2008 July Climate Summary
July 2008 Indianapolis Climate Summary
One of the wettest summers on record so far…
The weather this past July across Central Indiana began just as June had ended…wet. Temperatures were thankfully cool to start the month, but by later this month things began to dry out and warm up in typical July fashion as humidity began to surge upwards and sent many residents scurrying inside for more comfortable climes. The following is a summary of everything that was weather in July 2008 in Central Indiana.
Temperature
The temperature this July was rather normal for the month. In fact, it is quite remarkable that not one day this month experienced an average temperature that was more than 10 degrees above or below normal. The closest was July 4, which was 9 degrees below normal. After highs only in the 70s and low 80s to start the month, the mercury leapt upwards by mid month as upper 80s became commonplace nearly every day, as is to be expected during what is the hottest time of year. There was only one 90 degree day this month, when July 20th recorded a high of exactly 90 degrees. An average July experiences 7 days of 90 or better, and just last year there were 3. This brings our summer tally of 90 degrees to a mere 2, compared to a normal of 10.
The month finished with an average temperature of 75.0 degrees, which was below normal by 0.4 degrees. The coolest temperature this month came on the 1st with a low of 53 degrees, which is the coolest July low temperature since July 6, 2001 saw a low of 48 degrees.
The 4th of July set the record for coolest high temperature ever observed on that date, with a high of only 71 degrees.
Precipitation
Rainfall continued to come in buckets during this July. The monthly total of 6.58 inches compares to the July normal of 4.42 inches, making this July above normal by 2.16 inches. It was enough to make July 2008 the 20th wettest July on record, and the wettest since 2004 experienced 7.72 inches of rain.
Indianapolis experienced several heavy rainfall events this month, with 5 separate days recording a half inch or greater, and three of those days experiencing an inch or more. The heaviest one day rain came on July 12 with 2.12 inches measured.
The two month total for June through July in Indianapolis stands at 14.58 inches, which makes this the 6th wettest start to a summer season ever. The last time a summer started out wetter was back in 1992 when 15.86 inches fell in the June-July time period. Both are still a far cry from the wettest summer ever, 1875, which had 25.33 inches of rain during these two months.
For the year to date, 35.63 inches of rain has already fallen at Indianapolis International Airport. This compares to a normal through the end of July of 24.85 inches. Last year, there had only been 21.48 inches of rain through this point of the year.
Severe Weather
As is typical for July, severe weather began its annual downturn in frequency as hot, humid, and sunny weather began to become more common.
There were still significant events this month, however. On the 21st and 22nd of July, numerous reports of damaging winds up to 85 mph and hail to the size of quarters was observed. Other events included severe weather on July 8th and the 20th.
Outlook for August 2008
The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center indicates equal likelihood of below, near, or above normal temperatures and precipitation in Central Indiana during August 2008.
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