FOR RELEASE: July 22, 1998
Contact: Blaine P. Friedlander, Jr. Office: (607) 255-3290 E-Mail: [email protected] Compuserve: Bill Steele, 72650,565 http://www.news.cornell.edu
ITHACA, N.Y. -- June 13 will go down in the record books in Boston and Providence, R.I., as the wettest June day on record in the two New England cities. Boston's total of 5.69 inches beat the previous record of 4.36 inches set in June 1881. The rainfall at T.F. Green Airport in Providence was 3.29 inches, compared with the previous June day record of 2.97 inches, set June 5, 1982.
June also appeared to be a deluge throughout Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and West Virginia. It was the second-wettest June for those states since official records began in 1895, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. (Weather records for some larger cities, however, go back earlier than 1895.)
Rhode Island can expect about 3.39 inches of rain in any normal June. This year nature pounded the Ocean State with 9.67 inches of rain, which is 285 percent of the 30-year normal (based on records between 1961 and 1990). The rainiest June "Little Rhody" ever had was in 1982, when it was deluged with 11.33 inches.
Massachusetts endured 8.43 inches of rain for the month, or 227 percent of the normal 3.71 inches. The "Old Colony's" wettest June was in 1982, when 10.37 inches of rain fell.
With 8.97 inches of rain, New Hampshire received 240 percent of its normal rainfall for June of 3.73 inches. Vermont saw 7.81 inches of rain, which is 208 percent of the normal 3.76 inches. For both Vermont and New Hampshire, it was second only to 1922 as the rainiest June on record.
"Heavy rains on June 13 and 14 were the largest contributors to these high monthly totals," says climatologist Keith Eggleston.
West Virginia also endured its second-rainiest June with 7.15 inches, compared with an average rainfall from 1961 to 1990 of 3.9 inches.
The 12-state Northeast region averaged 6.32 inches of rain, or 164 percent of normal, making the month the third-wettest June on record after 1972 (8.29 inches) and 1922 (6.75 inches). It was the fourth wettest June in both Connecticut and New York. Monthly rainfall totals were the closest to normal in southern portions of the region, with Delaware averaging 114 percent of normal and Maryland 112 percent of normal. The Northeast comprises of New England, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia.
June ended the Northeast's string of six warmer-than-normal months, with most of the region cooler than normal. The area-weighted monthly average temperature for the region of 64.5 degrees Fahrenheit was 0.4 degrees cooler than the normal 64.9 degrees, making it the coolest June since 1993. Massachusetts reported the largest temperature drop with an average temperature of 63.4 degrees, compared with the normal 64.8 degrees.
By than the long-term average of 62.6 degrees.
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New Weather Records
Daily Precipitation Records (inches) City Date New Previous Boston 13th 5.69 1.81 in 1959 Bridgeport, Conn. 13th 1.78 0.43 in 1975 Providence, R.I. 13th 3.29 1.69 in 1958 Worcester, Mass. 13th 2.83 2.20 in 1938 Bridgeport, Conn. 14th 1.03 0.60 in 1953 Boston 14th 1.17 1.07 in 1936 Worcester, Mass. 14th 1.62 1.36 in 1951 Newark, N.J. 15th 1.21 1.06 in 1946 Williamsport, Pa. 23rd 1.72 1.19 in 1956 Rochester, N.Y. 26th 1.65 1.41 in 1919 Pittsburgh, Pa. 27th 2.37 1.69 in 198924-hour Rainfall Records for the month of June (inches) City Date New Previous Blue Hill, Mass. 13-14th 6.10 5.06 on May 31-June 1, 1984 Boston 13-14th 5.99 5.35 on June 9-10, 1875 Providence, R.I. 13th 3.29 3.14 on June 4-5, 1982
June Monthly Precipitation Records (inches) City New Previous Blue Hill, Mass 17.32 13.73 in 1982 North Foster, R.I. 14.79 12.62 in 1982 Charleston, W.Va. 10.67 8.61 in 1910 Elkins, W.Va. 10.05 8.35 in 1939
Monthly Precipitation Record for Any Month (inches) City New Previous Rumford, Maine 15.34 13.06 in March 1936
Minimum Temperature Records (degrees F) City Date New Previous Hartford, Conn. (tie) 2nd 42∞ 42∞ in 1993 Binghamton, N.Y. 4th 38∞ 39∞ in 1964 Erie, Pa. 4th 41∞ 42∞ in 1988
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