Record July Heat Stats, Record Cold Stats Update
UPDATE: The total number of record low temperatures tied or broken is now stated at 7,883, according to the NOAA U.S Records page.
UPDATE: Added a World July anomalies map to the bottom of the report.
Many people requested some data on Record Highs after reading my report "3,000 Low Temp Records Set This July!". While there have been 1,200 record highs or "high lows" broken so far this month (graph below shows broken AND tied):
They can't hold a candle (pun intended) to the record breaking cold temperatures, as you can see when we add them in...
The overall totals are:
Low Min: New: 1,180 + Tied: 616 = Total: 1,796Low Max:New: 1,995 + Tied: 650 = Total: 2,645Grand Total: 4,441
New: 620 + Tied: 504 = Total: 1,124High Min:New: 647 + Tied: 643 = Total: 1,290Grand Total: 2,414
In fact only 35% of records broken during July were highs (yes I'm aware the month isn't over but I'm going on vacation tomorrow so these stats are as good as they're going to get here). Here are updated maps showing the July (so far) temperature departures: US | Mid-Atlantic. (Johnstown, PA has "warmed" from -10.0 to -9, and although it still seems a bit anomalous, there are plenty of stations still near -6).
Nonetheless, the record breaking hot weather does deserve some coverage, and I think we've done a good job of covering it in the other news stories that you can read on AccuWeather.com. Some tidbits... we said this morning: "Temperatures soared to 102 degrees F in McAllen on Tuesday. That was two degrees shy of the day's record from 1943. Prior to Tuesday, McAllen endured 12 straight days of record-breaking heat."
Ken Clark has some thoughts on how the extreme heat in the Pacific Northwest up through Alaska is affecting residents.
Some of the temperatures there are truely obscene and Portland will break its all-time high temperature record of 107 degrees today if our forecast is correct. Seattle may tie its all-time record of 100. The NWS says they are also on track to break the all-time consecutive days of 90+ and 95+ degree weather.
The heat extends all the way up to the Arctic Circle, the result of an unusually high jet stream (which dips to the east and continues to bring unusually cool air to the Northern Plains and Great Lakes). An article we have out this morning says "The most extreme warmth yielding highs of 85, 90 and even 95 degrees, will happen daily through at least Sunday along the lower Mackenzie River of Northwest Territories. Temperatures this high would be up to 30 degrees above normal."
To put both the cold wave and the heat wave into perspective, blog reader KW suggests this link showing worldwide temperatures for July:
Yes, they both stick out but look how much more data there is out there, much of it near normal. This is not unusual, what is is that the extremes happened to be in the United States this time (especially the populated areas).
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