Higher temperatures have been coming early and ending later in the year over recent decades, writes Kasha Patel for The Washington Post.
That’s according to an analysis of U.S. weather patterns done by climatologist Brian Brettschneider, who looked at the hottest 90 days of the year from 1965 to 1994, then from 1995 to 2024.
The phenomenon is seen locally in Lansdowne Borough, Wallingford, and Chadds Ford, where summer is 11 days longer than it was 30 years ago.
For Lansdowne and Wallingford, summer temperatures came in June 10 and left on Sept. 7 from 1965 to 1994, then started June 5 and left Sept. 13 from 1995 to 2024, with 101 days where the temperature was above 71 degrees.
In Chadds Ford summer temperatures started June 9 and left Sept. 6 between 1965 to 1994, then arrived June 5 and left Sept. 13 between 1995 to 2024, with 101 days above 69 degrees.
“What we think of as summer isn’t necessarily the same today as it was 30 years ago,” said Michael Allen, a climatologist at Towson University who was not involved in the analysis.
The prolonged summer heat is part of the overall increase in global temperatures.
Read a complete nationwide analysis in The Washington Post.
