August 12, 2022 Submitted by Meteorologist Michael Page
Much of Hingham and Cohasset now face "Extreme" Drought, just one level away from the most serious designation of "Exceptional" Drought.
Last week, the drought was labeled "Severe", the second highest level on the 4-tier ranking system.
The deepening drought follows a record hot stretch of weather in Hingham.
The last three weeks, dating back to late July, is the warmest three week stretch since records began back in 1960.
The average high temperature during that time was 94.7, with the average temperature coming in at 82.2.
Boston, where records began in the 1800s, also notched its warmest three week stretch on record.
It's unusual to see two long duration, high intensity heat waves occur so close to each other.
Between the end of July and this point in August, 4 days in Hingham reached 100 degrees.
Before this summer, only 6 other days had reached 100 in Hingham since 1960.
No extreme heat is expected into next week. Instead, temperatures will be closer to average, which for this time of year is 80 during the day.
Unfortunately, there is also no widespread rain in the forecast.
The weekend will be dry and pleasant, with a few showers possible next week, but at this point there are no signs of drought busting rain