Of the 30 days this month, the temperature in Phoenix has climbed above 100 degrees on all but four.

Since May, New York City has been inundated with 22.5 inches of rain, enough during one particularly nasty downpour earlier this month to close subways.

More heavy rain in Madison, Wis. ? 15 inches so far this month compared with the normal of four inches ? caused serious flooding in southern Wisconsin. Then there?s Buffalo.

While the news this summer has been filled with reports of extreme summer weather elsewhere, Buffalo?s normally welcoming summer weather has been even more inviting this year.

? May was the sunniest May ever.

? June was the sunniest June ever.

? August has been nearly 3 1/2 degrees warmer than average ? and almost 2 1/2 inches drier.

"I think it?s probably been the nicest summer in the country, all things considered," said National Weather Service meteorologist Steve McLaughlin, who compiles climate information for the Buffalo forecast office.

"We do have pretty good summers, but this one has been extraordinary," he said.

The only complaint some might have is that it?s been dry, said McLaughlin, who added that at his home in the Town of Tonawanda, he has measured only four inches of rain since May. Normally, about 14 inches should have fallen.

Buffalo has had 6.26 inches of rain since June 1 ? well below the normal of 10.55 ? but not enough to trigger drought warnings, McLaughlin said, because the wet fall and winter helped recharge ground water levels.

Buffalo?s average temperature for the June-July-August period so far has been 70.6 degrees, which is two degrees above normal but "not excessively hot," said Tom Niziol, meteorologist- in-charge of the Buffalo weather service office.

"We?re also 5 percent above our normal sunshine total," he added. "And we have actually been below normal in our wind speeds, so it?s not been as breezy."

It has been dry, which has forced the Links at Ivy Ridge golf course in Akron to run its irrigation system more than usual, according to Jim Fiske.

"The tradeoff is we have had play every day this summer, and that?s pretty unusual," he said. "We?ll gladly make that trade every day."

Buffalo has had the good fortune to lie outside of a weather pattern that has seen storms train over areas to the south and west of Western New York.

That has produced heavy rainfall in the past month in an area from New York City through Pennsylvania and into northern Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, all of Iowa and southern Wisconsin.

While Buffalo had only 1.1 inches of rain the first three weeks of August, nearby locations like Pittsburgh (6.11 inches), Cleveland (8.59 inches), Erie (6.19) and New York (7.2) were very wet.

In Madison, Wis., the 15.1 inches of rain so far this month is the highest total for any month ever. Normal August precipitation is 4.3 inches.

"We?ve had low-pressure systems, one after another, move through, and it?s pulled a lot of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico north," said J.J. Wood, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Milwaukee.

Wood said the rainfall caused the near evacuation of the village of Gays Mills, which sits along the Kickapoo River.

"The northern part of the state is in a drought condition, so it?s quite a contrast," Wood said.

It also has been a very wet summer in Texas, according to meteorologist Joel Veeneman with the National Weather Service in Corpus Christi.

Aside from months whose totals are inflated by hurricane landfalls, July was the wettest month ever. Amazingly, the old record for the month was broken by July 4: storms on the 2nd and 4th brought 13.16 inches of rain. The monthly total was 18.13 inches.

"In fact, we still have a couple of places in flood based on the stuff that happened a month ago," Veeneman said.

Extreme heat has been the problem in Phoenix, according to Weather Service meteorologist Ken Waters.

On Wednesday, Phoenix recorded its 29th day of the year with a high temperature over 110 degrees, a new record.

And, no, it?s not a dry heat, Waters said.

"This time of the year, it?s not always a dry heat," he said. "We?re definitely in the moist heat right now."

As you might expect, it?s been hot in Florida, according to Weather Service meteorologist Tony Cristaldi, an upstate New York native now based in Melbourne.

"So far in August, every day has been above normal," he said. "We?ve had very consistent, very sultry conditions."

And not much relief at night, either. "We?ve had several nights where the low temperature doesn?t drop below 80," Cristaldi said.

Here, it?s been a good summer weatherwise, and the best may be yet to come.

McLaughlin said the weekend forecast calls for "three spectacular days" Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with high temperatures around 80 and low humidity.

"It should be the perfect way to cap off a great summer," he said.

jbonfatti@buffnews.com