Great Barrington — A garden of abundance being watched over by the automated weather station — plenty of squash, tomatoes and herbs. And the hops are doing especially well in this third straight drier-than-average month.

But summers don’t usually get as much rain as in other seasons. The showers and thunderstorms are pop-up in general which are hit or miss. That’s why my rainbarrels are a much-needed garden appliance.

The month featured lots of heat and humidity. July’s mean temperature of 75.5 tied 2013 and 2017 for the second hottest. Only the summer of 1999 was hotter. Ninety degree-plus readings this July came to 7. The month’s average is 4.

The entire summer’s average is 10.

Couple the heat with lots of humidity, which we measure as dew points which are consistently in the 70’s and sometime near 80. Those readings make the heat index, the “feel like” temperatures in the 90s and above.

July heat index readings consistently in the 90’s and low 100’s.

A garden of abundance being watched over by the automated weather station. Plenty of squash, tomatoes and herbs. And the hops are doing especially well in this third straight drier-than-average month.

But summers don’t usually get as much rain as other seasons. The showers and thunderstorms are pop-up in general which are hit or miss. That’s why my rain barrels are a much-needed garden appliance.

The month featured lots of heat and humidity. July’s mean temperature of 75.5 tied 2013 and 2017 for the second hottest. Only the summer of 1999 was hotter. Ninety-plus readings this July came to 7. The month’s average is 4.

The entire summer’s average is 10.

Couple the heat with lots of humidity, which we measure as dew points that have been are consistently in the 70’s and sometime near 80. Those readings make the heat index, the “feel like” temperatures in the 90’s and above.

This July showed reading consistently in the 90’s and low 100’s.

The high humidity and temperatures, according to a Washington Post article I read a few years ago, are caused by the rising temperatures of the Atlantic Ocean. That’s the main reason for the excessively hot readings. It’s also the reason shell fishing has diminished in Southern New England waters.

Thank goodness for air-conditioning.