Meteorological summer is defined as the weather from June 1 through Aug. 31. The reference, or normal, climate period is the 30-year period of 1991-2020. The State Climatology Office recently completed its analysis of our 2026 summer conditions and created a comparison with previous summers.
The statewide average temperature during the summer of 2026 was 68.5 Fahrenheit, which is 1.3 degrees above normal. This was the seventh consecutive summer during which Wisconsin experienced a warmer-than-average temperature. All three summer months were above their normal monthly temperature. The largest departures of three to four degrees were scattered throughout northern Wisconsin.
Based on average dew point temperatures, this was a muggy summer, with 2026 ranking as the 10th-most-humid summer since 1979.
As far as precipitation goes, the summer was a dry one. Only a few areas in western and southern Wisconsin saw above-normal precipitation. Much of the state experienced some level of drought, with conditions ranging from moderate to extreme drought.
Twenty tornadoes occurred between June 1 and Aug. 31, two more than the normal summer period. Wisconsin’s total tornado count for 2026 is currently at 48, making this year our state’s second-most tornadic year since 1950. Wildfires in Ontario and northern Minnesota resulted in heavy smoke throughout Wisconsin in mid-July. During the third week of July, Wisconsin became shrouded in wildfire smoke. Blazing wildfires in parts of Ontario and northern Minnesota created dense plumes of smoke that were spread across the Midwest and the East Coast by northeasterly winds. The Air Quality Index reached the “hazardous” category across much of northern Wisconsin on July 15, a result of the thick smoke, and Wisconsin’s worst wildfire smoke event occurred on July 16.
For more detailed analysis and maps, visit the State Climatology Office website at https://climatology.nelson.wisc.edu/august-summer-2026-climatesummary.
Steve Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, are guests on Wisconsin Public Radio at noon the last Monday of each month. Send them your questions at stevea@ssec.wisc.edu or jemarti1@wisc.edu.
