Don't Fall for It

Frog

​The first day of meteorological fall, Sept. 1, ushered in some hot and humid weather for the region. Meanwhile, the autumnal equinox won’t happen until Tuesday, Sept. 22.

Ironweed

​A look back at July and August found above and below normal temperatures. However, the region experienced below normal precipitation for both months, according to National Weather Service reports. 

Red-spotted purple butterfly

​Again, I found the weather data for Franklin to be incomplete or corrupted.
​
The highest temperature in July was reported as 96 degrees for July 2, 3 and 4, according to the National Weather Service’s station at the Venango Regional Airport. 

Spider on a suspended leaf

​For the same period, the highs in Pittsburgh were recorded as 93, 95 and 92 degrees. For July, Pittsburgh came in a little warmer than normal. The average high of 84.2 degrees was higher than the normal of 82.9 degrees, according to weather service data. 

Mushrooms growing in a dead tree branch.

​Temperatures were running warm for Franklin as well during the month of July. Average high for Franklin this year was 85.5 degrees, which was greater than the normal high temperature of 82.7 degrees.

​Meanwhile, for July the average temperature was reported to be 74.3 degrees, which was again higher than the normal average temperature of 71.1 degrees, according to National Weather Service data. 

​The lowest low of July for Franklin was 49 degrees on July 23, according to the data.

According to weather service data, Pittsburgh was .51 inches above its normal precipitation for July.
​
However, Franklin fell short of normal precipitation for July. A total of 4.04 inches was recorded for this year compared to the normal of 5.32 inches. 

​Franklin also had below average precipitation for August.

​According to weather service data, the region fell short in precipitation to 3.98 inches with a normal of 4.24 inches.

However, average temperatures in August were cooler than normal for Franklin.
​
The average high temperature was 80.9 degrees below the normal of 81.2 degrees, according to National Weather Service data for Franklin. 

​The lowest low for Franklin for August was 51 degrees recorded on August 29 and 30.
​
The warmest day in August for Franklin was reported as 89 degrees on Aug. 6.
Franklin again fell short of the normal precipitation tally for August, with 3.98 inches of rain compared to the normal of 4.24 inches, according to weather service data.
​
A Facebook post from the National Weather Service office in Pittsburgh noted that for August, there was "little in the way of heat waves occurred with no site eclipsing 90°F. For Pittsburgh, it's the lowest maximum temperature for August since 2013 and 5th lowest all-time."
​
The office also reported near-to-record breaking rainfall seen at numerous locations (PIT landed at third wettest August.

Headlines at the beginning of September touted 2026 as the hottest summer in more than 100 years.
​
"​The United States just had its hottest summer in 132 years of recordkeeping, soundly beating the summer of 1936 — during the Dust Bowl era — as well as the summer of 2021, according to data released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

​Previously, those two years had tied for the hottest summer," claimed a post on CNN's Facebook page.  

Ants on jewelweed blossoms.

Possible Sharp-Scaly Pholiota

Jeb and Buckley go for a swim.

Bees on a sunflower

"However, just because summer 2026 may have had the highest average temperature on record nationwide does not mean that it was the “hottest summer on record,” as widely reported by legacy media. It also does not tell the full story in terms of the conditions that the vast majority of people actually felt," disputed Chris Martz in a post on CFact.
​

"From June through August 2026, the contiguous United States averaged about 74.4 degrees, making it the warmest meteorological summer since national records began. And it didn't just edge out the old benchmark. The national average finished about 0.4 degrees above the previous record, surpassing the legendary Dust Bowl summer of 1936," said a Facebook post from travel site Fiery Trippers. 
​
"So 'hottest summer' doesn't mean every location experienced its hottest individual afternoon," the post continued. 

Turtlehead and sedum

​Meanwhile, September started off on a relatively high note.
​
A high of 92 degrees for Franklin was recorded on Sept. 3. That day also saw 1.37 inches of precipitation, according to National Weather Service data.
​
The accumulation-to-date for Sept. 7 for Franklin was 33.15 inches, which climbed past the average of 32.82 inches. 

​Thunderstorm induced deluges could be seen on area waterway levels during the first and second weeks of September.
​
"Pittsburgh has seen its 5th wettest start to September on record through the first ten days of the month with 3.55 inches of rain. That's 2.68 inches above normal," said a post on the Pittsburgh office of the National Weather Service's Facebook page on Sept. 11.

​The National Weather Services’ Climate Prediction Center forecasted above average temperatures and below average precipitation for Sept. 12 to 18.

Rose in late August.

Other Facebook posts mentioned the possibility of frost on Sept. 8 in Corry and Warren. Lows were forecasted to dip into the mid-30s. ​

Possible Lynx Paw Oyster mushroom

​Meanwhile, Chief Meteorologist at WROC in Rochester, New York, Eric Sniti posted Sept. 7 on Facebook, that “We’ll get one hot and humid day this week before a cold front slides through. 

Orange-collared scape moth on a wild aster.

Wednesday highs will surge into the 80s with some added humidity ahead of the front … Behind it, back to September!” ​

Bubbles at sunset

The big question was, "Are we finally done with the heat and humidity?". Some reports said "No". Some said "Yes," but not until the end of September. That's just the nature of things 'round here. 

Bumblebee on a coneflower