When It Rains, It Pours!

The first 10 days of August, despite being beautiful, sunny, and pleasant, were also incredibly dry. 

Due to an 'Omega Block', wet, humid air was kept out of our area, while dry, comfortable air was consistently filtered in. 

The blocking pattern is formed when a high pressure system is trapped between two lows, having the appearance of the Greek letter Omega. 

An Omega Blocking Pattern; Image courtsey theweatherprediction.com

Anything under the High pressure's 'bubble' stays warm and dry.
In the first 10 days of August, less than one tenth of an inch of rain fell in Toledo, bringing seasonal rainfall totals to a +2.5" deficit since June 1st.

Then, it started to rain. 

In one single event, on August 11th, the Toledo area received 2.04" of rainfall. Surrounding communities racked up totals in the 4-6" range, and Detroit experience road closures and major delays due to flooding. 

Image from I-75 looking towards I-96 in Detroit; Image courtesy MDOT/Twitter

 Now, more than a week later, it hasn't stopped raining. 

Totals for the month of August range from 1.18" in Adrian, MI, 2.47" in the Toledo area, and 2.66" for Findlay. Near normal totals, with rainfall amounts squeezed into a 10 day period, rather than over the course of 20 days.

While Toledo's (and southern parts of Lucas County's) totals are now above average, some areas still fall below normal levels. 

Month to Date Departure From Normal: August, Image Courtesy Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service

Yellow areas on the map represent locations with rainfall totals between 0-1" below average. 

Areas in blues and greens are above. 

Purples and pinks are way above.

This could all change in the upcoming week with rainfall, in the form of both light scattered showers and heavy downpours, likely every day into the weekend. So far, totals range drastically across the area:

48-hour Rainfall totals as of 8/21/14

That range will continue, while fluctuating from location to location, to hold steady with scattered shower activity. 

Friday brings the greatest chance for showers. The Omega Blocking pattern is over. THIS is what real summer feels like. 

July: Month in Review

Gotta love the power of email.. and the kindness of coworkers! 

Asked to share their opinion about this July, I received an array of answers from my fellow WTOLers. 

Some were expected:

Comfortable!

Uncharacteristic

delightful

Awesome.

Some were filled with disappointment: 

Lackluster

Lame

Some were confused-- wait, was it REALLY July?

Bogus

WEIRD

OCTOBER

And some were downright creative:

Sandy.   I think it’s the best month to find somewhere where there is sand.

Facebook delivered as well:

One thing's for sure, this was an odd month.

July was a month of disappointment for some, and joy for others. Which is why I love the weather!
It's all relative. Based on personal preference and individual comfort (or tolerance!) levels.

Forgetting opinion for the moment, here's how the month stacked up against the record books:

July 2014 ties for the 3^rd coolest July for Toledo ever.

With an average monthly temperature (including daily highs and lows) of 68.9°, July 2014 is only warmer than July 1891 (68.0°) and July 1965 (68.5°). July 2014 ties July 2009 for third place.

Our hottest July day was Tuesday, the 22^nd, when the mercury read 91°. Our coolest overnight low was reported at 48° on the 31^st.

There was a total of 0.83” of rain for the month, a 2.40” departure from normal!

64% of the month’s total rainfall occurred during one single event on July 23^rd.

Overall, it was a dry and extremely mild month.