July ended up being the 10th warmest month on record. This was a treat for those who love the hot weather, but not so much for those who enjoy cooler temperatures resembling fall. July’s average high typically sits around 82-83 degrees, but as we look back at the data, temperatures rarely dropped to that point. We had ten days topping out at 90 or above, eleven days above average but below 90, three days at the average, and six days below average. Overall for this July our temperatures averaged out to be 3.6 degrees above normal, which may not sound like much, but in all actually it quite a large margin.
The warm temperatures were also accompanied by dry conditions, thus the reason we find the majority of our Michiana counties in abnormally dry to level 1 drought status. Eleven days this month we saw a trace of rain or higher, and only one of those days we accumulated more than an inch. When you mix a lack of rain with lots of sunshine and heat, you get drought type conditions to develop at a rapid pace.
As we wrap July up and head into the beginning part of August, we can all hope for one thing, rain! Temperatures will inevitably drop throughout our last month of summer, but rain isn’t the consistent factor. Forecasts show that we are in the “equal chances” zone to see either above, or below the August average.
