So long, summer!

After experiencing one of the hottest summers on record, it’s no wonder that people all across the country are saying good riddance to summer and hello to cooler temperatures.

Last week, Holyoke welcomed fall with some much-needed rain and a couple of cooler days. On the last day of summer, Wednesday, Sept. 21, official weather observer Dan Kafka recorded a high of 54 F (42 degrees cooler than the previous day) and 1.62 inches of rain. Fall started Thursday, Sept. 22, with a high of 51 F and 0.14 inch of rain.

Temps bounced back up, and Holyoke is closing out September with 80s forecasted for the rest of the week.

There’s no doubt it was hot this year, but just how hot was it?

June had three days 100 F or higher. July had eight triple-digit days. August had five, and September had three for a total of 19 days that were 100 F or hotter this year.

The hottest day of the summer was July 10, which reached 105 F.

There were 56 total days from May to the end of September with temperatures in the 90s, including six in May, 10 in June, 13 in July, 18 in August and nine in September.

Moisture in May totaled 1.84 inches, followed by 1.03 inches in June, 0.94 inch in July, 0.11 inch in August and 1.86 so far in September.