July 2018 Climate Review: Temperatures finished above normal by 0.5 to 2 degrees across much of the Heartland. The month started out with oppressive heat and humidity that resulted in one of our hottest 4th of July’s on record. Daily heat index values ranged from 100 to 115 degrees from July 1st through the 5th. Many locations also experienced heat index values in excess of 100 degrees nearly daily from July 10th through 17th. The worst two days of the month, with numerous heat index values exceeding 110 degrees, were July 5th and 14th. Luckily a pattern change resulted in the heat and high humidity levels taking a break for the last 10 days of the month. Several days still reached 90 degrees over this time frame, but with lower humidity, it didn’t feel nearly as uncomfortable.
As for rainfall, most areas experienced drier than normal conditions for the month. Abnormally dry conditions (D0 on Drought Monitor as of July 26th) had developed across portions of southeast Missouri and the Jackson Purchase area of western Kentucky by the last week of the month. Overall, amounts ranged from 1 to 3 inches in many locations. Due to the nature of summer-time convection (thunderstorms), some isolated locations did experience wetter than normal conditions for July, picking up over 5 inches. There were also some locales that observed less than a half inch of rainfall the entire month!
The graphic below is an interpolated rainfall map using actual observations. Please note that there are likely discrepancies in between observations, since the values are estimated based on nearest reports. Due to the convective nature of rainfall in the summer, amounts are more likely to vary over shorter distances, compared to the cooler months.
| July 2018 Review: Precipitation and Temperature Maps (Click on image to enlarge) |
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| Climate Maps are from the Northeast Regional Climate Center |
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