Losing Daylight

August 31st marks the first day since April 12th with a 7 am sunrise.  The sunset will be 8:10 pm.

This will give us 13 hours and 10 minutes of daylight.  The first day of summer had 15 hours and 12 minutes of daylight.

Cool Mornings

Friday saw the coolest morning lows since early July.  The next few nights will see modest increases in the overnight lows.  Humidity levels should creep upwards Tuesday into Wednesday, which will then keep lows in the mid/upper 60s.

The active Atlantic

Hurricane Danielle will track near, but just east, of Bermuda.  This is actually affecting our weather -- the strong hurricane is effectively blocking our area of high pressure.  This will keep our weather fair and somewhat comfortable.  While humidity levels will not jump too high, temperatures will moderate quite a bit over the coming days.

On Danielle's heels is Earl.  This storm should become a moderate-intensity hurricane over the weekend.  Earl's track will be different.  As Danielle exits to the north Atlantic, our high pressure will track east off the eastern seaboard.  This high pressure will allow Earl to take a more southerly track.

Earl still has a lot of miles to cover, but initial track forecasts suggest this *could* be something of concern for Bermuda, the Bahamas and possibly the United States next week.

You can keep tabs on all the tropical activity with our Hurricane Tracker and the National Hurricane Center.

Another area of disturbed weather has moved off the west coast of Africa, and this may also gain strength in the next week.

This Summer's Top Five Hottest Cities

1. Louisville, Ky.
Days above normal: 73

2. Memphis, Tenn.
Days above normal: 72

3. Atlanta, Ga.
Days above normal: 69

4. Raleigh, N.C.
Days above normal: 68

5. New Orleans, La.
Days above normal: 68

Toledo would also make the cut for the top 20 hottest cities with 64 days of above average temperatures.

June: 26
July: 24
August: 14*

Toledo was in good company in experiencing the heat across the Great Lakes. Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh are all cities included in the top 20 hottest cities across the United States.

*Data for the month of August through the 17th of the month.

Brief Cool-Down

A cold front will allow much cooler (and less humid) air to overtake the region from Wednesday night through Friday morning.  Highs Thursday will only reach the mid 70s, and lows Thursday night/Friday morning will dip to near 50° away from the lakeshore.  Areas well northwest of Toledo may even drop into the upper 40s.

The stretch of Wednesday, Thursday & Friday nights will be the coolest since early July.  The last time we had a low of near 50° was a 49° at Express Airport on July 2.

Hurricane Danielle

Hurricane Danielle formed in the eastern Atlantic earlier this week off the west coast of Africa.  Its forecast features a gradual northwesterly turn and strengthening.  Current forecasts keep it well away from the USA, but the western edge of the storm could graze Bermuda late this week.

Here is a link to our Hurricane Tracker, and here is a link to the National Hurricane Center.

Another area of disturbed weather is between Danielle and the west coast of Africa.  This shows signs of strengthening, and could become tropical storm Earl in the next 24-48 hours.

Adding Up The Heat

Tranquil next week

After some showers and storms today, the week ahead looks fairly calm.  There is the slight chance of a shower on Wednesday, but rain chances the remainder of the week remain low.

Highs will range in the low/mid 80s.  The coolest weather of the week should be Wednesday night through Friday morning.

Cool Morning

Lows this morning dropped down into the upper 50s across the area.  Normal low is 61°.  This was only the second time this month lows dropped to under 60°.  Here is a break-down of how the lows have shaped up so far this month:

Sunday Storm Damage

Scattered storms rolled through the area Sunday evening, creating wind damage and some large hail in spots.  Here are the reports from the National Weather Service:

5:35 PM T-STORM WIND DAMAGE:  4 MILES WEST OF MAUMEE
NUMEROUS TREES DOWN NEAR MONCLOVA F.D. ONE HOUSE DAMAGED BY FALLEN TREE.

5:53 PM 1.25" HAIL:   GENOA

6:11 PM T-STORM WIND DAMAGE:  ELMORE
A 3 FOOT DIAMETER TREE FELL ACROSS THE ROAD ON TOLEDO STREET. COUPLE 12 TO 15 INCH DIAMETER LIMBS DOWN. NUMEROUS LARGE LIMBS DOWN ON POWER LINES CAUSING WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES IN THE EASTERN PORTION OF ELMORE.

6:25 PM T-STORM WIND DAMAGE:  OAK HARBOR
SEVERAL LARGE LIMBS DOWN AND A RAILROAD CROSSING BAR WAS  SNAPPED OFF. A 4 FOOT DIAMETER TREE WAS UPROOTED AND FELL ON HOUSE CAUSING MODERATE DAMAGE. THE TREE WAS 70 FEET TALL.
NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN. TWO TREES UPROOTED THEY WERE 4 FEET IN DIAMETER AND 30 FEET TALL. ONE FELL ON TOP OF A VEHICLE.

6:31 PM T-STORM WIND GUST: 3 MILES EAST OF OAK HARBOR -- 61 MPH

Muggy trend ends

A cold front will pass through the area late Sunday, allowing somewhat cooler and less humid air to build into the area Monday and Tuesday.

Daytime highs will return to normal levels -- in the lower 80s.  Overnight lows will drop into the 50s for a few nights as well.  (August 7th is the only day this month with a low below 60°)

Dew points, which have been in the upper 60s and lower 70s, will finally drop into the mid 50s on Monday.  Once the dew point gets below 60, it feels very comfortable.

Perseid Meteor Shower

The Perseid meteor shower reached its peak Friday night, but it will still be around this weekend.  Unfortunately, some clouds may spoil the viewing.

Looks towards the northeast sky once it gets totally dark (between about 10 pm and 5 am).  It may be difficult (or not possible) to see if you are in an area with a lot of ground lighting (bigger cities, especially -- this is called light pollution).

Here is a link to NASA's full article on the Perseid meteor shower.

Storm Damage Update

The storm near Columbus last week that killed 2 people and injured 4 has been ruled a "microburst".  A microburst is a localized band of straight line winds.  A fast gush of air gets dropped from a thunderstorm cloud, hits the ground, and then spreads out.  Microbursts can produce damage as bad or worse than a tornado in some cases, and is a huge issue pilots have to occasionally deal with.

Here is a link to the National Weather Service's full report:

http://kamala.cod.edu/oh/latest.nous41.KILN.html

Cool it

We mentioned in a post on August 1 about the need for cooling our homes and businesses (the stats based on departure from normal temperatures).

As of today, we are using 55% above normal cooling need use.  This time last year, we were using 27% below normal use.  This year's cooling needs have already doubled this point last year...and we have a hot and humid week ahead.

T-storm winds kill worker

EDGERTON, OH (WTOL) - The fire department says strong winds from a thunderstorm caused a 10' brick wall to collapse, killing a construction worker.   The wall was part of the new school being built in Edgerton. It's a preschool through eighth grade building that was scheduled to open in the fall of 2011.   Storms passed through Williams County around 11 a.m. The worker was pronounced dead at the scene.

Updates to this story can be found here:

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=1292366

Severe storms tracked through Indiana between 10-11 am EDT and weakened slightly as they moved into western Ohio.  Radar estimates of winds for the storm near Edgerton showed wind gusts around 50-55 mph.  (Severe thunderstorm warnings are issued when the winds hit or exceed 58 mph).

Severe T-Storm Watch

1:30 pm:  Severe storms exiting south out of Hardin county.  The rest of the tstorm watch should be cancelled after about the next hour.

12:50 PM:  T-storm warnings for Allen/Hardin counties.   Gusty storms elsewhere with heavy downpours.

12:20 PM:  Strong/severe storm now moving through Allen county.  Potential for some wind damage there.  The remaining storms on radar not currently severe.  Just very heay rain with gusty winds...although a few gusts may hit 40-50 mph briefly.  Severe threat will wane over the next few hours.

10:35 AM:  Severe thunderstorm watch until 4 pm for the following counties:  Allen, Crawford, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Hillsdale, Huron, Lucas, Ottawa, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Williams, Wood, Wyandot

10:15 AM:  The National Weather Service will be issuing a severe thunderstorm watch for NW Ohio.  A line of strong storms is moving through eastern Indiana, and will track across the area between 11 am and 1 pm.

Storms may contain large hail and strong winds.   Heavy downpours will accompany any storm that moves through your area.

How Hot Has It Been?

We know it has been a hot summer thus far.   We can keep track of the daily highs, but another interesting stat is our need for cooling.  This looks at how high above normal the temperature is, and is a measure of how much we need to cool our homes.

August Outlook

outlook from the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center