Ride along the cold front as it passed through the Central United States this weekend. We went from t-shirts to turtlenecks as temperatures dropped 50 degrees in some cities. The nose diving temperatures were accompanied by rain and gusty winds making for a very raw time.
Follow the front from northwest to southeast, as it dramatically drops temperatures first in Salina and Omaha, then Topeka and Kansas City, through Mid-Missouri and Springfield, before finally pushing through St. Louis.
September 17, 2012
Hot and dry. Just how hot and how dry was the meteorological summer (June-August) of 2012? Where does it rank? Take a look below to find out.
Average Temperature – Summer 2012
In Omaha, the average temperature of 78.9 degrees made it the 3rd warmest summer on record while 5.97″ of rain made it the 10th driest as well. This summer isn’t the only season that has been warm though, Omaha is currently having their warmest year to date and had the warmest March-August on record! Over the summer they set 6 daily maximum temperature records and 4 daily high minimum record (warmest low).
Kansas City had the 16th warmest summer on record with an average temperature of 79.8 degrees, which isn’t quite as warm that most would have anticipated. Ironically, the average high temperature of 92.6 degrees, ranks 5th warmest on record. Meanwhile, the average low temperature of 66.9 degrees ranks 75th warmest! You can see that the cool nights helped this summer to not reach the top 10 in terms of warmest average temperature. The 4.98 inches of precipitation this summer ranks it as the 6th driest on record. There were 3 daily maximum temperatures, 2 daily record minimum temperatures tied or broken.
For Columbia the average temperature this summer was 80.3 degrees which is 6th warmest on record, the average high temperature this summer was 93.6 degrees! This summer recorded 5.74 inches of precipitation in Columbia, which ranked as the 9th driest on record. Over the months of June, July and August Columbia had quite the heat wave, recording 27 consecutive days of 90 degrees or warmer (tied 2nd longest streak) and had 10 days of 100 degrees or warmer (6th longest streak). There were 6 daily maximum temperature records set, 1 record high minimum and 1 record daily rainfall.
Precipitation – Summer 2012
St. Louis (Lambert International Airport) had its 4th warmest summer on record with an average temperature of 82 degrees. The average high temperature for the summer was 93.1 degrees, while the average low was 70.8 degrees. The 6.69 inches of precipitation this summer ranks as the 21st driest on record, with 1.48 inches coming on the final day of meteorological summer (August 31). Some of the notable records this summer included the most days with a high of 105 degrees or higher, 3rd most days with a temperature of a 100 degrees or higher and the most occurrences of a low temperature being 85 degrees or warmer. St. Louis had 11 record daily maximum temperatures, 7 record high minimum temperatures and 1 daily maximum rainfall.
Springfield had an average temperature of 79.1 degrees, putting this summer in a tie for 9th warmest on record. Springfield received 5.50 inches of rain this summer, 4.01 inches came in August alone after the driest July on record (0.32 inches). Over the course of the summer Springfield set 7 daily high temperature records and tied 6 more while also setting a record high temperature for the month of June at 101 degrees.
August 11, 2012
A couple weeks ago we were begging for highs below 100; would it be crazy to hope for the 70s? The last time the Missouri River Valley saw high temperatures below 80 was in early June. After the hottest July on the planet, a few days in August might not get out of the 70s.
Models are coming into agreement that a fairly strong trough of low pressure will dive southward this Thursday into Friday opening the door to cool Canadian air. Highs could potentially drop 10-15 degrees below normal in some locations. While it’s still early to pinpoint exactly how cool we will get, triple digits are history for now.
When will the heat return? The first signs of any heat returning are during the following week, but models are unclear on how hot it will get, and how long the heat could last. For now, bring on the 70s!
August 9, 2012
Rumbles of thunder and the pitter-patter of rain last night brought hope to many across the area. The biggest smiles were found in St. Charles, MO where they saw over two inches of rain! However, most of us felt teased as it barely settled the dust.
How much will it take to really make a difference?
A whole lot more than just normal precipitation is needed, especially in the Central Plains. An occasional inch or two of rain might green up your brown, crunchy lawn, but it will do little to regenerate your local water shed. An extended period of above normal precipitation is needed to chip away at the deficit and restore the water supply.
Most people across the region came to the conclusion that July was hot and dry, however just how hot and how dry? We have gathered data for several cities across the area, finding the Top 10 hottest and Top 10 driest Julys on record. Each city had a July average temperature that ranked in the Top 10, with St. Louis having the hottest July on record. While it was also dry across the region, the precipitation numbers vary a lot more than temperature as isolated thunderstorms provided hit and miss rainfall. For example, Omaha managed to have their driest July on record with only 0.01″ of precipitation, which also ranks as their sixth driest month ever! Meanwhile, Columbia managed to see a few of those hit and miss thunderstorms, which led to 1.56″ of precipitation, making it their 26th driest July. Check out how your city ranks with the graphs below:
Omaha, NE
St. Joseph, MO
Kansas City, MO
Columbia, MO
St. Louis, MO
Springfield, MO
July 26, 2012
The latest drought monitor has been released and the Central Plains saw conditions slightly worsen over the past week. Although there was some rainfall that occurred this morning across the area, the latest update only includes precipitation through 6am CST on July 24. The contiguous United States has just over 80% of the county with abnormally dry or worse conditions, a whopping 63.9% actually in some form of drought. To make matters worse, over 20% of the country is in extreme or exceptional drought, first time since mid-February 2003. Below is a closer look at individual states:
Nebraska
100% of the state is in severe or worse drought with a majority (64%) actually in extreme or worse. Eastern Nebraska has managed some rain recently which has provided it with slightly better conditions, while the central portion of the state sees the first exceptional drought rating for Nebraska since July of 2004. Like many other states, three months ago there was a single acre in Nebraska being designated in severe or worse drought, indicating just how quickly the lack of rainfall has built up.
Kansas
Kansas also has 100% of the state in severe or worse drought conditions with the latest drought update, and a large majority (over 72%) in extreme or exceptional drought. Extreme drought covers much of western Kansas and extends across portions of the entire state, including the metro areas of Wichita, Topeka and the Kansas City area. While less than a year ago there was nearly 18% of the state in exceptional drought compared to the current 9% the difference lies in the sheer expansive nature of this drought, only 75% of the state was in a form of drought then.
Missouri
As you could have expected, Missouri is another one of the four states that has 100% of their area in severe or worse drought (Iowa is the other along with Kansas and Nebraska). The southeast portion of the state is hardest hit, where parts of 11 counties have been designated in exceptional or worse drought. Extreme drought covers a large portion of the state, including the St. Louis Metro, Kansas City Metro and the cities of Springfield, Columbia and many more. The cities of Jefferson City and Joplin are currently designated in only severe drought, however with little rain in sight for the next week they could see the extreme category in the next update.
