August Slowly Returns to Normal

August just doesn't get any better than this – temperatures in the 80s, light winds, fairly low humidity, and all of these conditions after a substantial rainy period. Now that we're getting a chance to catch up on our mowing in these comfortable conditions, many are wondering what's next. Summer heat doesn't usually break for consistently cooler, autumn-like temperatures for another month, but it sure feels like we have fast-forwarded to fall.

The upper-level trough that has been stuck over the Great Lakes is finally pushing east as an upper-level ridge in the jet stream builds in. That trough gave us wave after wave of energy for all of that rain and allowed unseasonably cool air to filter into the region. We're used to a heat dome, a dominant area of high pressure in the jet stream during the summer that blocks off all rain and cool air. That upper-level ridge that's moving in is cutting off our chance of rain for a while, but is fortunately not loaded with as much strength and heat as it could this time of year. Thus, this gradual shift in the jet stream pattern is gradually bringing our temperatures back up to near-normal levels.

We'll hit the 90s as early as Monday in parts of Green Country and will all feel the 90°-heat by midweek. However, our temperatures will plateau by then as more moisture moves back in, resulting in more clouds and less insolation. There are no major storm systems in sight for the week ahead. However, that return of moisture may result in a few pop-up storms by next weekend. This week-long stretch to dry out will allow a nice recovery period from our flooding. Believe it or not, drought is still an issue out west. The attached Drought Monitor shows about a third of the state is in a moderate drought or worse. Western Oklahoma will see a bit more improvement in the drought as they've seen more rain over the past few days. A week-long stretch of dry weather for Green Country won't do us much harm in that department, fortunately.

Going out another week in time to the end of the month, the weather pattern doesn't look all that different. Thus, the Climate Prediction Center is calling for a higher likelihood of near-normal temperatures for the remainder of August as shown in the second map. Could we get through the rest of the summer without any more triple-digit temperatures? It's certainly possible. It's too early to make that call, however. We still have a good portion of summer to go.

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