Contacts: Ellen Mecray (Ellen.L.Mecray@noaa.gov)

     Samantha Borisof (sgh58@cornell.edu)

Northeast Region Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook|September 2017

www.drought.gov/drought/resources/reports

Quarterly Climate Impacts 

and Outlook

Northeast Region

September 2017

National - Signifcant Events for June–August 2017

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies 

Regional - Climate Overview for June–August 2017

Percent of Normal Precipitation (%)

June 1–August 31, 2017

Departure from Normal Temperature (°F)

June 1–August 31, 2017

July

Highlights for the Northeast

Summer precipitaton was variable, with drought 

developing in Maine and extreme rain and fash fooding 

in other areas. See Regional Impacts for details.

During summer, the Northeast averages 28 tornadoes 

(based on NOAA's Storm Predicton Center data from 

1989–2013). This summer, 38 tornadoes touched down 

in the region: 11 in Pennsylvania, 10 in New York, 7 in 

Maine, 4 in West Virginia, 3 in Maryland, 2 in New Jersey, 

and 1 in Delaware. See Regional Impacts for details.

Several records were set during summer.

• LaGuardia Airport, NY: ted its warmest June day on 

record with a high of 101°F on June 13

• Caribou, ME: ted its warmest June low temperature 

on record with a low of 69°F on June 19

• Erie, PA: wetest June on record with 8.46 inches

• Dulles Airport, VA: wetest July on record with 8.80 

inches

• Harrisburg, PA: wetest July day on record with 4.71 

inches on July 23

During summer 2017, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) 

across the Western North Atlantc were above normal, 

with the greatest anomalies of up to 2.7°F in an area 

500 miles east of Georges Bank. SSTs this summer were 

not as warm as in summer 2016 when the extent and 

intensity of the warm waters was much greater.

The U.S. Drought Monitor released on June 8

showed the Northeast was free of abnormal 

dryness and drought. However, abnormal 

dryness was introduced in southern portons 

of the region mid-month and in Maine and 

Long Island by early July. As of July 4, 3% of 

the Northeast was abnormally dry. During July, 

dryness eased in southern areas, but expanded 

in Maine, southeastern New Hampshire, and 

Long Island. Moderate drought was introduced 

in Maine in early August. As of August 3, 2% 

of the Northeast was in moderate drought and 

8% was abnormally dry. During August, dry 

conditons expanded in parts of New England. 

By September 7, 5% of the Northeast was in 

moderate drought and 8% was abnormally dry.

The Northeast received 107% of normal 

rainfall during summer. Seven of the twelve 

states were weter than normal, with Delaware 

having its 13th wetest summer since 1895. 

June precipitaton was 105% of normal, with 

six dry states and six wet states. Delaware and 

Maryland had their 7th and 19th driest Junes 

on record, respectvely, while Vermont had 

its 8th wetest. The Northeast had its 18th 

wetest July with 120% of normal rainfall. 

This July ranked among the top 20 wetest 

for all six weter-than-normal states. August

precipitaton was 92% of normal, with eight 

states seeing below-normal precipitaton. 

Rhode Island had its 12th driest August on 

record, while Delaware had its 16th wetest.

Summer was 0.3°F colder than normal for 

the Northeast. Nine of the twelve states 

experienced below-normal temperatures. In 

June, the Northeast was 0.2°F warmer than 

normal. Nine states were warmer than normal, 

with Delaware having its 10th warmest June 

since 1895. The Northeast was 0.2°F warmer 

than normal in July. Six states were warmer 

than normal, with Maryland and Delaware 

ranking this July among their top 20 warmest 

on record. In August, the Northeast was 1.3°F 

colder than normal. It was the frst tme since 

March 2015 that all 12 states had a monthly 

average temperature that was colder than 

normal.

Drought in the Northeast

Normals based on 1981–2010

The contguous U.S. had its 15th warmest summer on record with an average temperature 

of 72.7°F, 1.3°F above the 20th century average. The U.S. had its 20th warmest June with an 

average temperature of 70.3°F, 1.9°F above average, and its 10th warmest July with an average 

temperature of 75.7°F, 2.1°F above average. August's average temperature of 72.0°F was 0.1°F 

below average. Globally, it was the third hotest June on record, the second hotest July, and the 

third hotest August. According to NOAA, August was "the 392nd consecutve month with a global 

temperature at least nominally above the 20th century average." The contguous U.S. had its 16th 

wetest summer on record, receiving 9.19 inches of precipitaton, 0.87 inches above average. June 

precipitaton totaled 3.00 inches, 0.08 inches above average, while July precipitaton totaled 2.74 

inches, 0.04 inches below average. The U.S. had its seventh wetest August with 3.34 inches of 

precipitaton, 0.70 inches above average. 

June

U.S. Drought Monitor

September 21, 2017
Regional - Impacts and Updates for June–August 2017

Contacts: Ellen Mecray (Ellen.L.Mecray@noaa.gov)

     Samantha Borisof (sgh58@cornell.edu)

Northeast Region Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook|September 2017 

www.drought.gov/drought/resources/reports

Regional - Outlook for Autumn 2017 Northeast Region Partners

Natonal Oceanic and Atmospheric Administraton

www.noaa.gov

Natonal Centers for Environmental Informaton

www.ncei.noaa.gov

Natonal Weather Service, Eastern Region

www.weather.gov

NOAA Fisheries Science Centers and

Regional Ofces, Atlantc

www.nmfs.noaa.gov

Ofce for Coastal Management

www.oceanservice.noaa.gov

NOAA Research, Climate Program Ofce and

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab

www.research.noaa.gov

NOAA Natonal Sea Grant Ofce

www.seagrant.noaa.gov

NOAA’s North Atlantc and Great Lakes

Regional Collaboraton Teams

www.regions.noaa.gov

Climate Predicton Center

www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov

Natonal Operatonal Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center

www.nohrsc.noaa.gov

Northeast Regional Climate Center

www.nrcc.cornell.edu

Natonal Integrated Drought Informaton System

www.drought.gov

Consortum on Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast

www.ccrun.org

Cooperatve Insttute for North Atlantc Research

www.cinar.org

Northeast Region State Climatologists

www.stateclimate.org

Mid-Atlantc RISA

www.midatlantcrisa.org

#regionalclimateoutlooks

Temperature and 

Precipitation

A Normal October–

December average 

temperatures range from 

the low 30s in northern 

New England to the 

low 50s in the MidAtlantc. NOAA's Climate 

Predicton Center (CPC) 

is calling for an increased 

chance of above-normal 

temperatures (lef map) 

for the Northeast for 

October–December. 

The precipitaton 

outlook calls for equal chances of below-, 

near-, or above-normal precipitaton for the 

entre Northeast. Normal October–December 

precipitaton ranges from less than 8 inches 

in portons of western New York and eastern 

West Virginia to more than 14 inches in 

portons of New England and southeastern and 

northern New York. 

While ENSO-neutral conditons were in place 

as of mid-September, CPC said there is an 

increasing chance (55–60%) of La Niña during 

autumn and winter 2017–18. 

The U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook indicated 

that drought conditons are expected to ease in 

Maine due to "the approach of the cold season 

and a climatological increase in widespread 

storm actvity."

40-50%

A: Above-normal

EC: Equal chances of 

above-, near, or belownormal 

#: Probability of abovenormal

During summer, there were multple rainfall events across the region that exceeded the 100-year return period, 

meaning rainfall of that magnitude has a 1% chance of occurring in a given year. For instance, on July 23, 4.27 

inches of rain fell in one hour at the Harrisburg Internatonal Airport, PA. The daily total of 4.71 inches made it 

the site's ffh wetest day on record. Other examples include: 3.91 inches of rain in two hours in Centreville, MD, 

on July 17 and 6.78 inches of rain in 16 hours on July 24 in Hammond, NY. Though it did not exceed the 100-year 

return period, Atlantc City, NJ, had its second wetest July day on record with 5.41 inches of rain on July 29. 

The downpours and wet conditons resulted in fash fooding, which damaged numerous buildings and roads. 

For example, fooding caused at least $4 million in damage to 67 roads in New Hampshire and almost 400 homes 

had high water damage in Marshall County, WV. Torrental rain caused the West Canada Creek near Kast Bridge, 

NY, to have its ninth highest crest on record on July 1. Agriculture was also afected. The wet conditons led to 

fooded and ruted felds, delayed hay harvest, reduced wheat quality, stunted corn growth in wet felds, and 

an increased diseases in fruits. In central New York, farmers were not able to get thousands of acres of crops

planted in tme. Runof from the heavy rains contributed to high levels of bacteria along the southern New 

Jersey coastline, causing 15 beaches to close, as well as harmful algal blooms on multple waterways including 

two of New York's Finger Lakes. High water levels contnued to cause fooding and erosion along the Lake 

Ontario and St. Lawrence River shorelines. In Sodus Point, NY, boats could not access the lake because docks 

and ramps were under water, leading to reduced tourism revenue. Flooding damage was estmated to be up to 

$2 million in Ogdensburg, NY, with some waterfront areas possibly closed untl next year. It was estmated that 

fooding caused millions of dollars in damage in Oswego, NY. 

A

Extreme Precipitation

In Maine, a state that averages only two tornadoes a year, the Gray Natonal Weather Service ofce issued seven 

tornado warnings, their greatest number ever for any day or year. Five weak (EF-0 or EF-1) tornadoes actually 

touched down, the most Maine has had in a single day. In mid-to late July, EF-2 tornadoes touched down in 

eastern Maryland and western New York, severely damaging homes. The New York tornado also caused up to $3 

million (estmated) in damage at the Erie County Fairgrounds. The last EF-2 or stronger tornado in Maryland was 

in 2004 and in New York was in 2014. Clarion County, PA, had six tornadoes from January through mid-August 

2017; however, between 1950 and 2016 the county only had eight tornadoes. Severe storms also produced 

straight line winds of up to 100 mph and large hail. The hail damaged crops in parts of the region.

Severe Weather

Atlantic Hurricane Season

NOAA’s 2017 Atlantc hurricane season outlook

called for an actve season. Already by midSeptember, there have been 13 named storms, 

close to the season average. The outlook 

updated on August 9 calls for 14–19 named 

storms, including 2–5 major hurricanes, slightly 

more than the May outlook. Factors contributng 

to the updated forecast include storm actvity 

through early August, the decreased likelihood 

of El Niño, warmer-than-normal waters in the 

tropical Atlantc Ocean, and computer model 

forecasts. The Atlantc hurricane season runs 

from June 1 to November 30, with the peak of 

the season from mid-August to late October.

In mid-August, Hurricane Gert caused high 

waves, rough surf, and rip currents along the 

Northeast coastline. Two major hurricanes, 

Harvey and Irma, were record setng. Based on 

preliminary data, Hurricane Harvey dumped up 

to 51.88 inches of rain on southeastern Texas in 

late August, which could become the all-tme 

greatest rain total from a single storm in the 

contnental United States. In early September, 

Hurricane Irma maintained max winds of 185 

mph for 37 hours, longer than any other cyclone

across the globe according to a report from 

Colorado State University. These two storms did 

not signifcantly impact the Northeast. 

Above: EF-2 tornado damage in Erie 

County, NY, on July 20. Credit: NWS BUF.

Lef: Harmful 

algal bloom on 

Cayuga Lake, NY. 

Credit: Finger 

Lakes Land Trust/

Jef Katris.

Right: Lake 

Ontario fooding 

in Sodus Point, 

NY. Credit: 2017 

Coastal Flooding 

Survey Project. 

Cornell University 

and NY Sea Grant.

1

4

3

2

Number of Days with at Least 2" Rain

June 1–August 31, 2017