PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Memorial Day 2022 was a beautiful one; it was sunny and hot, with a high of 87 degrees in the Scranton area and a high of 90 in central Pennsylvania. That unofficial start to summer was just a sign of what was to come for the rest of the season.
The summer of 2022 will go down in the top five hottest on record for the Wilkes-Barre /Scranton International Airport. From June 1 to August 31, otherwise referred to as the meteorological summer season, the mean temperature was 73.2 degrees. Two years ago, the summer of 2020 still ranks at number two for the hottest summer on record. Both July and August of 2022 ranked in the top 10 for the warmest months on record.
The first 90-degree day of the season was on May 21. It hit 90 again on May 31; then, after no 90-degree days in June, there were nine in July and nine again in August, so that is 20 90-degree days so far for the year for the Scranton area.
The hottest day this summer was on Thursday, August 4. It hit 98 degrees that day at the airport in Avoca.
The coldest morning of the meteorological summer season was on June 20. The low was 44 degrees that day.
The other big story for the summer of 2022 was the lack of rain. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection officially put northeastern and central Pennsylvania on a drought watch on August 31.
Newswatch 16 met many farmers over the past few months to see what the dry weather meant for crops, and all agreed too little rain is still better than too much.
From June 1 to August 31, a total of 8.6" of rain fell in the Scranton area.
And, of course, after what felt like really no rain all summer long, the unofficial end to the season went out with a bang. A record-breaking 2.28" inches of rain fell on Labor Day at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. That is more rain than what fell the entire month of July. In Williamsport, 1.66" of rain fell on Labor Day.
Astronomical fall begins at 9:04 p.m. on Thursday, September 22.
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