MONTHLY WEATHER SUMMARY FOR BUFFALO...AUGUST 2003
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY 
900 AM EDT MON SEP 1 2003

...A TYPICAL SUMMER MONTH FOR WESTERN NEW YORK...

AUGUST BEGAN WITH A CONTINUATION OF THE HUMID UNSETTLED PATTERN 
WHICH PREVAILED THROUGH MOST OF JUNE AND JULY...BUT THEN SETTLED 
DOWN INTO A WARM SUNNY MONTH ACROSS THE BUFFALO AREA. OVERALL...THE 
MONTH AVERAGED OUT WARM...DRY...AND A BIT LESS SUNNY THAN USUAL. 

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 70.8 WAS NEARLY TWO DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. 
THIS WAS BUFFALO'S FIRST WARMER THAN NORMAL MONTH SINCE LAST 
SEPTEMBER. THERE WERE NO TEMPERATURE EXTREMES AND NO RECORDS WERE 
SET...BUT 22 DAYS WERE WARMER THAN USUAL AND JUST 6 WERE COOLER. 
THIS REFLECTS THE VERY HUMID NATURE OF THE MONTH...WHICH INCLUDED 
MANY DAYS WITH DEW POINTS OVER 70.

RAINFALL TOTALED JUST 2.47 INCHES...1.4 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. NEARLY 
ALL OF THIS...2.34 INCHES...FELL DURING THE FIRST 12 DAYS...THE LAST 
3 WEEKS OF THE MONTH WERE VIRTUALLY RAINLESS. THIS ALLOWED SOILS TO 
FINALLY DRY OUT AFTER THE WET AND CLOUDY EARLY AND MID SUMMER. 
RAINFALL DID VARY ACROSS THE REGION...WITH THE SOUTHERN TIER 
RECEIVING MUCH GREATER AMOUNTS...BUT THE BULK OF THE RAIN WAS 
RESTRICTED TO THE FIRST WEEK OR SO.

SUNSHINE TOTALED 56 PERCENT OF POSSIBLE...ABOUT 4 POINTS LESS THAN 
USUAL. THERE WAS A DRASTIC IMPROVEMENT DURING THE MONTH THOUGH AS 
ONLY 27 PERCENT WAS RECEIVED DURING THE FIRST 12 DAYS..WHILE THE 
FINAL 19 DAYS SAW 70 PERCENT. ALL TOLD...11 DAYS WERE MOSTLY SUNNY 
(>70%) WHILE 7 WERE MOSTLY CLOUDY (<30%).

AUGUST FEATURED TWO DISTINCT WEATHER REGIMES. THE FIRST TWELVE DAYS 
WERE HUMID WET CLOUDY AND UNSETTLED. NEARLY ALL OF THE MONTH'S RAIN 
FELL DURING THIS PERIOD AND THERE WERE A NUMBER OF THUNDERSTORMS. 
ONE PARTICULARLY STRONG STORM DEVELOPED SUDDENLY OVER THE CITY OF 
BUFFALO DURING THE EVENING OF THE 8TH...CAUSING SOME URBAN FLOODING 
AND INTERRUPTING MANY OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES. ANOTHER HEAVY STORM DROPPED 
UP TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN JUST EAST OF THE CITY ON THE 11TH.

THE PATTERN CHANGED DRASTICALLY DURING THE SECOND WEEK. THE PERIOD 
FROM THE AFTERNOON OF THE 12TH THROUGH THE END OF THE MONTH FEATURED 
PLENTY OF SUNSHINE...SEASONABLY WARM TEMPERATURES AND VIRTUALLY NO 
RAIN. ALTHOUGH HUMIDITY LEVELS DID REMAIN GENERALLY HIGH...THERE 
WERE A FEW REFRESHINGLY COOL PERIODS AS WELL.

WINDS WERE LIGHT AND NOT A FACTOR DURING AUGUST. LAKE ERIE WARMED TO 
77 EARLY IN THE MONTH...ITS WARMEST READING IN FOUR YEARS...AND 
ENDED THE MONTH AT 75 DEGREES...THE WARMEST AT THIS STAGE IN TEN 
YEARS.

OVERALL...DESPITE A SHAKY START...A SOLID SUMMER MONTH.


*** SUMMER (JUN-AUG) 2003 ***

THE SUMMER OF 2003 WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR ITS HUMID UNSETTLED NATURE 
BUT ALSO FOR ITS FINE FINISH. TEMPERATURES AVERAGED CLOSE TO NORMAL 
AND NO RECORDS WERE SET. IN FACT...THERE WERE NO 90 DEGREE 
DAYS...WITH THE WARMEST JUST 87 BACK ON JUNE 26. 32 DAYS DID REACH 
THE 80S...NORMALLY WE GET 46. RAINFALL WAS MORE FREQUENT THEN USUAL 
BUT ACTUAL TOTALS WERE NEAR OR A BIT BELOW NORMAL IN THE IMMEDIATE 
BUFFALO AREA. MUCH GREATER AMOUNTS FELL ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER. 
SUNSHINE WAS LIMITED...ESPECIALLY IN JULY AND EARLY AUGUST. HERE ARE 
BUFFALO'S SUMMER STATS AND DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL.

TEMPERATURE.. 68.0 (-0.6)
RAINFALL..... 7.95" (-2.88")
SUNSHINE..... 55% (-8%)



BUFFALO'S AUGUST STATISTICS FOLLOW... 

TEMPERATURE DATA
AVERAGE MAXIMUM............ 79.2
AVERAGE MINIMUM............ 62.4
AVERAGE MONTHLY............ 70.8
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL...... PLUS 1.7
HIGHEST.................... 86 ON THE 13TH 
LOWEST..................... 48 ON THE 24TH

NUMBER OF DAYS 
MAXIMUM 90 DEGREES OR HIGHER.... 0
MAXIMUM 80 DEGREES OR HIGHER.... 17
MINIMUM 70 DEGREES OR HIGHER.... 0

HEATING DEGREE DAYS...BASE 65.. 12
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.......... MINUS 9 
SEASON TOTAL FROM JULY 1....... 14
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.......... MINUS 15 

COOLING DEGREE DAYS...BASE 65.. 199
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.......... PLUS 41
SEASON TOTAL FROM JANUARY 1.... 400
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.......... MINUS 94

PRECIPITATION DATA
TOTAL FOR THE MONTH............ 2.47 INCHES 
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.......... MINUS 1.40 INCHES
GREATEST IN 24 HOURS........... 1.02 INCHES ON 11TH
TOTAL FOR THE YEAR............. 22.08 INCHES
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.......... MINUS 3.71 INCHES


NUMBER OF DAYS
WITH 0.01 INCH PRECIPITATION OR MORE....... 12
WITH 0.10 INCH PRECIPITATION OR MORE....... 5
WITH 0.50 INCH PRECIPITATION OR MORE....... 2
WITH 1.00 INCH PRECIPITATION OR MORE....... 1

BAROMETRIC PRESSURE
HIGHEST.....30.40 ON THE 14TH
LOWEST......29.76 ON THE 26TH

PERCENTAGE OF POSSIBLE SUNSHINE..... 56 (243.0 HOURS) 

AVERAGE WIND SPEED........... 6.7 MPH 
PEAK GUST............... 38 MPH FROM THE SW ON THE 29TH 

MCLAUGHLIN