June was second-warmest on record for Baltimore

The mercury at the airport reached 90 degrees or more on 16 days in June. The average is just under six days. This year's tally was the second-highest on record, behind only the 18 straight 90-plus days recorded in June 1943.

We hit 100 degrees on June 24 and 27. Both days set new daily record highs. That was the first time Baltimore has recorded 100 degrees or more on two separate days in June. It was also the first 100-degree day in June since June 15, 1994, and just the 10th one-hundred-degree June day on record for the city.

Another new high was established for June 28, at 99 degrees. The 97-degree high on the 23rd tied the record first set on that date in 1894.

The 11 straight days of 90-plus weather we suffered last month was the second-longest 90-plus streak on record for the city in June. The longest was a 12-day stretch, on June 13-24, 1994.

Had enough yet?

Sorry. There's more. The low temperatures on June 24 and 29 tied record high minimums.

June was also the driest June in Baltimore in nearly 20 years. The 1.55 inches that fell was less than half the normal rainfall for the month.

There. Now we're done.

Except for the forecast, which calls for bad air, (gray on the map) heat advisories (orange) and highs near 100 degrees through Wednesday. The highs won't fall back into the (upper) 80s until the weekend, with more 90-plus weather ahead next week. And, Baltimore's Health Department has declared a Code Red Heat Alert extending through Wednesday, opening its cooling centers.

Sorry. Oh, and don't look at the tropical weather forecast. It looks messy for the Gulf.

Now I'm done.