BUFFALO, N.Y. — After the warmest July on record in Buffalo, it wasn't a question that this summer could rank as one of the warmest too.
As of August 30, the average temperature experienced throughout the months of June, July and August was 72.8 degrees. This combines both the daily highs and low temperatures of each day of the month throughout Meteorological Summer which spans from June 1 to August 31.
That three-month average of 72.8 degrees ranks as the second warmest summer on record in Buffalo since records began in 1940, just behind the summer of 2005.
Generally speaking, each month included warmer than average temperatures, but it was July's extreme heat that really bumped up this three-month average temperature.
July 2020 is now officially Buffalo's hottest month on record with an average temperature of 77.6 degrees. The previous record for hottest month has stood for nearly a century: 76.2 degrees in July of 1921. These monthly records go all the way back to 1873.
And this past summer could also be described as hot and dry. We're ending the summer with portions of Western New York experiencing below normal soil moisture levels, leaving them at a threat for a minor drought.