As cool as it seemed, temperatures around the Northeast in August averaged close to the monthly normal, said Keith Eggleston, regional climatologist with the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell. The regional average temperature was just 0.2 degrees warmer than normal.

Maryland and Rhode Island reported the largest negative departures at 1.6 degrees cooler than normal. New Hampshire was the warmest with respect to normal at 1.1 degrees above the

30-year mean. Caribou, Maine, was the only place in the region to set a high temperature record -- and it was still less than 90 degrees: Caribou broke a 49-year daily high temperature record on Aug. 6, when the mercury hit 89 degrees.

The summer of 1996 (June-August) had an average temperature that was exactly equal to the long-term normal. All 12 northeastern states reported average temperatures that were within one degree of normal. Summer precipitation totaled 118 percent of normal for the 11th wettest summer in 102 years of record. Departures for individual states ranged from 100 percent of normal in Rhode Island to 129 percent of normal in Delaware.

Northern New England has endured one of the driest Augusts on record. But, August in southern New England was wetter than normal. This was the driest August in 102 years of records in New Hampshire, as the state averaged just 1.1 inches of rain, which is 28 percent of normal. Maine recorded its third driest August on record. The monthly total of just 1.66 inches of rain represented less than half the monthly normal.

Maryland and West Virginia were the only two states to report slightly wetter-than-normal conditions during August. They each recorded more than 4 inches of rain during the month for 108 percent and 103 percent of normal, respectively. Overall, the 12-state region received 76 percent of the normal August precipitation amount to rank as the 18th driest on record.

HIgh Temperature Records

City                                   Date                       New                               Previous

Caribou, Maine                  6th                          89                                  88 in 1947

Messena, N.Y. (tie)             7th                         90                                  90 in 1949