August 2025 General Discussion

[frostfern]

2 hours ago, Stevo6899 said:

Another top shelf day up here in bellaire,mi with minimal haze/smoke today. 85/43 humidity. This is what we wait 8 months for lol.

Surface smoke is slightly thinner today, judging by horizontal visibility, but the sky is still a sickly color here.

[A-L-E-K]

Back in the piss air

[Powerball]

We're even getting the smoke way down here.

It will make for a nice sunset, at least.

[roardog]

34 minutes ago, Powerball said:

We're even getting the smoke way down here.

It will make for a nice sunset, at least.

I was hoping the SW flow later this week would push the smoke out. Maybe not if it’s way down there. lol 

[cyclone77]

Days are getting shorter even faster since the sun sets within the bank of smoke 10-15 minutes earlier than the horizon line every evening.

[CheeselandSkies]

What a week ago on the GFS looked like it might finally be a sustained, active severe weather pattern for us this coming weekend into early next week now looks to once again focus well west of the Mississippi River and stay there until it fizzles out. 

[A-L-E-K]

12 hours ago, Powerball said:

We're even getting the smoke way down here.

It will make for a nice sunset, at least.

different brand

 

 

[OrdIowPitMsp]

Had a 51mph gust on a decaying line of showers that moved through around 6am.

[HillsdaleMIWeather]

Just got about 4 inches of rain in an hour from a little thunderstorm being stationary overhead 

[Torchageddon]

I had my 20th storm of 2025 this aft but it sort of went to my east, just got sprinkles and long, soft rolling thunder for 30 mins. 140 strikes. It was the very rare due south dir cells. Crickets started yesterday.

Mostly cloudy today and with all the smoke its becoming less sunny now, oof!! That 10 day last week showing mostly sunny for the next period here really busted not just for smoke blot but typical cloudiness.

[Chinook]

2 hours ago, HillsdaleMIWeather said:

Just got about 4 inches of rain in an hour from a little thunderstorm being stationary overhead 

oh wow, radar says Jonesville next to Hillsdale got 3-5". That's insane from such a random shower type of a weather pattern!

[Jackstraw]

I'm ready for Blizzard Warnings already lol

[CheeselandSkies]

On 8/6/2025 at 4:52 AM, CheeselandSkies said:

What a week ago on the GFS looked like it might finally be a sustained, active severe weather pattern for us this coming weekend into early next week now looks to once again focus well west of the Mississippi River and stay there until it fizzles out. 

As hoped, the atmosphere took my post as a challenge. Marginal risk today, slight just northwest of me Saturday. Not looking like anything huge, but better than it was looking just 24 hours ago.

[hawkeye_wx]

After a brief respite, models are hitting Iowa with another wet period starting this weekend.

[CheeselandSkies]

5 hours ago, CheeselandSkies said:

As hoped, the atmosphere took my post as a challenge. Marginal risk today, slight just northwest of me Saturday. Not looking like anything huge, but better than it was looking just 24 hours ago.

...annnnnnd it's gone (today's marginal at least, they probably took it away because the HRRR support went away). 

[frostfern]

1 hour ago, CheeselandSkies said:

...annnnnnd it's gone (today's marginal at least, they probably took it away because the HRRR support went away). 

This summer has been complete trash for organized storms.  No jet energy to speak of south of the Canadian border.  

The local heat islands / lake breeze convergence zones around Chicago and Detroit get some good afternoon stuff in an ultra-humid airmass with these weak fronts, but that’s about it.

I’m hoping for something like 2018 where late August into September gets active again.

[roardog]

34 minutes ago, frostfern said:

This summer has been complete trash for organized storms.  No jet energy to speak of south of the Canadian border.  

The local heat islands / lake breeze convergence zones around Chicago and Detroit get some good afternoon stuff in an ultra-humid airmass with these weak fronts, but that’s about it.

I’m hoping for something like 2018 where late August into September gets active again.

Yeah. It’s getting crispy around here now too. We’ve definitely had more rain than you’ve had this summer but with these slow/nearly stationary storms, it almost has to develop over top of you or it rains itself out before it moves 5 miles. lol

[nwohweather]

How has everyone’s summer gone? Outside of pretty warm conditions, it’s been one of the most bland summers from a storm perspective I’ve ever seen in the GL. 

[Chinook]

3 hours ago, frostfern said:

This summer has been complete trash for organized storms.  No jet energy to speak of south of the Canadian border.  

The local heat islands / lake breeze convergence zones around Chicago and Detroit get some good afternoon stuff in an ultra-humid airmass with these weak fronts, but that’s about it.

I’m hoping for something like 2018 where late August into September gets active again.

Here's a piece of the overall weather situation this summer. And yes, it has been not very stormy at my place, not a lot of lightning, or severe thunderstorm warnings, even. The higher precipitable water is a very good reason why various areas of the country got more flash floods, and a few very bad ones. The severe storms have been lacking here. 500-300mb heights were too high. The jet stream missed us. Plus, I think, bad luck.

 

 

 

[Chicago Storm]

Hit 91° at ORD and at MDW today.

...2025 90°+ Day Tally...
23 - ORD
23 - MDW
23 - DPA
22 - PWK
21 - ARR
18 - RFD
18 - LOT
13 - UGN

[Torchageddon]

6 hours ago, frostfern said:

This summer has been complete trash for organized storms.  No jet energy to speak of south of the Canadian border.  

The local heat islands / lake breeze convergence zones around Chicago and Detroit get some good afternoon stuff in an ultra-humid airmass with these weak fronts, but that’s about it.

I’m hoping for something like 2018 where late August into September gets active again.

2018 was the year when my first t-storm or thunder was in late Aug, nada before that! After all these years I still can't believe it. Total opposite this year, I'm at 20 and its not even a 3rd of Aug done with. Storms have been weak this summer.

Got to 30C/86F first time in a min I saw good sunlight again. A long lived heat event is starting!

[CheeselandSkies]

8 hours ago, frostfern said:

This summer has been complete trash for organized storms.  No jet energy to speak of south of the Canadian border.  

The local heat islands / lake breeze convergence zones around Chicago and Detroit get some good afternoon stuff in an ultra-humid airmass with these weak fronts, but that’s about it.

I’m hoping for something like 2018 where late August into September gets active again.

The jet energy has been there, but it always stays hung up in the Dakotas/MN and never moves east.

[frostfern]

1 hour ago, CheeselandSkies said:

The jet energy has been there, but it always stays hung up in the Dakotas/MN and never moves east.

Yea.  Specifically it has been both west and north.  The northern plains has been active.   They typically get that southeasterly low level flow this time of year that always helps enhance the shear even when 500 mb flow is marginal.

[frostfern]

2 hours ago, Torchageddon said:

2018 was the year when my first t-storm or thunder was in late Aug, nada before that! After all these years I still can't believe it. Total opposite this year, I'm at 20 and its not even a 3rd of Aug done with. Storms have been weak this summer.

Got to 30C/86F first time in a min I saw good sunlight again. A long lived heat event is starting!

You have better lake breeze positioning than me.  Afternoon popup convection is shadowed by Lake Michigan almost every time IMBY.

Also, this summer the upper trough always seems to dig more to the east of Michigan.  Being on the trailing west side of every trough / ridge-flattening event is just not ideal.

Edit:  Interestingly GRR did have many days with precipitation, and even thunder, but they were mostly extremely measly amounts

[michsnowfreak]

11 hours ago, Chicago Storm said:

Hit 91° at ORD and at MDW today.

...2025 90°+ Day Tally...
23 - ORD
23 - MDW
23 - DPA
22 - PWK
21 - ARR
18 - RFD
18 - LOT
13 - UGN

Chicago does average more 90F+ days than Detroit (avg 17 to 13). But the last several years have been huge differences. The last 3 years, ORD has had 67 days of 90F+ while DTW only 26!

Here are the last 20 years.

YR - DTW – ORD
2025- 10 – 23
2024- 14 – 23 
2023- 2 – 21 
2022- 15 – 16 
2021- 13 – 22 
2020- 17 – 31 
2019- 10 – 14 
2018- 26 – 26 
2017- 7 – 16 
2016- 23 – 16 
2015- 10 – 10 
2014- 4 – 3 
2013- 7 – 13 
2012- 30 – 46 
2011- 23 – 22 
2010- 17 – 21 
2009- 4 – 4 
2008- 7 – 6 
2007- 14 – 19 
2006- 11 – 15 
 

[Brian D]

11 minutes ago, michsnowfreak said:

Chicago does average more 90F+ days than Detroit (avg 17 to 13). But the last several years have been huge differences. The last 3 years, ORD has had 67 days of 90F+ while DTW only 26!

Here are the last 20 years.

YR - DTW – ORD
2025- 10 – 23
2024- 14 – 23 
2023- 2 – 21 
2022- 15 – 16 
2021- 13 – 22 
2020- 17 – 31 
2019- 10 – 14 
2018- 26 – 26 
2017- 7 – 16 
2016- 23 – 16 
2015- 10 – 10 
2014- 4 – 3 
2013- 7 – 13 
2012- 30 – 46 
2011- 23 – 22 
2010- 17 – 21 
2009- 4 – 4 
2008- 7 – 6 
2007- 14 – 19 
2006- 11 – 15 
 

Just off the top of my head, it seems that the W areas have seen stronger spikes in temps earlier in the season than over your way in recent years. Just the way the pattern ball bounces.

[Brian D]

Shwrs/stms moving in slowly this morning. Aug has been dry here so far, so hope to see precip today. Yesterday was a steamer with temps around 90 with mid 70 dews.