The meteorological summer has just concluded, with Portland registering its 2nd hottest summer ever.
That’s according to an article written by Newscenter Maine Meteorologist Keith Carson in the Portland Press Herald, who reports that the mean average temperature in the city from June 1st to August 31st reached 69.3 degrees Fahrenheit. This summer’s temperatures were only slightly beaten out by 2020’s, which had an average of 70.5 degrees.
The numbers come as part of an overall warming trend in the city spurred by climate change, with 8 of the 10 hottest summers on record occurring in the past 16 years, and the top 5 hottest summers all taking place within the past 6 years (3rd, 4th, and 5th place being taken by 2024, 2022, and 2021 respectively).
“If you run the probability of that happening at random — meaning without climate change as an underlying driver — the odds of at least eight of the warmest summers occurring in the last 16 years are about 1 in 100,000” wrote Carson, comparing the population getting used to the warming weather to a frog in boiling water.
Portland wasn’t the only Maine city with unusually warm temperatures this summer, with Bangor recording its 4th hottest and Augusta recording its 7th.
To read the original Portland Press Herald article, click here.
