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It’s been a busy month around the weather office, from record rain over parts of the Southwest and Ohio Valley, to record heat in the Northwest.
While the month isn’t over just yet, here is a break down of some of the monthly records that have been set this month.
Record Rain
Heavy rain once again fell over parts of the central and southeast United States, leaving some locations with over 10″ of rain during the month. Indianapolis, IN, saw their wettest MONTH on record this July, with 13.14″ falling through July 29th. The previous monthly record for the Crossroads of America was 13.12″ back in July of 1875. It’s also been wet in parts of Texas (more on that in a moment) with 8.26″ falling in Abilene, TX, making it the wettest July on record.
We also saw an influx of moisture, associated with the remnants of Dolores, move north into parts of the desert Southwest around the middle of the month. San Diego, CA, has received 1.71″ of rain so far this month, easily breaking the previous July record of 0.92″ set in 1902. The recording station in Downtown Los Angeles, CA, picked up 0.38″ so far through July 29th, breaking the previous monthly record of 0.24″ in 1886.
Some other rankings from the month (again, all through the 29th, unless noted):
- Paducah, KY: second wettest July with 10.42″
- Tupelo, MS: third wettest July with 10.28″
- Garden City, KS: fourth wettest July with 6.53″
- Springfield, MO: fourth wettest July with 9.21″
- Lexington, KY: tied for fifth wettest July with 9.66″
- Fort Smith, AR: sixth wettest July with 8.79″
- Minneapolis, MN: seventh wettest July with 7.32″
- Louisville, KY: seventh wettest July with 8.65″
- Boise, ID: seventh wettest July with 0.97″
- Oklahoma City, OK: eighth wettest July with 7.22″
- Through the 22nd, the state of Oklahoma has seen a statewide average of 5.24″ – good enough for the ninth wettest July for the state
Record Dry
While some parts of Texas were drenched with rain this month, others in the state haven’t been as lucky. Very little rain has fallen in some areas of the south. Some of these places had been walloped the past few months with rainfall, helping to eliminate the drought. However, some of these areas are now back in abnormally dry conditions, according the the U.S. Drought Monitor. Waco, TX, has seen no rain so far this month, marking a tie for the driest July on record. Lake Charles, LA, has also seen their driest July on record so far with only 0.28″ of rain.
Some other rankings from the month (again, all through the 29th):
- North Bend, OR: tied for the driest July with 0.00″
- Houston, TX: second driest July on record with 0.44″
- Austin, TX: third driest July with 0.01″ of rain at Bergstom Airport
- Beaumont, TX: third driest July with 1.09″
- Victoria, TX: fourth driest July with 0.18″
- Islip, NY: fifth driest July with 1.41″
- Pendleton, OR: tied for sixth driest July with a Trace of rain
- The Dalles, WA: tied for sixth driest July with a Trace of rain
- Galveston, TX: seventh driest July with 0.23″
- International Falls, MN: seventh driest July with 1.47″
- New York City (Kennedy), NY: seventh driest July with 1.34″
- Del Rio, TX: tied for eighth driest July with 0.04″
- San Francisco, CA: tied for ninth driest July with a Trace of rain
- Redding, CA: 20th driest July with 0.04″
Record Heat
The month of July started off hot in the Northwest, with numerous records being broken during that time. Another surge of warmth is making its way there for the end of the month, and it is likely to help the month of July be near record average temperatures across the region. Seattle, WA, has seen their warmest July on record with an average temperature of 70.7° through the 29th. Depending on how warm the next couple days are, it could make a run at the warmest month on record (currently 71.1° in August 1967).
Some other rankings from the month (again, all through the 29th):
- Quillayute, WA: warmest July with an average temperature of 62.7°
- San Francisco, CA: second warmest July with an average temperature of 66.7°
- New Orleans, LA: second warmest July with an average temperature of 85.8°
- Tallahassee, FL: second warmest July with an average temperature of 85.4°
- Eugene, OR: second warmest July with an average temperature of 70.9°
- North Bend, OR: second warmest July with an average temperature of 62.2°
- Baton Rouge, LA: second warmest July with an average temperature of 85.2°
- Yakima, WA: third warmest July with an average temperature of 77.5°
- Portland, OR: third warmest July with an average temperature of 73.6°
- Medford, OR: fourth warmest July with an average temperature of 77.8°
- Columbia, SC: fourth warmest July with an average temperature of 85.1°
- Miami, FL: ninth warmest July with an average temperature of 84.6°
- Duluth, MN: 12th warmest July with an average temperature of 69.2°
There is one big exception this month to the heat, however, and that was in Grand Junction, CO. They have had an average temperature so far this month of 73.6°, which would be the coolest July on record.
August Outlook
As we look ahead to the month of August, NOAA is predicting warmer than average temperatures across portions of the west, southeast, and New England, with cooler than average temperatures from the Four Corners region into the Central Plains.
As for precipitation, the forecast is for drier than average in the Northwest, parts of the Gulf Coast and southern Florida. Wetter than average precipitation are possible from the Four Corners region into the Central Plains.
(CHECK OUT YOUR FORECAST: wx.aerisweather.com)
– Meteorologist D.J. Kayser
