The allure of August was a big turnaround from early June, when a heat wave with four straight days of temperatures of 93 or above led to power blackouts. The average temperature in June was 2.8 degrees above normal, and everyone, it seemed, was bracing for a long, hot summer.  July included a six-day stretch of 90 degrees or higher; temperatures overall were 1.9 degrees above normal for the month. Con Edison provided a record amount of electricity in July, more than Alaska uses in an entire year.  Then came the alleged dog days of August, and the humidity, rain and heat disappeared. The unexpected climatic good fortune was welcome news for cafes, tour buses and power companies, and a downer for stores selling air-conditioners, frozen ices and parasols. It seemed like early fall.  “Because of the warmer weather in June and July, people acclimate to the higher temperatures, so when the cold front comes through, it seems a lot cooler than it is,” said Joe Pollina, a meteorologist at the Weather Service in Upton on Long Island. “But temperatures are still in the low 80s and upper 70s, so it’s pretty warm.”  Blame the mild weather for lower attendance at the city’s beaches; it fell 34 percent this summer compared with last, and 5.6 percent at city pools.  “This is the gentlest August anyone can remember,” said Adrian Benepe, commissioner of the city parks department. “Beach attendance is completely tied to the weather. When it’s cool in Manhattan, it’s 10 degrees cooler at the beach.”  Tours of the city’s parks, though, are up 55 percent compared with last year, and the number of tennis permits issued has risen 10 percent. The Bronx Zoo had one of its busiest days ever last week, the commissioner said.  New York’s weather is tied to the shifts of the jet stream. This year, New York has been bathed by winds from central and eastern Canada, instead of being blasted by warm air from the Gulf Coast and the western Atlantic Ocean.  Professional weather-watchers often have a hard time explaining why the winds blew this way and not that way. But Mr. Price noted that temperate weather in one part of the country — the Northeast this summer — often means bad weather elsewhere. He pointed to the hurricanes and tropical storms churning in the South, and the tornadoes in the Midwest.  The weather’s fickle nature has scientific neophytes wondering whether global warming has been delayed. There is no reason to rush to judgment, experts say.  “You can’t infer from a week or even a month or two about long-term patterns,” said Brian Wimer, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.com.  One of Mr. Wimer’s colleagues is predicting a colder start to the winter season in the Northeast. Forecasters at the Weather Service, however, say there is a 40 percent chance that the fall will be warmer than average.  Regardless of what’s ahead, the crews at Con Edison can breathe a little more easily now. The utility, which provides electricity to 3.2 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, prepares all year for the few days when temperatures rise above 90 and air-conditioners burn long and hard, straining the electrical grid.  Though Con Edison was prepared to provide up to 13,775 megawatts of power this summer, the demand has not topped 13,000 megawatts so far, according to Brian Daly, a senior planning analyst at the utility.  Typically between May and September, there are 18 days of weather above 90 degrees. This year, there have been 11 (compared with 10 last summer).  No distinct pattern emerges from data from the past two decades. In 2004, the temperature rose above 90 degrees on two days between May and September, the fewest since 1902, Mr. Daly said. In 2002, there were 32 days when it was that hot. In 1991 and 1993, there were 39 days each.  As forecasters like Mr. Price have learned, the large shifts year to year mean their fortunes can rise and fall swiftly.  “When you’re a weatherman, it’s all about what have you done for me lately,” he said.  A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B3 of the New York edition with the headline: The Weather’s Nice. What’s Not to Like?. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
After a hotter-than-average June and July, August in New York City has turned out to be just right.