JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was the hottest June ever in the United States but Jacksonville escaped the blistering heatwave.
Rather, an unusual streak of cooler weather has kept average temperatures below normal for several months in Jacksonville.
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To put this into perspective, records from the Southeast Climate Center show we are having the 10th coolest summer so far, based on average daily high temperatures.
Frequent rain kept June 1.2° cooler than average locally.
Record-setting heat waves on both the West Coast and the East Coast contributed to approximately 15% of the nation’s warmest June ever in 127 years of record keeping according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This is the largest extent of record warm temperatures on record for the U.S.
The planet is warming leading to more frequent heatwaves but it can affect rainfall regionally. Warmer air has the capacity to hold more water and it has been coming down nearly every day this summer.
Onshore easterly winds blowing in from the Atlantic helped ease the heat which has continued into July. Only two days have been warmer than normal in July so far, both when it didn’t rain.