Hot, dry and humid. A look back at a record smashing summer.

The summer of 2016 was a sizzler!

Seven 90F days, plenty of sun and most festivals went off without any problems. It was like Florida, but without the rain. 

In other words, there was no need to travel more than 1000 miles to feel the heat, as Buffalo lived through one of the hottest summers on record!

Since  record keeping began in the 1870s, the summer of 2016 ranked as third hottest on record. This past August ended up being the hottest we've ever had! 

Buffalo also enjoyed a ridiculous number of days in the 80s this year. In fact, as of writing this, we are two days shy of tying the record for most 80F degree days in a year. It's a record that's stood since 1949. The average number of 80F days in a year since 1871 is 41.

Just about every day this summer was above 70F. In fact, as of today, we've hit 100 days in a row above 70F. A new record for Buffalo!

The coolest day of summer belongs to June 8th (59F). The hottest? August 9th and 13th, where the mercury rose to 92F.

Not every living thing enjoyed our beautiful weather this past summer.

Lawns changed colors from green and lush to brown and bone dry. Wells ran dry, few towns placed water restrictions. However, August came in and saved the day. And for the first time in half a year, more rain fell in a month at the Buffalo Airport than average. 

Thanks to the rain nature provided us in August, we didn't make it into the top 5 driest summers of all-time. In case you're wondering, the summer of 1889 was the driest summer on record. The National Weather Service measured a mere 3.81" of rainfall altogether between the months of June, July and August.

A total of 7.28" fell at the airport this summer. That's close to three inches below the 30 year average. 

And the warm weather has continued into September. We are headed to a top 10 finish to September.