Pennsylvania Weather Review: August 2025
Pennsylvania Weather Review:
August 2025
Welcome the the Stormsell Blog! This is a 'soft opening' as a more formal introduction post will be coming in a couple weeks.August Highlights
The month started off with a very noticeable pattern change. Following a warm & humid late spring & early summer, dewpoints fell into the 40s to kick off the month. The cooler flow out of the northwest also brought Canadian wildfire smoke into the state, especially on the 4th through 6th.
On August 12th, I noted that over a 10 day stretch from August 2nd to August 10th, more than half of COOP/CoCoRaHS sites had not recorded measurable precipitation.
HRRR Near-Surface Smoke forecast showing noticeable levels of smoke in PA for August 6th.
Parts of western Pennsylvania did not see any precipitation during the first half of the month. DuBois went from July 28th to August 16th (20 days) without measurable precipitation. This is tied for the 4th longest dry stretch there (going back to 1962).
Chart listing the longest stretches of days without measurable precipitation in DuBois since records began in 1962.
A screenshot of a post I made on Bluesky detailing the number of stations in PA that had not recorded measurable precipitation from August 2nd to 12th.
Temperatures and dewpoints climbed during the week of August 10th, feeling more like summer. This also brought the most widespread rain during the month most notably on the 13th. Besides some localized downpours, rainfall totals were not all that impressive, yet what fell was much welcomed!
Precipitation totals for the 24 hour period ending 8AM on August 14, 2025
Following a front on August 24th, temperatures & dewpoints dropped to fall like levels. Bradford recorded a low temperature of 37° on the 27th which was the earliest they had dipped that low since 2004! On August 30th, Frost Advisories were issued for McKean and Potter Counties. This is the earliest that Frost Advisories have been issued in PA (first time in August, too!), beating the record set last year (September 2, 2024). Altoona dropped to 39° on August 30th and again on the 31st. Prior to this, there had only been 3 times that Altoona had dropped into the 30s in August!
Graph highlighting the first and last Frost Advisories issued for Pennsylvania by year. The orange arrow highlights the Frost Advisory on August 30th is the earliest on record.
August Statistics
Average temperatures for the month were generally 2° to 4° below average statewide. The break from nonstop rain was nice but many locations are now in desperate need of rain with departures of more than 2 inches. It was the 2nd driest August on record in Bradford and 3rd driest August for Altoona. There were 14 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in PA during August- the fewest since 1990! There were no Tornado Warnings, the first time in August since 2015.
Temperature and precipitation chart for select cities in Pennsylvania for August 2025
Altoona recorded just 3 days with measurable precipitation- the 2nd fewest for August! Pittsburgh also recorded the second fewest days with measurable precipitation in August with 4 days.
Graph summarizing the few days with measurable precipitation in August 2025
August 2025 was the coolest and driest in more than 10 years for much of the state. It was the coolest in Altoona since 1992 and driest since 1989. Bradford recorded the driest August since 1959!
Many locations across the Allegheny Plateau recorded temperatures into the 30s. Ridgway recorded the coldest temperature of the month in the state, a frosty 30° on August 30th!
Summary of the last time August was as cool and as dry as August 2025
Map showing the coldest temperature recorded across Pennsylvania during August 2025
Webcam Image of the Month
Picturesque storms could be seen on the University Park webcam overlooking Mount Nittany on August 24th.
Looking Ahead
Later this month I will officially open up the blog with a special Stormsell & Bryant's Weather Wall Blog post that you won't want to miss. I will post to Bluesky when new posts are up or you can sign up for email alerts.
Thanks for reading, and remember to always look up!
Comments
Post a Comment