It's Almost August!

Not that i'm living under a rock, but i made the realization this afternoon that in just three short days, we'll be saying 'Good-Bye July, Hello August!'

So after a month of record breaking heat and rain, i think we'd all agree that August can be as tame as it wants and no one will complain. A nice fellow called back to the Weather Center this morning asking about the overall trend and how things will change as the rest of the summer progresses, so i did a little research and found some answers.

Last year, August only saw 5 days in the 90s. So far this July, we've had 18!

The hottest day last August was the 29th with a temperature of 93 degrees. (The coolest was 8/27; 49°). This July, we've had temperatures exceed 100° once and reach the upper 90s and handful of times.

We saw 7 instances of rain last August, none of which exceeded an inch. This July we've had 6 days of rain, the most occuring on the 22nd with 1.26 inches in less than 24 hours.

Overall, records set for the month of August are as follows:

Highest temperature for the month was recorded in 1918. It was 103 degrees.

Lowest? 39° in 1964.

Now, according to the Climate Prediction Center Outlook, a study issued this month says the combined climate of August/September/October is likely to be slightly above average. Studies indicate this fall may start late, prolonging warmer temperatures from July into August, and maybe even breaking some records along the way.

Of course this is all preliminary data, but it's interesting to read up on some of these studies and then watch how things unfold. In my opinion, this July has set us up for an interesting August. July's big heat, humidity, and dry/wet spells may lead us into another summer month with more of the same.

I guess we'll all just have to wait and see!