Holiday Weekend Update

The remnants of Isaac are expected to move through the Midwest into the lower Great Lakes. While timing is not certain, at the moment it looks like rainfall here will begin by late Sunday and continue into Monday, Labor Day. Based on current projections, total rainfall locally is expected to be ½” to 1” by midday Tuesday. Heavier rain is likely south of Canton.

Looking at the Labor Day weekend

Looking ahead week to the Labor Day weekend, it appears that we may have have a mixed bag of weather. It's early yet, but there is a possibility that we will have to deal with the remnants of what will become Hurricane Isaac. The forecast models show a blocking ridge in the southeast and thus the storm center will likely head up the Mississippi River and then angle across the lower Great Lakes. (see map)

Again,  it's too early to tell for sure what will happen, but if this scenario works out, we can expect Saturday to be an OK day with clouds increasing Saturday night. Sunday could be breezy with showers as the remnants move through.  Monday is still is a question.  Obviously, we will know more once Isaac makes landfall.

What's in the cards for fall?

It's interesting from this perspective to read the chatter about the upcoming fall season. As we went through the summer months of July and August the long range forecasts ended up being revised every few weeks. The forecasts and reality were not matching up. I'm sensing this same trend into fall.

Long range forecasters like to look back at previous years and match up temperature and precipitation trends with the current. These guys are having a difficult time...and the computer models aren't helping either. My gut feeling is not to buy too deeply into the long range forecasts.

Last winter, you'll recall, we expected the cold air to surge into NE Ohio right around Thanksgiving, then about mid-December, then around New Years, then...  Well, we finally hit normal in April. The previous months were all above normal, just the opposite of what was initially expected. So, it goes. The trending right now is for temperatures in September and October to be normal to slightly above, just don't bet the farm on it.

Bye-Bye July

It's time to say, "Good-bye" to the month of July.  It was indeed a toasty one, just like most of the summer so far.

According to statistics from the National Weather Service and NOAA, here is what July did for us nationwide:

• 171 all time highs were broken or tied
• Over 4,000 daily high temperatures were either tied or broken
• July produced the lowest number of tornadoes since 1951

In addition, this summer is on track to be at least the 3rd hottest summer since 1950 and may end up higher than that.

As for the greater Akron area, so far this summer we have had 22 days when the mercury hit 90 degrees or higher. By the way, there's more of that to come!

I think I'm looking forward to Fall.