Justin Dahl, 22, of Winona, Minn., lets go of a rope swing to fall into the cool lake below Friday in Goodview, Minn. Dahl and a group of friends took turns attempting tricks off the rope and swimming in the lake to cool off in the high temperatures. (AP Photo/The Winona Daily News, Andrew Link)
Welcome to July, everyone! We’re in my favorite month, two weeks from my birthday, halfway to 2012 and 83 days from fall.
But right now, we’re in the doldrums of summer. The typical July and August pattern is one we are now familiar with. It gave us
record highs in June with very little rainfall.
For 29 days this month in Tulsa, the high temperature was 90 degrees or above. That ties the record for number of 90-plus days set in 1934 and 1911. The average temperature was 84.4 degrees, 1.4 degrees away from the hottest June on record (1911). The normal average temperature in June is 78 degrees. And, the highest temperature recorded last month was a whopping 106.
Though, it could be worse, Tulsans. June shattered records in Fort Smith, Ark., with a new record for warmest June (85 degrees) and
every day of the month had highs above 90 degrees, also a record.
So, you now have empirical data that it was, in fact, it was hot last month (as if it wasn’t enough to step outside…).
Now, I’ll tell you how
dry it was: Tulsa had 1.47 inches of rain in June. That’s a 3.25-inch departure from the norm. We’re down 7.54 inches for the year.
While we made some progress on the drought in northeast Oklahoma with our heavy rains in April, it’s starting to
creep back in.
So, with the heat, be very careful out there. Drink lots of water and find places to cool off. And start counting the days to fall.
--Jerry Wofford
What will the weather be like for your Independence Day festivities? Check it out
here, the Tulsa World's new weather site, powered by the pros at the National Weather Service.
