Officially, July hottest month ever in Philly
The June 1-July 31 period was the third-warmest.
Loyal readers have been aware that July would enter the books as the warmest month in 138 years of recordkeeping in Philadelphia.
Now, it's official. The National Weather Service posted the numbers this afternoon, and just as we had estimated, the July average came in at 82.4, beating 1994 by 0.3 degrees.
Not only was that the warmest July ever, it was the warmest month. That makes sense, since solar heating usually peaks in July.
The hottest August wouldn't crack the top 10, and that's a function of the growing length of the nights.
July also tied a record for most days with 90 or better temperatures, 21, a record set in 1952, 1995, and 1998.
It marked the 12th time in the period of record that the temperature had reached 100 at least twice.
The June 1 through July 31 period was extraordinarily warm, but it's been warmer. In fact, it was just last year.
June and July combined finished at 80 degrees in 2010, No. 2 on the hot-hits list, and 79 this year, No. 3. The champ remains 1994 at 80.1.
July 2011 also was warm worldwide, according to the NASA satellite data released on Monday. Global average temperatures were 0.67 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, making it the third warmest July in 33 years of recordkeeping.