June and first-half climate: Wetter and a little warmer

Published 1:31 pm Thursday, July 11, 2024

LONG BEACH — This June was wetter and a little warmer than average in Pacific County, according to data from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

The county’s official overall precipitation total was 4.69 inches this June, compared to the 20th century average of 2.93 inches. There is no obvious long-term trend for rainfall in the county, with results bouncing above and below average.

However, county temperatures are trending warmer, with a 24-hour average of 57.1 degrees Fahrenheit this June, 1.2 degrees above the 20th century mean. The last time June was below average was in 2012. Between 1984 and 2024, eight Junes were cooler than average and 33 were above average.

Daytime highs in county averaged 67.3 degrees this June, 1.5 degrees above the 20th century average. Nighttime lows averaged 46.9 degrees, which was 0.8 degrees above average.

First half of the year

Looking at results for the first half of 2024, the county’s overall precipitation tally was 50.95 inches, 3.76 inches above average. It was much wetter than the first six months of 2023, when 35.14 inches were recorded — 12.05 inches below average.

As with June’s one-month result, there is no clear precipitation trend in the county for the first halves of years. In the past 20 years, 10 January-June periods have been wetter than average and 10 have been drier.

For historic comparisons, January-June 2019 was driest with 27.57 inches in 130 years of record keeping and January-June 1916 was wettest with 68.18 inches.

The county’s round-the-clock temperature for the first half of 2024 was 48 degrees, or 1.5 degrees warmer than average. Since 1984, only five yearly first halves have been below average.

Most of this trend has been due to warmer nights. This year’s nighttime lows of 40.1 degrees on average were 2.3 degrees warmer than in the 20th century. Daytime highs in the first half of this year were 56 degrees on average, just 0.7 degrees warmer than the mean set between 1901 and 2000.