Rain Decreased while Temperatures Increased in August
The dog days of summer were really felt on Delmarva in August as the heat was on, while the rain took a bit of a back seat. Salisbury and Georgetown had one of their top 5 hottest Augusts of all time, as Salisbury experienced its 5th hottest and Georgetown obtained its 2nd hottest.
High pressure was a fairly dominant feature throughout August keeping rain chances fairly limited while keeping the thermometer up. We also had a ridge over the eastern half of the country that kept the heat intact and preventing any opportunity of a cooldown.
Days above 90° for the 4 weather sites (Wallops, Salisbury, Georgetown and Ocean City) saw a sharp increase this August from the previous August. Salisbury had 10 days above 90° compared to 4 in 2017. Georgetown quadrupled its amount from 3 in 2017 to 12 in 2018. Wallops had none last year but a whopping 11 this year. Ocean City saw the smallest increase from 0 in 2017 to 3 in 2018.
Lows in August were well above average with 70s being the strong majority. The warmest low for all 4 sites took place on August 29th with Salisbury at 76°, Wallops at 78°, Georgetown at 77° and Ocean City at 79°. Lows above 75° were 11 at Wallops while Salisbury and Georgetown with 3 and Ocean City at 4. Lows for the entire month were at least 4° above average for Salisbury and Georgetown.
The only break from these humid mornings was a cold front that came through on the 23rd that finally gave Delmarva its coolest readings in over 6 weeks. Lows on the 24th were the coolest of the month, as Salisbury dipped down to 55°, Georgetown and Ocean City at 56°, with Wallops at 60°. Wallops was the only site that did not experience 50s throughout August. The low humidity was a welcome change giving it a fall-like feel as highs were around 80°. The cooler nights hung around through the 26th before the last heat wave of the month took over. Salisbury experienced its only day below 80° on the 23rd at 79°.
While the 29th had the warmest low, it also had the hottest temperature of the entire month for 3 sites as the mercury soared to 97° in Georgetown, 95° in Ocean City and 96° in Wallops. Salisbury had its hottest day the next day on the 30th at 95°.
All locations had at least 4 inches of rain in July but August was quite different. Rainfall became more isolated as fronts were few and far between with drier weather a bit more focused towards the southern half of the peninsula. 3 of the climate sites saw a sharp decrease from July into August while one held nearly steady. Salisbury had 2.26 inches which is over 2 inches below normal and less than half received in July. Wallops and Ocean City experienced over 6 inches in July but in August their amounts were about a third of that with Wallops attaining 2.43″ and Ocean City only 1.71″. Georgetown was near average despite attaining more in July but the August amount was slightly above average in August at 3.91″.
The heaviest rainfall for the entire month took place late for most, waiting until the 31st. The rainfall on the 31st for Salisbury was 0.63″, Wallops at 1.13″ and uniquely Georgetown prevented a potential dry month by attaining 3.03″. Ocean City had its wettest day on the 8th at 0.59″.
