Heat and Drought
13 July 2011 03:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nuranarIt's another hot summer, with a vengeance. We had one of the warmest Independence Days in my memory (since reaching an age of awareness), hitting an official 100°. Usually we're well into the 90s on The Day, but not quite over the century mark.
This is a picture taken on the 4th. I understand that a lot of people actually see green grass beside the roads in July, August, and September? :p
Days over 100° in June : 7 (a solid week, June 13-19, including the Ice Cream Social)
Days over 100° in July (to date) : 12 and counting (since July 2)
Total days over 100° : 19
% days over 100° since June 1 : 44%
% days over 100° since July 1 : 92%
100 is kind of a magic number. But it doesn't tell the whole story. Not a day's high in June was below 90°, and only two days were below 95°.
Highest temperature to date : 105°
Normal average temperature for June : 80.9°
Actual average temperature for June : 86.8°
Normal average temperature for July : 84.2°
Actual average temperature for July (to date) : 90.2°
Comparison to the average temperature is what really does it. When "average" is calculated of highs and lows over 125 years, even a 3° departure is significant.
We're 6° above average.
June has never been the real scorcher of a month. Hot, yes. Schedule outdoor events of any kind at your own risk. But it's possible to have a pleasant day or two in June. Whereas pleasant weather in July or August is surreal.
Lowest low in June : 67° (due to the thunderstorm that brought 2.84" of rain)
Lowest low in July (to date) : 75° (July 1, the only July day that has not reached 100°)
(Sorry for the picspam. This is one of the highest bridges in my county, and it was fun to take a photo from it. :p)
Pretty much all of Texas is in a severe drought. It's actually not terribly bad in my area of North Texas, thanks to a fairly wet May, but it's definitely bad in other parts of the state. Even in the Hill Country, which I understand does not suffer drought as frequently as other areas.
Normal June rain : 3.23"
Actual June rain : 2.84"
June days with no rain : 29
That 2.84"? All dumped in one day. That does not end a drought. 29 out of 30 days without rain makes a drought.
And it gets better! That storm was tiny. My local weather recording station, 10-15 miles closer than the official one, got no rain in June at all.
But that's okay; no one has gotten any rain in July yet at all. There's a slight chance of thunderstorms Friday, but I'm not too hopeful. A forecast is just a possibility.
Normal July rain (to date) : 0.88"
Actual July rain (to date) : 0"
July days with no rain (to date) : 13
P.S. It's 104° at my workplace now, and the day's not done yet.
This is a picture taken on the 4th. I understand that a lot of people actually see green grass beside the roads in July, August, and September? :p
Days over 100° in June : 7 (a solid week, June 13-19, including the Ice Cream Social)
Days over 100° in July (to date) : 12 and counting (since July 2)
Total days over 100° : 19
% days over 100° since June 1 : 44%
% days over 100° since July 1 : 92%
100 is kind of a magic number. But it doesn't tell the whole story. Not a day's high in June was below 90°, and only two days were below 95°.
Highest temperature to date : 105°
Normal average temperature for June : 80.9°
Actual average temperature for June : 86.8°
Normal average temperature for July : 84.2°
Actual average temperature for July (to date) : 90.2°
Comparison to the average temperature is what really does it. When "average" is calculated of highs and lows over 125 years, even a 3° departure is significant.
We're 6° above average.
June has never been the real scorcher of a month. Hot, yes. Schedule outdoor events of any kind at your own risk. But it's possible to have a pleasant day or two in June. Whereas pleasant weather in July or August is surreal.
Lowest low in June : 67° (due to the thunderstorm that brought 2.84" of rain)
Lowest low in July (to date) : 75° (July 1, the only July day that has not reached 100°)
(Sorry for the picspam. This is one of the highest bridges in my county, and it was fun to take a photo from it. :p)
Pretty much all of Texas is in a severe drought. It's actually not terribly bad in my area of North Texas, thanks to a fairly wet May, but it's definitely bad in other parts of the state. Even in the Hill Country, which I understand does not suffer drought as frequently as other areas.
Normal June rain : 3.23"
Actual June rain : 2.84"
June days with no rain : 29
That 2.84"? All dumped in one day. That does not end a drought. 29 out of 30 days without rain makes a drought.
And it gets better! That storm was tiny. My local weather recording station, 10-15 miles closer than the official one, got no rain in June at all.
But that's okay; no one has gotten any rain in July yet at all. There's a slight chance of thunderstorms Friday, but I'm not too hopeful. A forecast is just a possibility.
Normal July rain (to date) : 0.88"
Actual July rain (to date) : 0"
July days with no rain (to date) : 13
P.S. It's 104° at my workplace now, and the day's not done yet.
