Reviewing July's weather and looking ahead to August

July 2023 was the second wettest July in history for south bend, recording an abnormally high 7.81 in of rain over 31 days.

Between July 1-15, 2.32 inches of rain fell barely staying on track with the monthly average. From July 16-31, 5.49 inches of rain fell with 4.53 inches of that total falling during a four day stretch from July 26-30.

Drought conditions dramatically improved in the back half of July, with only about 30% of Michiana in moderate or above drought conditions compared to the 90% at the start of the month.

July also saw five total days of air quality that fell into the "unhealthy for sensitive groups" category as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to trickle southeast into our area.

Historically, August tends to be the third wettest month of the year for Michiana and the second warmest month.

As we get deeper into the North American monsoon season, rain generally tends to fall more frequently across the us but actually results in drier conditions for Michiana because of the distance containing dry land between the Pacific Ocean and our area.

The presence of an El Niño pattern also plays a key role in limiting rainfall values due to the increased strength of a subtropical jet and greater forcings of dry air inland.

The monthly outlook from the climate prediction center shows equal chances of above and below normal rainfall.

Similarly in temperature, no noticeable deviation from the "normal" temperature is expected.