Summer of 2012 was warmest on record in Duluth
There were no record-breaking hot days, but red thermometers steadily turned June through August of 2012 into the warmest season on the books in Duluth. Forecasters think a 14-month streak of above-normal temperatures will continue in September. As for rainfall, it's been pretty sparse since the deluge that flooded the region in late June.
Officially speaking, summer's not over yet. But for those of us who call June through August summer, this year's was the warmest on record in the city by the big lake.
The Weather Service also reports the summer was wetter than average, but more than half of that rainfall came in the form of one big honkin' storm that caused the worst flooding in decades.
Of course, the warm summer heated the water as well as the land. In late July Lake Superior reached its warmest temperature in more than a century.
The University of Minnesota-Duluth will use newly-installed technology to keep tabs on the temperature and water level through the winter this year.
