August Weather Trends Favor Outdoor Product Sales

Casual Living Staff -- Casual Living, 8/1/2012 2:00:00 AM

Last August, temperatures were the warmest in more than 20 years with the core of the heat centered in the South Central states where some locations saw over 30 days straight of more than 100-degree temperatures.
     Precipitation was the third greatest in two decades for the United States, as a whole with much of the rain in the Northeast where Hurricane Irene made landfall near the end of the month. Irene brought the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states to a halt as historic flooding and widespread power outages caused massive disruptions. Meanwhile, an exceptional drought expanded in the South Central states.
     This month, approximately half of the nation will trend cooler than last year, while the remaining 50% will be either similar or warmer than last year. The Southern region will be the focus of cooler year-over-year temperatures. Warmer weather in parts of the North and West Coast will be good news for outdoor living categories. Compared to the exceptionally wet end to August 2011 because of Hurricane Irene, the Northeast will be much drier this year, which is a positive for sales of outdoor products.