By the numbers: Philadelphia's wet, hot summer
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Philadelphia just weathered one of its hottest summers on record.
Why it matters: Warming temps pose serious health risks while also driving up electricity demands and energy costs.
State of play: Philadelphia proper recorded an average temp of 78.8 degrees from June to August — the fourth-highest since 1941, per National Weather Service data.
- Center City logged at least six heat waves — or stretches where 90-degree temps lasted at least three consecutive days, per NWS data.
📈 Duh: Summer temps have been trending upward for decades.
- Case in point: Our recent summer was more than 6 degrees hotter than in 1941.
Philly proper also had at least eight heat-related deaths this year through Aug. 14, according to the city's health department.
Zoom out: The contiguous U.S. recorded both its hottest summer and hottest August to date, with record heat stretching across much of the Southwest.
🌧️ What else: Philly's summer was wetter than usual.
- 17.8 inches of rain fell in the city between June and August — more than 5 inches more than normal, NWS meteorologist Paul Fitzsimmons tells Axios.
⚠️ Meanwhile, our phones were blowing up this year with more flood warnings than usual.
- By the numbers: 146 flash flood warnings were issued this summer throughout the region, which spans Northern Jersey through parts of Delaware.
- Context: Last year, there were 78 flash flood warnings.
🍂 FYI: Summer doesn't technically end until Sept. 22.
🔮 What's next: The early fall temperature outlook in the region is slightly tilted toward above-normal temps through Oct. 9, per the Climate Prediction Center's most recent forecast.