Tuesday, June 11, 2013

90s will come ... count on it

I've come to the realization that I'm the only person who likes it when 90-degree weather arrives.

So I don't expect to hear anyone complaining that it's June 11, and we haven't reached 90 in Charlotte yet this summer. But I have heard several people who are happy about it.

Either way, don't make a big deal of it.  The 90s are coming (probably Wednesday), and there's nothing terribly unusual about our lack of 90-degree weather to this point.

Charlotte has averaged 45.7 days of 90 degrees or hotter, over the last 30 years.  Almost a year ago, I wrote that some people in the region were surprised that we'd had only one 90-degree day at that point. I also wrote that things could change in a hurry.

And they did. We had a cool down in the latter part of June, but temperatures soared at the end of the month. We had three straight 104-degree days in Charlotte, and by the time summer came to an end, we'd reached the 90-degree mark 49 days.

When it's 90, the roads are still open and get where you want to go.

When it's 30, either snow or sleet can be falling, and even a short trip to the grocery store -- for bread and milk, naturally -- is a life-threatening experience.

So I prefer the 90s.

And whether you like them or not, here are a few facts about 90-degree weather in Charlotte:

-- The most 90-degree days in a year was in 1954, when we had 88. That was one of the hottest summers in U.S. history, by the way. Second-most was just three years ago, when we had 87.

-- The least 90-degree days was in 1967, with 8. There were only 9 in 2003.

-- The earliest 90-degree day in Charlotte was in 1945, when we reached that mark on March 17. The latest first 90-degree days was July 8, 2003.

-- The last time we went until June 11 without a 90-degree days was in 2009 (June 20 was the first day that year). Before that, it was 2003.

-- The longest streak of 90-degree days was 33, in 1993.  Second, with 32, was in 2007.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

"When it's 30, either snow or sleet can be falling, and even a short trip to the grocery store...is a life-threatening experience."

Are you for real? Maybe in Ohio or Michigan, but here? And how many snowy/sleety days did we have here in 2012 and early 2013? One? Two?

What a bunch of baloney.

Snuffy said...

I'm with you Steve,one snowy or sleety day is one too many for me. I have been stuck and have slid off the road many times while going to work on wintry mornings, I have to be at work regardless of the weather. I've never had that problem when the weather was warm. There's a reason schools and people have vacation this time of year.

Archiguy said...

Obviously, anon 3:03 isn't familiar with Charlotte drivers in bad weather. Heavy rainfall is a body shop's dream, and snow or sleet turns the roadways into an exercise in just trying to stay alive while the idiots who can't operate a motor vehicle in anything other than dry roads (and have trouble even there) start slamming into each other with abandon. Steve's right.

Anonymous said...

I like to jog in the hot heat. My bones can handle it so much better than cold weather. I guess I have osteoarthritis.

Anonymous said...

30 degree weather is life-threatening?

The weather is so boring here in June, the non-events of a mild winter have to be dragged out again. Winter weather is over-hyped and dramatized not only during winter itself, but in late spring as well.

Charlie Tombassio said...

Great information on 90-degree days. Very informative, and helpful for day-to-day living in these hot times! My friend an I discussed this over supper last night. Can you do one on 91-degree days as well?

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:03, I guess you missed that Steve grew up in northeastern Ohio. He was just saying he preferred 90 degree days to 30 degree days. He wasn't implying Charlotte had a lot of 30 degree days. Your reading comprehension will improve over time though.

Thanks for the article. I would have thought hitting 90 for the first time in mid-June was a rarer occurrence. Surprised it happened in '03 and '09 as well.

Anonymous said...

What food items are we supposed to rush to buy on 90-degree days? Is bread and milk good for these days too?

Anonymous said...

I was born in the fall of 1954, meaning my mother was big and grumpy in that hot summer. I've always felt she didn't really like me. Could she hold a grudge that long?