Hot Weekend!

Much has been made of the fact this has been the hottest June since 1911, but that determination is made with respect to the average temperature for the month. When you break it down, it turns out this past June was the hottest June on record with respect to the overnight low temperatures and the 4th hottest with respect to the daytime high temperatures. Anyway you look at it, it was way too hot way too early.

There have been several questions regarding how the rest of that summer of 1911 went since it started off with such a hot June. Turns out, the heat continued until the middle of July which was followed by a break in the pattern and the last half of July and the month of August were not so bad. In fact, that August turned out to be rather wet and there were only a few more 100 degree days after the middle of July. So, if that is any indication of what the rest of our summer will be like we do have some hope. By the way, the long range outlook for July and August calls for near normal conditions with respect to temperature and rainfall.

However, the short term forecast has little relief in sight for at least several more days. Fortunately, the dew point temperature has mixed out today so the heat index has not been so problematic. Even so, with triple digit temperatures, it is still dangerously hot out there. More of the same is expected for Sat and Sun with temperatures near triple digits each afternoon along with light southerly winds and lots of sunshine.

By Saturday night and again late Sunday, there are some indications of a weak boundary possibly making it down to around the Ok/Ks state line and higher dew point air pooling near that boundary. For that reason, there is a slight chance of a few showers or storms Saturday and Sunday, both for the northern counties as well as for the more southern counties where a few popped up late this afternoon.

Beyond that, there are also indications of the dominant ridge aloft retreating a bit to the west which should allow for a weak NW flow pattern. This typically produces a few showers or storms so we have at least a slight chance for the 4th of July as well as for the next few days after that. This subtle change in the pattern aloft should also keep our daytime highs near or just below triple digits which is still well above normal.

So, stay cool, stay tuned, and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot