August Is Vermont's Month For Historic Heat Waves, (Though Not Saying It Will Happen This Year, I Think)

Then peak of summer might be over in August, but
a majority of Vermont/New England's most intense
heat waves have hit in August. 

 July is the hottest month of the year in Vermont, but most of our most intense heat waves seem to hit in August.  

True, arguably the granddaddy of all New England heat waves hit in July, 1911. And New England endured some historic heat this June.

But August is the place to be for extreme heat. So, if you think our current, refreshing spell of weather is the way things will go this month, think again. 

Here are some of the highlights for August Heat:

August, 1918: Some of the coldest weather on record in Vermont hit in the years 1917 and 1918, so I guess it was a relief to see some 100 degree weather in the Green Mountain State. Vernon reached 102 degrees and Cornwall hit 100.

That heat missed northern Vermont. Burlington got to 91 degrees on one day that month on the seventh. August, 1918 was otherwise a chilly, September-ish month. 

THE 1940s

For some reason, the 1940s brought us a series of torrid Augusts. We haven't seen anything like it since. 

August, 1944:  This was an especially intense and brutally long lasting heat wave. Burlington reached 101 degree on August 11 that year. But it was 89 degrees or hotter for an astonishing nine consecutive days from August 9 to 17. 

Because of climate change, August, 1944 is now relegated to the ninth hottest August on record in Burlington. Individual hot days in more recent years might not have been as extreme as 1944. But in the now-hottest Augusts of 2018, 2021, 2016 and 2022,  the heat has been more consistent, with fewer and less chilly cooler breaks.

August, 1947  The temperature in Burlington, Vermont reached 90 degrees ten times on this month. Dry conditions helped daytime temperatures reach such levels. Portland, Maine had only 0.27 inches of rain that August. The drought that late summer and autumn led to the most devastating wildfires in Maine history. Which is another reason to fear hot summers. 

August, 1948: Bellows Falls had six consecutive days in the 90s, peaking at 98 degrees August 24 to 30, which is awfully late in the season to have that many days so hot. Burlington had a four-day streak in the 90s,  

August, 1949: Burlington hit 90 degrees on eight days this month, part of a summer that brought 26 days with 90 degree readings. That's still the record for the most in a single summer.  

OTHER AUGUST HEAT

August 2, 1975 "Hot Saturday" gave us the hottest temperatures ever recorded in New England.  It reached 107 degrees in Chester and New Bedford, Massachusetts. 

Providence, reached 104 degrees, still the hottest temperature on record for Rhode Island. One weird aspect of the 1975 heat wave is how much it hugged the coast, with absolutely no sea breeze. Nantucket reached 100 degrees for the only time on record there. 

Portland, Maine reached their all-time high of 103 degrees. Portsmouth, New Hampshire reached 102. 

Here in Vermont, it was "cooler" with Burlington reaching 99 degrees.  That's a multi-way tie for third hottest on record. I'm not aware of any official 100 degree readings in Vermont but my unofficial thermometer in West Rutland did hit 100 degrees that day. 

August, 2018, 2021:  The sleepless in Vermont months, as the striking thing about this hottest month on record were the muggy nights, rather than hot days. Only four days got to 90 that month, including a record high of 97 degrees on the 29th. 

But eight days during this month failed to get below 70 degrees in Burlington, It never got cooler than 66 degrees from July 31 through August 9.

August, 2021 had even worse nighttime sleeping weather. Ten nights in Burlington failed to get under 70 degrees, with five consecutive 70 degree or hotter nights from August 9-13. The low on two days in a row never got under 75 degrees. 

THIS AUGUST

All signs continue to point toward mostly warm to hot weather for most of this month. True, yesterday and this morning were the coolest since early June, but that is about to change. 

Burlington has a real shot at being in the 80s every single day from today through the next two weeks. Some of those days could touch 90 by the end of next week. 

We'll see how the end of this month goes, but even those long range forecasts lean toward warmer than normal temperatures.