to the hottest date ever on record
| Location | Temp | Date | Ranking | Hottest | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, DC | 105 | 7/7/2012 | 3 | 106 | 7/20/1930* |
| Elkins, WV | 96 | 7/8/2012 | 6 | 99 | 7/16/1988* |
| Baltimore, MD | 104 | 7/7/2012 | 8 | 107 | 7/10/1936 |
| Huntington, WV | 104 | 7/7/2012 | 8 | 108 | 7/28/1930 |
| Dulles, VA | 101 | 7/8/2012 | 9 | 105 | 7/22/2011 |
| Atlantic City, NJ | 100 | 7/7/2012 | 13 | 106 | 6/28/1969 |
| Harrisburg, PA | 101 | 7/7/2012 | 16 | 107 | 7/3/1966 |
| Wilmington, DE | 101 | 7/7/2012 | 18 | 107 | 8/7/1918 |
| Newark, NJ | 102 | 7/7/2012 | 18 | 108 | 7/22/2011 |
| JFK/NYC, NY | 99 | 7/7/2012 | 18 | 104 | 7/3/1966 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 101 | 7/7/2012 | 19 | 106 | 8/7/1918 |
| * Record also occurred in another year. |
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