Forecasters predicting a hot, humid summer

It's been the sixth-wettest May on record for the area.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
Local residents should be able to break out their Bermuda shorts this summer, as a tropical weather system is slated to bring warm weather, high humidity and the possibility of above-average rainfall to the area.
Meteorologists from AccuWeather.com and the National Weather Service said a "Bermuda High" pressure system is expected to settle over the Great Lakes region this summer and create hot and sticky weather much like what the area experienced last week.
The average high temperature in the Youngstown area for May 17 through Sunday was 79 degrees, which is about nine degrees higher than the normal high temperature for those days, the NWS says.
NWS statistics also state that the high humidity each day from May 17-22 was 100 percent. The high humidity for Sunday was 93 percent.
"What we've seen is what we're going to get," said AccuWeather meteorologist Henry Margusity.
Chance of more storms
Margusity added that the high humidity will increase the chances that the Great Lakes region will experience more violent thunderstorms like those that rocked the area last weekend. The thunderstorms dumped about 2.25 inches of rain on the Youngstown area between Friday and Saturday, and wind speeds reached 41 mph Friday, NWS statistics show.
The statistics also show that a total of 6.02 inches of rain had fallen on the area through Saturday, making it the sixth-wettest May on record for the Youngstown area with six days left in the month. The greatest amount of rain to fall on the Youngstown area in May was 9.87 inches in 1946; while the second-most amount was 6.84 inches last year. Over the weekend, this May surpassed May 1944, when 6 inches of rain fell on the area.
Power was to be restored to all Ohio Edison customers affected by the weekend storms in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys by early today, company spokesman Paul Harkey said. He said Ohio Edison had brought in workers from three states as well as private contractors to restore power to 77,500 customers whose electricity was knocked out by storms over the weekend.
He said as of 4:30 p.m. Monday, crews were working to restore power to about 870 customers who were still without power because of storms Friday and Saturday. An additional 200 customers in Mercer County were without power because of a storm Monday morning, while 33 customers in New Castle were without power because a car hit a utility pole Monday morning.
A question of rainfall
AccuWeather is predicting that the Great Lakes region will have an above-normal amount of rain this summer, although Margusity stressed that he does not expect that there will be extensive flooding like last year.
The National Weather Service, however, states that there are equal chances that the amount of rainfall in the area this summer will be normal, near normal, or above normal.
"It can kind of go either way," said Frank Kieltyka, a NWS meteorologist.
Margusity said he feels the tropical weather is part of a long-term cycle. In the 1990s, the weather was warm and dry weather in the area, while in the past few years the area has experienced cold, snowy winters and hot, wet summers, Margusity said.
Kieltyka, however, said he does not think the weather is part of a long-term pattern.
hill@vindy.com