AUGUST, MINUS THE HEAT

terryswails1
Aug 2
3 min read

There's an old saying that has plenty of merit, and that is, "the facts never lie". With July in the books, there's ample factual support to say this year was abundantly warm, steamy, and wet. One of the more impressive statistics I've seen is the average daily July dew point from southern Iowa to the Gulf of Mexico, that ranged from 71 to 79 degrees.

For some perspective, I've included this graphic, which shows how it feels when dew points reach specific categories. In southeast Iowa and WC Illinois, each and every day in July, it either felt very humid or oppressive. The north was just a touch better, with a few days when it only felt "humid".

Going back to June, Moline established some impressive streaks regarding dew points. Check out these runs with the data provided by the NWS in the Quad Cities.

Moline, IL had 3 stretches of 10 days or more of consecutive days with at least one hour each day of a 70 degree dew point or higher between June 20th and July 30th. The 13 days in a row ending on July 30th is the 3rd longest consecutive stretch since 1997.
June 20-30th = 11 days, July 3rd-12th = 10 days, July 18th-30th = 13 days
Moline, IL had 26 days with at least one hour of a +70 degree dew point during the month of July. This is the most # of days since the ASOS-era (1997 onward).
Moline, IL had the 3rd most # of hours of +70 degree dew points for the month of July (368 hrs). The only 2 years that had more hours were 1999 (424 hrs) and 2011 (416 hrs).
Moline, IL had its longest stretch of consecutive days (49) with at least one hour each day of a 65 degree dew point or higher since 1997.

Cedar Rapids and Dubuque also set records for 65+ dew points.

Cedar Rapids, IA had its longest stretch of consecutive days (41) with at least one hour each day of a 65 degree dew point or higher since 1997.
Dubuque, IA had its longest stretch of consecutive days (46) with at least one hour each day of a 65 degree dew point or higher since 1997.

July Temperatures were also well above normal, especially in Cedar Rapids, where readings were 3.3 degrees above normal.

Last but not least, much of the region saw rainfall of 9 inches in July. It was the 5th wettest on record in Burlington (8.80") and Moline (9.31") with Dubuque registering its 9th wettest (8.30"). Donnellson, Iowa, in the southeast, racked up 14.52".

In many parts of the region, Iowa in particular, monthly precipitation was 150 to 400% percent above the norms.

Throw in several severe wind events, and we had ourselves a month to remember (or forget, depending on your perspective).

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HOW SWEET IT IS...

We certainly flipped the script Friday, with the first day of August seeing highs generally in the mid 70s, with dew points sinking into the 50s and no rain. Saturday morning the 3k NAM shows temperatures down in the low 50s, even some upper 40s in NC Illinois.

After the fresh start, ample sunshine should send readings back into the mid 70s Saturday afternoon, where they are expected to remain Sunday. All in all, it will be a splendid weekend of weather.

Even Monday and Tuesday, little change is expected in the overall pattern, which should keep temperatures in check and below normal. Midweek, return flow will initiate a warm-up that will send highs into the mid to upper 80s Wednesday through Sunday of next week. Warm air advection and the proximity of a nearly stationary front could put the area in play for our next round of showers and thunderstorms late Thursday and Friday. It's a little early to speculate how heavy or widespread they will be. I'm also seeing a trend that beyond next Friday, a ring of fire pattern may emerge that poses the threat of more in the way of heavy rains in the 6-10 day period.

Meantime, with beautiful August conditions locked in for several more days, there's not much to say other than enjoy it. That, and roll weather...TS