Summer 2019 was hottest ever in Northern Hemisphere

Jacksonville monthly average above normal each month

Hottest summer temps were across parts of the North Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, northern Canada, the south-central contiguous U.S.

JACKSONVILLE. Fla – If this summer felt hotter than normal, it was -- and not just in Jacksonville but in the entire northern hemisphere. 

Scorching temperatures around the world last month tied August 2019 as the second-hottest August on record and capped off the hottest Northern Hemisphere summer (June through August), tied with 2016 according to NOAA. 

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Although the calendar says we are still in summer, the hottest months are June, July and August --meteorological summer. 

Jacksonville only had four cooler than average days in June. July brought some relief in the heat with 11 cooler than average days toward the end of the month and August was a roaster with only five below average days.

The intense heat shrunk Arctic sea ice coverage to the second smallest for the month on record. The August Arctic sea ice coverage was 30.1 percent below average, right behind August 2012's record-lowest extent.

The August average Arctic sea ice extent was the second smallest in the 41-year record at 838,000 square miles (30.1 percent) below the 1981–2010 average.

The average global temperature in August was 1.66 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 60.1 degrees, tying it with 2015 and 2017 as the second-hottest August in the 140-year record, according to scientists at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. 

The hottest August on record was August 2016, and the five hottest August dates on record have all occurred since 2014.

The global sea surface temperature last month was 1.51°F above the 20th century monthly average of 61.4°F, making it the highest global ocean temperature for August on record.

Africa had its warmest June-August since records began. South America and Europe had a June–August temperature that ranked among the three-warmest such periods on record.


About the Author:

After covering the weather from every corner of Florida and doing marine research in the Gulf, Mark Collins settled in Jacksonville to forecast weather for The First Coast.