July 2021: Tornadoes, Heavy Rainfall, and even a Tropical Storm

It was a cooler than normal July for much of the region, but the elevated and persistent humidity certainly made it sweltering at times. It also turned out to be a rather active month, with both severe (particularly tornadoes) and tropical weather to contend with. The latter pushed precipitation amounts well beyond normal for a number of spots.

July began on a stormy note as a frontal system crossed through the Northeast. On the 1st, thunderstorms produced numerous reports of wind damage in the Mid-Atlantic, along with three EF-0 to EF-1 tornadoes in Delaware, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. Unseasonably cool air then filtered in behind the front, resulting in the coldest point of the month as high temperatures struggled to warm past the 60s and 70s. In fact, Boston, MA and Hartford, CT both set record minimum high temperatures on the 3rd at 60 and 62 degrees respectively.

As the pattern rebounded to warmer temperatures, attention up and down the Eastern Seaboard turned to Elsa. While Elsa was a hurricane in the Caribbean, it mostly remained a tropical storm west of Florida before making landfall and traveling up the coast from the 8th - 10th. 1.00 - 3.00” of rain with locally higher amounts fell from the Hampton Bays through coastal Maine. Elsa not only resulted in flooding issues, but also sparking a number of tornadoes along the Jersey Shore most notably in Woodbine and Little Egg Harbor, NJ. One other tornado also touched down in Norfolk, VA, toppling outbuildings and snapping tree limbs. This combined with rainfall from earlier in the week and puhsed most areas along the shores and into New England well ahead of average precipitation for the month.

The remainder of the month more or less stayed near average. Any heat waves were unable to sustain themselves for very long thanks to near constant frontal passages and lack of a Bermuda high. The next notable severe outbreak held off until the 17th, beginning with isolated storms followed by more organized squall lines by evening. On top of usual wind damage, a few cells produced quarter-sized hail and a tornado briefly touched down in Burlington, NJ (mostly causing tree damage).

The third week of July saw relatively drier weather, but the occasional thunderstorms were still around. After a few days of high pressure and nicer weather, a warm front triggered a violent day on the 29th across the Mid-Atlantic, causing multiple tornadoes to touch down across NJ, PA, and MD. The strongest of which was and EF-3 tornado with winds of 140 mph impacting Bensalem/Trevose in PA. This destroyed several buildings including a car dealership. While it was fortunate no fatalities were reported, 5 people were injured. Several other tornadoes also impacted eastern PA into NJ and MD on the 29th, leading to quite an outbreak. Click here for more info.

Despite this chaotic closure to July, much calmer and cooler conditions returned on the very last day, even resulting in a record low of 49 degrees for Albany, NY. Overall, the excessive rainfall in July resulted in many cities tripling their normal rainfall, particularly along the I-95 corridor between Boston, MA and Trenton, NJ. Amazingly, Worcester, MA recorded their wettest July on record, with an incredible 13.85 inches of precipitation. Further south into the Mid-Atlantic, rain was either near or just below normal for most, with the exception of the Delmarva Peninsula. And thanks to the frequent cooldowns and no real warm surges, July’s average temperature fell below normal by 1-2 degrees for a good portion of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.