A look back at summer 2022′s weather

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Summer 2022 has come and gone as today marks the first full day of fall. Now that summer is officially in the books, we can take a look at where it stands in the record books.

For the U.S. it was a hot summer; the third-hottest summer on record to be exact. There were numerous records broken and even shattered across the country. The heatwaves in the Northwest and Northeast in August were some of the more significant heat-related events of the summer.

Selected significant climate anomalies and events for August and summer 2022. — Selected significant climate anomalies and events for August and summer 2022.(NOAA)

Significant drought conditions developed or persisted across a large portion of the country throughout the summer. Most of the western half of the U.S. experienced severe, extreme or exceptional drought conditions for multiple weeks. The Northeast was also impacted by drought conditions this summer.

Wildfires were another big player this summer. The West, Southern Plains and Alaska in particular were affected by wildfires. The year as a whole has seen more than 6.8 million acres burned nationwide.

Fortunately for Alabama, there were no big-time drought or wildfire issues. Some dry conditions were found at times, but a substantial drought situation never really established itself in Alabama this summer.

Summer temperatures weren't far from normal across the state. — Summer temperatures weren't far from normal across the state.(WSFA 12 News/MRCC)

So what did we see?

Truly it was a rather average summer all things considered. Between June 21st and September 22nd most of the state saw near-average temperatures. The exception is in and around Montgomery, which wound up a little below average.

While the summer overall was a little below average there were plenty of very hot days to be had. The thermometer hit 100 degrees multiple times in June, including a brutal 104 degrees on the 23rd. As you can imagine June ended up warmer than average. July was also warmer than average, but August and September were a little cooler.

Precipitation was roughly normal across the state for the summer. — Precipitation was roughly normal across the state for the summer.(WSFA 12 News/MRCC)

Precipitation amounts varied across the state. Mobile and Baldwin counties saw extremely wet summers. The Wiregrass and northern Alabama saw pretty dry summers. Everyone else was closer to what’s considered normal rainfall for summer.

Thanks to random heavy downpours some spots picked up noticeably more rain than others. As expected there were large differences in rain totals from city to city. That’s summertime downpours for you!

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