The averages from the previous six Augusts can be seen below.
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| August averages at Jyväskylä Airport for the period 2009-2014 |
The month of August since 2009 has been relatively stable compared to other months during the year. The average maximum for 2014 was the highest in the years since 2009. Minimums were slightly down though with the average minimum finishing as the third warmest.
According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the overall average for the month was 15.4C (compared to my recording of 15.1C). This beat last year's 15.0C (14.7C) and was comfortably above the 1981-2010 figure of 14.1C. FMI records put August 2014 as the equal eighth warmest for Jyväskylä since at least 1961, although the average was well below the record of 17.0C shared by 2002 and 2006.
The first 16 days of the month all recorded temperatures above 20C. The first 11, except one, also managed to climb above 25C. August 5 was responsible for the highest overall temperature with a recording of 28.9C. The 6th and 7th followed that up with 28.8C on both days. Only the recording of 30.8C on the 8th back in 2010 has been higher than these three days since 2009. Off the back of maximums above 28C, August 8 recorded the month's highest minimum, 13.6C. Surprisingly, this is actually the lowest of the respective figures since 2009, and 1C lower than the next lowest, the 14.6C figure from 2009.
From August 17 onwards though, there wasn't one day above 20C. August 12 also broke a 30 day streak from mid-July of temperatures remaining above 10C. The first 16 days of August this year had averages of 11.0C and 24.8C, while the final 15 had averages of 8.1C and 16.3C. The very last day of the month saw both the lowest overall temperature and the lowest maximum, 1.0C and 12.2C respectively. The 1.0C recording was the second lowest August temperature since at least 2009.
National extremes included a monthly top of 32.8C in Pori on August 4 and a low of -2.6C in Ylivieska on the 31st. Somero, in the south west of the country, recorded a rainfall total of 236mm. 1980 was the last time a location in Finland recorded a higher August total.
While nowhere near Somero's total, rainfall for August 2014 in Jyväskylä was slightly higher than the long term average. FMI recorded a total of 92mm for the month, compared to my 98.1mm. The total last year was quite similar with 89mm. The 1981-2010 average is 78mm.
The drop in temperatures fell in line with the increase in rainfall. The graph below shows the relationship between the two.
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| Minimum and maximum temperatures along with daily rain totals at Jyväskylä Airport during August 2014 |
The month saw 19 rain days. The longest rain day streak was eight from August 23 onwards, one short of the highest this year. Those days accounted for 56.2mm. The wettest day was the 26th when 21.5mm fell. The longest streak of no rain was six days from the very beginning of the month.
Despite the exceptional warmth in the first two weeks, this year's August was fairly normal in its decline in temperatures as autumn drew closer. Looking at the results from the past few years, 2014's August is fairly similar to that from 2010. July this year was also quite similar to that of 2010. If we look more at what happened during the rest of 2010, we are reminded of the very cold temperatures that arrived already in mid-November. The following 2010/11 winter was one of the coldest in recent memory. Perhaps 2014 is heading towards similar results...?
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