The Calm Before The Storm?

By Russell Russ

For the last two years, June had offered some very nice summer weather
for Norfolk. This June’s weather was not as perfect, but it was not all
bad. On paper it seemed very average, but it felt cooler and wetter than
usual. The numerous cloudy days and seemingly constant moisture, but
no huge rain totals, made one wonder where all the sunshine went. Early
June brought some heat and humidity, just enough to remind us all that it
was summertime. A calm weather month is not such a bad thing.
June’s high temperature of 89 degrees, one degree shy of a record, was
observed on June 2 and the low of 42 was observed on June 7. With an
average monthly mean temperature of 62.6 degrees, it was 0.8 degree
below normal. Norfolk has not hit the 90 degree mark yet this summer.
Norfolk’s warmest June was in 1943 with 68.3 degrees, the coolest was
in 1958 with 58.8 degrees. Perhaps the most notable weather condition
this month was the smoke and haze from the Canadian wildfires. The
odor and heavy haze observed early and late in the month was about as
bad as it gets here in the Northeast. A situation that we will need to get
used to until the snow begins to fall in Canada, finally putting an end to
the seasonal fires there.
The total precipitation recorded for the month was 4.94 inches, just 0.13
inch above normal. It seemed wetter, but it actually came in very
average. The largest rainfall of the month, 2.19 inches, fell June 26-27
when Norfolk saw three rounds of thunderstorms. In all, there were six
thunderstorms observed in June. None were severe. Norfolk’s driest June
was in 1988 when only 0.61 inch was recorded and the wettest was in
2013 with 13.38 inches.
For the first half of 2023, Norfolk’s total precipitation amount was 23.33
inches. This was 2.09 inches below normal through June. During June,
much of Connecticut was reaching the Abnormally Dry stage and many
were saying we needed the rain.