Extreme Weather Events from August 1, 2010 through August 15, 2010.
by Michael Leiba

Above Normal Temperatures

In the early part of August, it should come to no surprise that the most extreme weather events would be of the excessive heat variety, and this year is definitely no exception! On August 1, the high temperature in San Angelo, Texas reached 107 degrees*. That temperature tied the old record for that date which was set in 1944, and in Concordia Kansas, a high temperature of 107 degrees tied the old daily high record which was set way back in 1930! In Alaska, Kotzebue which is just north of the Arctic Circle, tied their daily record high temperature of 71 degrees!

The heat wave in the nation's South and Midwest continued August 2-5 where record high temperatures were set or tied for the day in many cities. Some of the more notable cities:

Wichita, Kansas (109 degrees)
Little Rock, Arkansas (107 degrees)
Fort Smith, Arkansas (107 degrees)
Little Rock, Arkansas (106 degrees)
Garden City, Kansas (105 degrees)
Jackson, Mississippi (105 degrees)
Topeka, Kansas (106 degrees)
Monroe, Louisiana (106 degrees)
Greenwood, Mississippi (105 degrees)

However, no other city can compare themselves to Greenville Mississippi, who for the fourth day in a row, set or tied their high temperature for the day when their thermometer reached 103 degrees!!

August 10 saw the return of the record heat, but this time the hot temperatures shifted to the Mid Atlantic Coast where Georgetown, Delaware set a record high of 99 degrees breaking the old August 10 record of 98 degrees set back in 1949. Three other cities tied their daily record high temperatures. They were:

Washington DC / National Airport (98 degrees)
Salisbury Maryland (97 degrees)
Trenton, New Jersey (96 degrees)

According to the National Weather Service, Little Rock Arkansas could very well be on their way to the hottest summer on record!! Attached Is the Public Information Statement which explains why this will likely occur as well as supporting documentation that includes historical and statistical information.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
200 PM CDT TUE AUG 10 2010

...74TH ANNIVERSARY OF HOTTEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED IN ARKANSAS...

TODAY MARKS THE 74TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HOTTEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS.

ON AUGUST 10TH 1936...THE TEMPERATURE CLIMBED TO 120 DEGREES AT OZARK IN FRANKLIN COUNTY.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
1105 AM CDT SAT AUG 14 2010

...COMPARING VERY HOT SUMMERS IN LITTLE ROCK...

IT HAS BEEN VERY HOT THIS SUMMER IN ARKANSAS. THROUGH AUGUST 13TH...THERE WERE SIXTEEN 100 DEGREE DAYS AT LITTLE ROCK. AT ONE TIME...THE CENTURY MARK WAS REACHED ON EIGHT CONSECUTIVE DAYS. WHILE THIS SOUNDS IMPRESSIVE...IT DOES NOT COMPARE TO WHAT HAPPENED IN 1954 AND 1980.

IN 1954...THERE WERE FORTY THREE 100 DEGREE DAYS FROM JUNE THROUGH AUGUST...OR CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMER. THERE WERE 42 SUCH DAYS IN 1980. THE MERCURY HIT 100 DEGREES ON TEN OR MORE CONSECUTIVE DAYS TWICE IN 1980...AND ONCE IN 1954. THESE ARE YEARS THAT PEOPLE SEEM TO REMEMBER THE MOST...OR WHEN CONDITIONS WERE MOST OPPRESSIVE.

THE RECORDS...DATING BACK TO 1877...ARE AS FOLLOWS...

___________________________________________________________________

100 DEGREE DAYS - BY SUMMER /JUNE 1ST THROUGH AUGUST 31ST/

___________________________________________________________________

1. 1954 - 43
2. 1980 - 42
3. 1998...1943 - 23
4. 2000 - 215. 1896 - 18

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CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES AT OR ABOVE 100 DEGREES
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1. 05 JUL 1980 TO 19 JUL 1980......15 DAYS
2. 25 AUG 2000 TO 04 SEP 2000......11 DAYS
3. 20 AUG 1983 TO 30 AUG 1983......11 DAYS
4. 06 AUG 1980 TO 15 AUG 1980......10 DAYS
5. 10 AUG 1954 TO 19 AUG 1954......10 DAYS

THESE TWO YEARS ALSO FEATURED THE MOST CONSECUTIVE 90 DEGREE DAYS AT LITTLE ROCK.

THE RECORDS ARE AS FOLLOWS...

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CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES AT OR ABOVE 90 DEGREES
_________________________________________________________________

1. 22 JUL 1980 TO 16 SEP 1980......57 DAYS
2. 20 JUL 1954 TO 10 SEP 1954......53 DAYS
3. 25 JUL 2007 TO 04 SEP 2007......42 DAYS
4. 07 JUN 1954 TO 18 JUL 1954......42 DAYS
5. 09 AUG 1936 TO 16 SEP 1936......39 DAYS

GIVEN THE RECORDS SET IN THESE TWO YEARS...IT WOULD MAKE SENSE THAT THE WARMEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURES ALSO OCCURRED IN 1954 AND 1980.

THE RECORDS ARE AS FOLLOWS...

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WARMEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
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1. 1954......85.41 DEGREES
2. 1980......84.81 DEGREES
3. 1998......84.72 DEGREES
4. 1943......83.79 DEGREES
5. 1934......83.59 DEGREES

THESE READINGS ARE COMPUTED BY ADDING HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURES...
DIVIDING BY TWO...AND DIVIDING BY THE NUMBER OF DAYS.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT...WHILE THIS YEAR IS NOT ON MOST OF THE TOP 5 LISTS ABOVE...IT COULD TOP THE WARMEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURE LIST. IT COULD BE WARMER THAN 1954 AND 1980.

THIS YEAR MAY MAKE THE RECORD BOOK BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY WARM. IN JUNE OF 1954...THERE WERE TWO DAYS WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE 70S...AND TWO NIGHTS WITH LOWS IN THE 50S. IRONICALLY...THE SAME THING HAPPENED IN JUNE OF 1980...EXCEPT LOWS IN THE 50S OCCURRED ON THREE NIGHTS. IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR...THE COOLEST LOWS WERE IN THE UPPER 60S AND THE COOLEST HIGHS WERE IN THE UPPER 80S.

BY THE NUMBERS...
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TEMPERATURES IN JUNE
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2010.....AVERAGE HIGH.....94.7.....AVERAGE LOW.....75.2
1980.....AVERAGE HIGH.....89.8.....AVERAGE LOW.....68.9
1954.....AVERAGE HIGH.....93.8.....AVERAGE LOW.....70.8

THE HEAT REALLY CRANKED UP IN JULY OF 1954 AND 1980...AND DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WERE HOTTER THAN THIS YEAR. HOWEVER...IT COOLED A BIT MORE AT NIGHT.

BY THE NUMBERS...
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TEMPERATURES IN JULY
__________________________________________________________________

2010.....AVERAGE HIGH.....96.0.....AVERAGE LOW.....76.0
1980.....AVERAGE HIGH....101.6.....AVERAGE LOW.....74.6
1954.....AVERAGE HIGH.....98.8.....AVERAGE LOW.....74.6

IT STAYED HOT IN AUGUST OF 1954 AND 1980...AND THAT HAS BEEN THE CASE THIS YEAR. AGAIN...THERE WAS MORE COOLING AT NIGHT IN THE PAST.

BY THE NUMBERS...
__________________________________________________________________

TEMPERATURES IN AUGUST
___________________________________________________________________

2010.....AVERAGE HIGH....100.6.....AVERAGE LOW.....77.9**
1980.....AVERAGE HIGH....100.4.....AVERAGE LOW.....73.5
1954.....AVERAGE HIGH....100.2.....AVERAGE LOW.....74.2

** TEMPERATURES ARE THROUGH THE 13TH OF THE MONTH

LOW TEMPERATURES MAY HAVE BEEN WARMER THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF ELEVATED MOISTURE LEVELS. MOISTURE KEEPS READINGS UP AT NIGHT...WITH A DRIER AIRMASS ALLOWING READINGS TO FALL MORE READILY. THERE WERE SEVERAL ROUNDS OF MOISTURE PROVIDED BY THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL SYSTEMS.

ALSO...IT WAS A RECORD WET YEAR IN 2009...AND SOIL MOISTURE CONTRIBUTED WATER TO THE ATMOSPHERE THROUGH EVAPORATION.

IT WILL BE INTERESTING HOW THIS SUMMER ENDS...AND IF THE RECORD AVERAGE TEMPERATURE STILL STANDS. A PERSISTENT RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CURRENT HEAT WAVE...AND THERE ARE SIGNS THE HIGH WILL WEAKEN OR MOVE ELSEWHERE DURING THE LATTER HALF OF AUGUST. THE TROPICS WILL ALSO BECOME MORE ACTIVE...AND COULD BRING MORE CLOUDS...BETTER CHANCES FOR RAIN...AND TEMPER THE HEAT.

WHATEVER HAPPENS...WHILE THE SUMMERS OF 1954 AND 1980 WILL REMAIN THE MOST MEMORABLE...THIS YEAR MAY ENTER THE CONVERSATION.

Also attached is a Public Information Statement from the National Weather Service Office in Jacksonville, Florida which explains the record or near record heat at their observation sites in northern Florida and southern Georgia.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
1210 PM EDT SAT AUG 14 2010

...HEAT WAVE OF 2010 APPROACHING ALL-TIME RECORDS...

SINCE THE COOLER THAN NORMAL 4TH OF JULY HOLIDAY WEEKEND...DAYTIME MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES HAVE REMAINED AT OR ABOVE 90 DEGREES FOR NEAR RECORD LEVELS. THE STRING OF 90 DEGREE OR ABOVE DAYS RANKS IN THE TOP 3 AT BOTH JACKSONVILLE AND GAINESVILLE IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA AND
ALSO AT ALMA IN SOUTHEAST GEORGIA.

THE LIST BELOW IS THE NUMBER OF CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES AT OR ABOVE 90 DEGREES FOR THE FOLLOWING CLIMATE SITES THROUGH SATURDAY AUGUST 14TH...

JACKSONVILLE 38 DAYS (RANK 3RD) JULY 8TH TO AUGUST 14TH
ALL TIME RECORD IS 44 DAYS FROM JUNE 30TH TO AUGUST 12TH 1992
GAINESVILLE 40 DAYS (RANK 2ND) JULY 6TH TO AUGUST 14TH
ALL TIME RECORD IS 41 DAYS FROM AUGUST 14TH TO SEPTEMBER 23RD 1978
ALMA, GEORGIA 41 DAYS (RANK 2ND) JULY 5TH TO AUGUST 14TH
ALL TIME RECORD IS 42 DAYS FROM JULY 6TH TO AUGUST 16TH 1962
SINCE MAY 1ST...THIS HAS ALSO RANKED AS THE HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD
AT BOTH ALMA GEORGIA AND GAINESVILLE FLORIDA...THE SECOND HOTTEST AT
ST SIMONS ISLAND GEORGIA...WHILE JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA HAS RECORDED
ITS FOURTH HOTTEST SUMMER SINCE 1871.
JACKSONVILLE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE SINCE MAY 1ST...81.6 DEGREES
GAINESVILLE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE SINCE MAY 1ST...81.6 DEGREES
ALMA GEORGIA AVERAGE TEMPERATURE SINCE MAY 1ST...81.0 DEGREES
ST SIMONS ISLAND AVERAGE TEMPERATURE SINCE MAY 1ST...81.6 DEGREES

THE CURRENT FORECAST CALLS FOR MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES TO REMAIN AT OR ABOVE 90 DEGREES THROUGH THE NEXT 7 DAYS.

Below Normal Temperatures

Believe it or not, there were record low temperatures that were set in the early part of August!! From August 1-6 and 9-11, California had a city or a station that set or tied a daily record low temperature. Some of these records included:

El Cajon (August 1, 57 degrees)
U.C.L.A. (August 2, 55 degrees)
Long Beach Airport (August 2, 59 degrees***)
Stockton (August 3, 54 degrees)
Oakland Museum (August 4, 53 degrees***)
Oakland Museum (August 5, 52 degrees)
Sacramento (August 6, 53 degrees***)
Stockton (August 6, 53 degrees***)
Woodland Hills (August 9, 50 degrees***)
Santa Barbara (August 9, 51 degrees***)
Thermal (August 9, 61 degrees)
Borrego (August 9, 65 degrees)
Woodland Hills (August 10, 50 degrees***)
Oakland Museum (August 10, 54 degrees***)
U.C.L.A. (August 10, 57 degrees***)
Oakland Museum (August 11, 54 degrees***)

The attached Public Information Statement from the National \Weather Service in San Diego, California describes the cooler than normal temperatures for the month of July.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
200 AM PDT SUN AUG 1 2010

...UNSEASONABLY COOL JULY WEATHER...

AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE ALONG THE WEST COAST DURING THE MAJORITY OF THE MONTH KEPT THE WEATHER COOL WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS THIS JULY. ASIDE FROM THE HEAT EVENT THE 15TH THROUGH 18TH...HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE WELL BELOW NORMAL WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS AND NEAR NORMAL IN THE DESERTS. LOW TEMPERATURES WERE A FEW DEGREES BELOW NORMAL NEAR THE COAST...NEAR NORMAL INLAND...AND SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL IN THE DESERTS.

RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES FOR VARIOUS LOCATIONS WERE TIED OR BROKEN ON 21 DAYS IN JULY. ON THE 8TH...SAN DIEGO TIED ITS ALL-TIME RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH OF JULY WITH A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF ONLY 64 DEGREES. THE LAST TIME THIS OCCURRED WAS IN 1912.

IN SAN DIEGO...THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR JULY WAS 69.4 DEGREES...THE 5TH LOWEST SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1875 AND THE LOWEST SINCE 1916. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR JULY WAS 65.9 DEGREES...THE 14TH LOWEST ON RECORD.

MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES FOR VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN SOUTHERN CA
AVG MAX AVG MIN AVG
ACTUAL NORMAL ACTUAL NORMAL ACTUAL NORMAL
LOCATION

SAN DIEGO 69.4 75.8 62.3 65.9 65.9 70.9
RAMONA 84.8 89.9 56.5 55.8 70.7 73.0
FULLERTON 78.9 84.0 62.4 62.4 70.7 73.2
ONTARIO 88.2 95.0 61.8 62.2 75.0 78.3
PALM SPRINGS 108.7 108.3 79.1 74.4 93.9 92.1

THESE VALUES REPRESENT THE AVERAGE DAILY MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES FOR JULY 2010. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IS THE AVERAGE OF THE MAX AND MIN TEMPERATURE. NORMAL VALUES ARE BASED ON THE 30 YEAR AVERAGE FROM 1971 TO 2000.

Rainfall

In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, rainfall through the morning of August 2 totaled 1.55 inches. This brought the total rainfall for the summer months (which began June 1) to 17.93 inches. With the previous record of 17.39 inches, Sioux Falls, South Dakota had its wettest summer on record with nearly a whole month left to go!

On August 8, a Tropical Disturbance crossing the Florida Peninsula help set daily rainfall records in Lakeland (2.65 inches), West Palm Beach (2.39 inches), and Melbourne (2.32 inches). Meanwhile, rainfall in Sioux City, Iowa pushed the summer seasonal total to 17.55 inches, eclipsing the previous all time record of 17.37 inches with still 3 weeks left to go!

On August 9, a daily record rainfall of 2.73 inches in Ottumwa, Iowa more than doubled their old record of 1.26 inches, and on August 14, a record daily precipitation of 3.3 inches was set in Pinson, Alabama breaking the old record of 1.5 inches!

Attached is a Public Information Statement from the National Weather Service Office in Des Moines, Iowa describing their record rainfall in early August.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
836 AM CDT WED AUG 10 2010

...WETTEST YEAR THROUGH AUGUST 9TH IN DES MOINES...

THROUGH YESTERDAY...AUGUST 9TH...DES MOINES HAD EXPERIENCED ITS WETTEST YEAR EVER WITH RECORDS GOING BACK TO 1878. THE TOP FIVE PRECIPITATION TOTALS FOR YEARS THROUGH AUGUST 9TH ARE NOW AS FOLLOWS.

1. 2010 39.03
2. 2008 36.32
3. 1993 35.93
4. 1881 34.69
5. 1990 34.51

AN ADDITIONAL 1.61 INCHES OF RAIN FELL AT THE AIRPORT EARLY THIS MORNING...BRINGING THE YEARLY TOTAL UP TO 40.64 INCHES THROUGH 7 AM TODAY. THAT MAKES THIS ALREADY THE 18TH WETTEST YEAR ON RECORD...LESS THAN 5 INCHES OUT OF THE TOP FIVE AS LISTED BELOW.

1. 1881 56.81
2. 1993 55.88
3. 2008 49.42
4. 1882 47.60
5. 1973 45.18
6. 2010 40.64

$$

LEE

Wind

On August 10, a severe thunderstorm produced a microburst that caused significant but localized wind damage near Wentzville, Missouri. Damage included trees, power lines, and light poles, but the most severe damage occurred when a tractor trailer was blown on top of a car. One person was injured and taken to a nearby hospital.