July 2011 general discussion/obs thread

[Hoosier]

I know you don't want to hear it, but there are quite a few people who don't like high heat and humidity. Shocker, I know. Same goes for extreme cold in the winter. Complaining about both (or wishing for the opposite wx at the time) is going to happen...we deal with it. The big events have their own threads, in season, when things warrant, right? Or we could cater less to the terrible posters...

Sure, but it shouldn't be a complete free for all in these threads. My original post wasn't really even directed toward you specifically...just more of a general comment. I understand things veer off subject from time to time but I don't think it should be encouraged, which is what baro sorta did. Anyway, I'm done. Enjoy the heat, it's the only heat we've got.

[Powerball]

Anyways, back to discussing July weather, other than some scattered morning stratus it wasn't too bad today. We made it to the mid 80s and it was notably drier.

[Chicago Storm]

Monday, July 25th:

Hi: 88F

Lo: 71F

Overall Sky Conditions: Clear

Max Wind Gust: 12MPH

Rainfall: 0.00"

[AppsRunner]

Estes Park is beautiful. I am assuming you are heading to RMNP? Front Range weather is probably one of my top 3 locations in the US.

Yeah. I'm about two miles south of the actual downtown staying with family, and Prospect Mountain blocks most of the view north. It's incredibly quiet and beautiful, not to mention the insane amount of wildlife (deer 3ft from a window, and 10 deer within 50 yards). We are touring ESRL in Boulder tomorrow, but planning on climbing an 11,000' mountain Wednesday.

Hopefully I can get some pics up sometime this week, but since there is no wi-fi, I can't use my laptop.

[Trent]

So sad, when a dewpoint of 68 feels refreshing!

[OHSnow]

All-time Lake Erie water temperature off Cleveland shattered by 3 degrees. The water temperature this morning was 82 degrees. The previous record was 79 degrees, set on August 16-28, 1988 and July 21, 1998. The water temperature at Buffalo had reached 80 yesterday, tying the record there, previously set August 14-16, 1988.

http://weather.noaa....cle.nsh.cle.txt

http://www.erh.noaa....aketempcle.html

The water temp of 82 degrees is 8 degrees above normal at Cleveland, and the water temp at Buffalo of 79 is 6 degrees above normal (yesterday's 80 was 7 degrees above normal).

[Trent]

That CLE water temp wouldn't be a record as its from alternate site. That's like using a bank clock as an official proxy for a record when ASOS fails.

[BeastFromTheEast]

That CLE water temp wouldn't be a record as its from alternate site. That's like using a bank clock as an official proxy for a record when ASOS fails.

[michsnowfreak]

They're in a better position than us. It's jsut the past few years that have been anamolous for them.

You can thank the uber-intense -NAO of late for the lackluster winter up that way back into parts of Ontario. That may begin to change soon though, in other words we could be looking at more rain storms and dry slotting while the rest of the state is getting a blizzatd.

Got news for you, many of our best snowstorms have come with a +NAO. And where on earth you get "more rain storms and dry slotting" I have no idea. Rain storms, while they do happen, are not that common here in mid-winter.

[michsnowfreak]

Sunday, a storm slllowly migrated south from Lk St Clair (moving at 5 mph), and left the sky in a very interesting state. Storm clouds loomed overhead for a few hours before the storm actually hit, and dropped 0.55" of rain imby. Actually, I have seen 4.77" in July, downright amazing as parts of Detroits immediate NW suburbs (some in the northwest part of Wayne co, I am southeast part of Wayne) have had under a quarter inch total.

[Chicago WX]

Beginning another 90+ streak today, as LAF hit 91º. I drove back here late this afternoon, and the car thermometer read 86-87º the whole way (rural areas)...as soon as I got into town, bam it jumped 3 degrees to 90º. Ah concrete jungles...

[Hoosier]

Beginning another 90+ streak today, as LAF hit 91º. I drove back here late this afternoon, and the car thermometer read 86-87º the whole way (rural areas)...as soon as I got into town, bam it jumped 3 degrees to 90º. Ah concrete jungles...

If the 90 streak doesn't get interrupted on the weekend (which there's a chance it could), then it may actually end up eclipsing the streak we just had.

[Chicago WX]

If the 90 streak doesn't get interrupted on the weekend (which there's a chance it could), then it may actually end up eclipsing the streak we just had.

Certainly possible. Convection remains the wild card.

[Chicago WX]

Updated stats for the race for the hottest and driest July on record at Indianapolis.

Average temperature through yesterday: 81.5º

July top 5 warmest...

82.8º...1936

82.0º...1901

81.6º...1934

81.1º...1921

80.6º...1916

Total precipitation through yesterday: 0.33"

July top 5 driest...

0.49"...1914

0.55"...1997

0.67"...1936

0.82"...1881

0.83"...1901

IND needs to average 89.8º the last 5 days to beat 1936. Probably not happening.

[OHSnow]

Some numbers from around Lake Erie. These are through the 26th and with more heat forecast should actually rise a bit more before the end of the month.

Cleveland (2nd warmest July on record)

1. 79.1 1955

2. 77.6 2011

3. 77.6 1949

4. 76.8 1921

5. 76.5 1952

Toledo (2nd warmest July on record)

1. 79.0 1921

2. 78.9 2011

3. 78.6 1916

4. 78.3 1955

5. 77.8 1931

Erie, PA (2nd warmest July on record)

1. 77.6 1921

2. 75.9 2011

3. 75.7 1999

4. 75.7 1916

5. 75.6 1935

Mansfield (4th warmest July on record)

1. 77.0 1934

2. 76.8 1921

3. 76.7 1955

4. 76.3 2011

5. 75.6 1983

Detroit (Warmest July on record)

1. 79.4 2011

2. 79.0 1955

3. 79.0 1921

4. 77.9 1916

5. 77.7 1931

Flint (3rd warmest July on record)

1. 78.0 1921

2. 77.7 1935

3. 76.9 2011

4. 76.7 1934

5. 76.5 1955

Saginaw (3rd warmest July on record)

1. 77.5 1921

2. 76.8 1916

3. 76.2 2011

4. 76.2 1935

5. 76.0 1931

Akron/Canton (5th warmest July on record)

1. 78.0 1931

2. 78.0 1921

3. 77.1 1916

4. 77.1 1887

5. 76.6 2011

Buffalo, NY (3rd warmest July on record)

1. 76.2 1921

2. 76.0 1955

3. 75.2 2011

4. 75.0 2005

5. 75.0 1887

[Powerball]

Got news for you, many of our best snowstorms have come with a +NAO. And where on earth you get "more rain storms and dry slotting" I have no idea. Rain storms, while they do happen, are not that common here in mid-winter.

My point was Central and Northern Michigan are more climatologically favored for snowstorms than the person I originally responded to stated. These last few years (and I think you may agree) are not repersentative of the typical climo in the Great Lakes Region (by that I mean the record snowless seasons in Northern Michigan/Ontario, the record snowfalls down here, etc.), and quite frankly we've been fortunate to not have too many rain storms in this part of the state or too many NW trenders in recent seasons. Not to say that's ALL or the majority of what we seen in any given winter (rain storms and dry slotting), but we certainly can see more than we have in recent years, especially in a pattern that features less blocking than we've seen recently. Besides that, we're more climatologically prone to them than the rest of the state, and you can see that looking back at even some of Detroit's "worst" (by worst, I don't necessarily mean snow amounts, but intensity) winter storms.

[nzucker]

My point was Central and Northern Michigan are more climatologically favored for snowstorms than the person I originally responded to stated. These last few years (and I think you may agree) are not repersentative of the typical climo in the Great Lakes Region (by that I mean the record snowless seasons in Northern Michigan/Ontario, the record snowfalls down here, etc.), and quite frankly we've been fortunate to not have too many rain storms in this part of the state or too many NW trenders in recent seasons. Not to say that's ALL or the majority of what we seen in any given winter (rain storms and dry slotting), but we certainly can see more than we have in recent years, especially in a pattern that features less blocking than we've seen recently. Besides that, we're more climatologically prone to them than the rest of the state, and you can see that looking back at even some of Detroit's "worst" (by worst, I don't necessarily mean snow amounts, but intensity) winter storms.

Well, maybe they are representative of the climo in a strong -NAO pattern induced by a solar min. The last solar minimum of this caliber was the Dalton in 1810, so we don't exactly have stellar records as to how that might have affected storm track and snowfall. We do know the -NAO was quite negative in that low solar regime, however. Overall, a -NAO makes the southern areas snowier while the North sees less snowfall and more blocking highs.

[OHSnow]

Some numbers from around Lake Erie. These are through the 26th and with more heat forecast should actually rise a bit more before the end of the month.

Cleveland (2nd warmest July on record)

1. 79.1 1955

2. 77.6 2011

3. 77.6 1949

4. 76.8 1921

5. 76.5 1952

Toledo (2nd warmest July on record)

1. 79.0 1921

2. 78.9 2011

3. 78.6 1916

4. 78.3 1955

5. 77.8 1931

Erie, PA (2nd warmest July on record)

1. 77.6 1921

2. 75.9 2011

3. 75.7 1999

4. 75.7 1916

5. 75.6 1935

Mansfield (4th warmest July on record)

1. 77.0 1934

2. 76.8 1921

3. 76.7 1955

4. 76.3 2011

5. 75.6 1983

Detroit (Warmest July on record)

1. 79.4 2011

2. 79.0 1955

3. 79.0 1921

4. 77.9 1916

5. 77.7 1931

Flint (3rd warmest July on record)

1. 78.0 1921

2. 77.7 1935

3. 76.9 2011

4. 76.7 1934

5. 76.5 1955

Saginaw (3rd warmest July on record)

1. 77.5 1921

2. 76.8 1916

3. 76.2 2011

4. 76.2 1935

5. 76.0 1931

Akron/Canton (5th warmest July on record)

1. 78.0 1931

2. 78.0 1921

3. 77.1 1916

4. 77.1 1887

5. 76.6 2011

Buffalo, NY (3rd warmest July on record)

1. 76.2 1921

2. 76.0 1955

3. 75.2 2011

4. 75.0 2005

5. 75.0 1887

A few other locations in the Midwest.

Des Moines (4th Warmest July on Record)

1. 85.8 1936

2. 83.9 1901

3. 82.6 1934

4. 81.5 2011

5. 81.5 1916

St. Louis (4th Warmest July on Record)

1. 87.4 1901

2. 86.4 1936

3. 86.3 1934

4. 85.3 2011

5. 85.0 1980

Chicago (3rd Warmest July on Record)

1. 81.3 1955

2. 81.2 1921

3. 79.0 2011

4. 78.5 1977

5. 78.5 1916

Rockford (4th Warmest July on Record)

1. 80.3 1921

2. 80.0 1936

3. 79.4 1955

4. 79.0 2011

5. 79.0 1916

Indianapolis (4th Warmest July on Record)

1. 82.8 1936

2. 82.0 1901

3. 81.6 1934

4. 81.5 2011

5. 81.1 1921

Fort Wayne, IN (Warmest July on Record)

1. 79.5 2011

2. 79.5 1955

3. 79.5 1921

4. 79.3 1934

5. 79.0 1936

[OHSnow]

Just an incredible month in terms of heat for much of the country... top 5 heat from Texas to Minnesota and all the way to the East Coast. It's going to be interesting to see where this month nationally. I suspect top three, but I don't think we'll top 1936 or 2006.

[michsnowfreak]

My point was Central and Northern Michigan are more climatologically favored for snowstorms than the person I originally responded to stated. These last few years (and I think you may agree) are not repersentative of the typical climo in the Great Lakes Region (by that I mean the record snowless seasons in Northern Michigan/Ontario, the record snowfalls down here, etc.), and quite frankly we've been fortunate to not have too many rain storms in this part of the state or too many NW trenders in recent seasons. Not to say that's ALL or the majority of what we seen in any given winter (rain storms and dry slotting), but we certainly can see more than we have in recent years, especially in a pattern that features less blocking than we've seen recently. Besides that, we're more climatologically prone to them than the rest of the state, and you can see that looking back at even some of Detroit's "worst" (by worst, I don't necessarily mean snow amounts, but intensity) winter storms.

I will definitely agree that it the numbers are messing with climo (record low snow in N MI, record snow in S MI). I dont know which is more impressive...the fact that in 2009-10, which was SE MI's only near-normal snow season in the past 4 years (the other 3 were way-above normal)...a few spots in NE MI had under 20" of snow, setting all-time lows (while SE MI had 44-46"), or the fact that in 2010-11, Detroit finished a dusting shy of 70" while Sault Ste Marie just made it over 70" (Detroit had the lead til late March no less), when climo is 44" for Detroit and 128" for Sault Ste Marie. And yes, we have had next to no winter rainstorms the last 3 winters...and while it is debatable how average winter rain is, that really is highly dependent on the pattern and storm track. If you look at the 140 years of records, we have seen it all. Below normal snowfall winters that still saw next to no rain (ie very dry), above normal snowfall winters that also saw a ton of rain (ie very stormy), warm winters with a lot of snow (ie, always lucked out), and cold winters with more rain than snow (warm up just long enough to rain, then back to cold and dry). I cant really explain the lack of snow up north the last 2 winters (the entire state did avg to excellent in 2007-08 and excellent 2008-09)...I just dont know if it directly correlates to whats going on down here.

Ill keep any further winter talk in the winter thread. To bring this back to July, it will be interesting what happens this week. Going to be refreshingly cool tonight but the heat returns. Detroit should definitely finish with at least 3rd warmest July (this coming on the heels of July 2009's 3rd coldest ranking), and has a very decent shot at #1. While we can bump out July 1955 and 1921 as the hottest July and month on record, we wont be able to match 1955's record 17 days of 90F+ unless we hit 90F+ every day the rest of July, which doesnt look to happen.

Well, maybe they are representative of the climo in a strong -NAO pattern induced by a solar min. The last solar minimum of this caliber was the Dalton in 1810, so we don't exactly have stellar records as to how that might have affected storm track and snowfall. We do know the -NAO was quite negative in that low solar regime, however. Overall, a -NAO makes the southern areas snowier while the North sees less snowfall and more blocking highs.

Should be interesting. In 2009-10, northeast MI had snow on the ground all winter despite having less than 20" fall, all-time record low in spots. This past Feb I cancelled my U.P. trip as the snow was deeper in metro-Detroit than on the eastern shores of Lake Superior. These things are fluky, go against climo.....who knows whats next! Unchartered waters have to make many in the weather community very excited if not at least intrigued.

[OHSnow]

As hot as it is up here in the Great Lakes and Midwest... we should be counting our lucky stars that we aren't down in the Southern Plains.

Wichita Falls, TX

1. 92.9 2011

2. 91.9 1980

3. 90.0 2001

4. 89.9 1978

5. 89.8 1934

Oklahoma City

1. 89.0 2011

2. 88.3 1983

3. 88.3 1934

4. 88.0 1998

5. 87.4 1954

Wichita, KS

1. 90.5 1980

2. 89.3 1954

3. 88.7 2011

4. 88.2 1934

5. 87.8 1936

[cyclone77]

Ended up getting pretty hot here today. Made it to 93, but with dews in the mid 70s our heat index made it over 100.

[Hoosier]

Should do about 94 tomorrow and 97 or so on Thursday.

[Chicago Storm]

Tuesday, July 26th:

Hi: 86F

Lo: 68F

Overall Sky Conditions: Clear

Max Wind Gust: 7MPH

Rainfall: 0.00"

[cyclone77]

Love waking up to low rumbles of thunder in the distance. A few tiny cells have popped up in the area.

[Chicago WX]

I decided to start getting up early and running (new health kick ) before work, instead of after work at 8:00PM-ish. 71/65 at 7AM (LAF) is pretty pleasant, my thermometer had a temp of 69º.

[Chicago WX]

Should do about 94 tomorrow and 97 or so on Thursday.

Bust.

6HR MAX TEMP: 92

IND going with 98º for us tomorrow. Blah.

[snowlord81]

Looks like once again we will have to deal with clouds in the morning here. Its funny, the only day in this entire heatwave that featured no clouds and full sun was last Thursday when it got to 100. I feel like we could do it again if only the clouds stayed away long enough. We've gone over 90 everyday this week easy, but its been mostly cloudy 90% of the time. Today was 94 and I swear the skies were overcast half the day. Anyways, enough ranting...83.7 with a dewpoint of 76 at 1am here.

[on_wx]

After the 2nd wettest start to a yr since record keeping began...

-----

Waterloo ON

Although we are scheduled to get some rain over the next few days it still looks like it may be one of the driest July ever recorded in the area.

As of the 27th we have only had about 3.5 mm for the month, this is more than the incredibly dry July of 1916 when we only had 1.8 mm. To get second we have to have less than the 19.8 mm seen in 1919.

[Chicago WX]

Golf courses around here are taking a beating due to the heat and dryness. Unfortunately no relief for the foreseeable future. Times have been tough for the past couple of years in the industry, like many others, but this may be the final blow for my current job.