The calendar says we are in the final two weeks of summer. But some people are asking, "What summer?" We had about three weeks of hot, humid weather in June. Other than that, Missouri has felt a lot like Michigan often does. State climatologist Pat Guinan says this might go down as one of the ten coolest summers on record–and the records go back 115 years.
This also has been one of our wetter summers. He says rainfall amounts were above normal for Missouri in June, July, and August. Guinan says it’s the second year in a row for a cool, wet summer.
He says he cannot remember two consecutive growing seasons in which every Missouri county was "essentially drought free."
But there are drawbacks. Some plant diseases flourish in cool wet summers. And so do some allergies.
Guinan says two summers do no a trend make. They don’t even indicate what fall will be. He says forecasters are giving equal changes for above, below, and usual temperatures and precipitation through November.
Agriculturally,he says, the summer has been a good thing. He says the last time Missouri had a summer like this one was five years ago when farmers produced record crops.