Precipitation up 6.5 inches over 2020

Holyoke recorded 19.45 inches of precipitation in 2021, which was a welcome change to 2020’s brutally dry 12.94 inches.

According to official weather observer Dan Kafka, August 2021 was the wettest month of the year with a total of 4.53 inches. The majority of that — 4.26 inches — came down Aug. 19 during a torrential rainstorm that caused flooding in the area.

December was the driest month with a mere 0.08 inch of moisture.

Precipitation totals include moisture received from snow. Snowfall in 2021 totaled 16.9 inches, a sharp decrease from 2020’s 37.9 inches. The snowiest month was February 2021 with 7 inches of snow.

February was also the coldest month of the year, with an average high of 31 F and an average low of 8 F. The year’s lowest temp was recorded Feb. 15, when Holyoke dipped to minus 30 F, and there were a couple of days that month when the high temperature never even got above zero.

The warmest month of 2021 was July with an average high of 91 F and an average low of 60 F. July 9 and June 17 tied for the hottest temperature of the year at 104 F.

Overall, 2021 recorded an average high of 66 F — the same as 2020 — and an average low of 35 F.