August weather in Berks County unfolded nearly as normal as can be expected in terms of temperature, with the second half of the month bringing much-needed episodes of thunderstorms that have continued into September.
The opening of the month was warmer than the closing, as would be expected.
Only three days heated to at least 90 degrees at Reading Regional Airport, the official National Weather Service site in Berks, and all were before the 10th. The highest of those was 92 degrees, a typical result.
The three 90s were the fewest in an August since 2023 when only one was recorded. The heat came on strong in September 2023 with a six-day heat wave that started on the 3rd. There will be no replay in 2026.
Eventually, the last third of August saw six mornings with a low temperature in the 50s.
“August contained no really anomalous cool nor heat as every daily departure was modest at most,” said Jeffrey R. Stoudt, Berks weather historian and founder of the Berks Area Rainfall Networks.
As for rainfall, much of the summer had been relatively dry, with 1.85 inches recorded at the airport in June and 3.22 in July, and April and May had also been below normal. The July total would be normal for some months, but no longer July where “normal” has ballooned.
The dry conditions continued into August, enough to get Berks listed in a drought warning by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, where it still stands at Labor Day.
“Only several meager rainfall amounts occurred at the airport vicinity, totaling only 0.65-inch despite thunder on five different days,” Stoudt added.
That changed.
“Heavy rains, with little or no thunder, hit the Reading area and most Berks locations immediately after the midpoint during evening of the 16th and delivered from slightly under 1.00 inch to slightly over 1.5 inches including 1.03 at RDG,” Stoudt said. “That amount was matched at 1.04 inches on the 17th, mostly from late-afternoon thunderstorms.
“Many areas of Berks did not get much rain that day. … Of the 4.44 (inches) August total at RDG, 2.07 inches came on the 16th-17th.”
The automated equipment at the airport recorded six more days after that in August with measurable rainfall.
The airport was in the bulls-eye of a thunderstorm deluge on Sept. 1, measuring 1.60 inches that day, and each of the next three days saw measurable rainfall, with a total of 2.86 inches for the first four days of September.
The bigger picture
The normal for September is 4.88 inches. The normals for July, August and September are pushing 5 inches because of all the heavy rains in those months during years at the close of last decade.
Normal is calculated as the averages of the most recent three completed decades, according to the weather service, which currently is 1991 to 2020.
The precipitation gap for 2026 at the airport is 5.45 inches, and that includes the opening of September. The actual for the year is 25.36 versus the normal of 30.81.
Overall, Berks County comes in at 29.1 inches for 2026 currently, according to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, a division of the weather service.
That measurement takes into account many more measurements than the airport and is quality controlled by a hydrologist.
It’s not clear when the Berks status with DEP might change.
An adjoining county, Montgomery, sits at 29.3 inches for 2026 and is in the normal category. Adjoining Chester and Lancaster counties are in drought watch status at 32.9 and 30.9 annual totals, respectively.
The DEP has said that it looks at groundwater levels as well. The USGS well near Blandon shows a depth of nearly 142 feet, with a long-term median of 135 feet, and that might be the deciding factor.
The Commonwealth Drought Task Force last met on Aug. 24, and much rain has fallen since. It was not clear when the task force would meet again.
August weather in Berks
• Temperature: 74.6 degrees
• Normal: 74.3 degrees
• Precipitation: 4.44 inches
• Normal: 4.49 inches
More data:
• 90-degree days: 3 (annual total: 22)
Source: National Weather Service
Rainfall amounts from the Berks Area Rainfall Networks in inches:
• New Morgan, 12.02
• Morgantown, 9.53
• Quaker Hill, 9.36
• Birdsboro, 9.05
• Knauers, 8.43
• Mohnton, 7.83
• Wernersville, 7
• Shillington, 6.78
• Cornwall Terrace, 6.76
• Lincoln Park, 6.71
• Bechtelsville NW, 6.57
• Shartlesville, 6.32
• Strausstown, 6.23
• Bernville, 6.14
• West Reading, 6.03
• Frystown, 5.58
• Henningsville, 5.60
• Topton, 5.59
• Mohrsville SW, 5.36
• Boyertown, 5.35
• Reading E, 5.35
• Reiffton, 5.31
• Mohrsville, 5.04
• Muhlenberg Park, 4.70
• Hamburg 4.68
• Boyertown 4.53
• Greenfields, 4.51
• Womelsdorf, 4.47
• Lobachsville, 4.36
• Dryville, 4.32
• Oley Furnace, 4.32
• Topton, 4.26
• Boyers Junction, 4.12