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.

19 days of 90+ this summer!

Today (Tuesday) was the 19th day this summer of our temperature reaching 90 degrees or higher. Here at the Weather Center in Streetsboro we topped out at 98. Officially at Akron/Canton the mercury hit 101 degrees on July 7th and 99 degrees on July 6th. This could end up only the 3rd highest this month. That's crazy!  Ha Ha!

The 90s started out in late May. May had two 90+ days, June had 10, and so far July has had 7. Add them up and that's 19 days of 90+ this summer.  That's way more than usual.

In fact, these temperatures are the hottest this century. Since 2000, prior to this summer, the highest was only 95 degrees in 2001 and 2002. Here's a look at the official Akron/Canton high temperatures this century:

The temperature hit 98 degrees this afternoon at the WSTB Weather Center

• 2000 - 87 degrees
• 2001 - 95
• 2002 - 95
• 2003 - 89
• 2004 - 87
• 2005 - 93
• 2006 - 92
• 2007 - 92
• 2008 - 91
• 2009 - 90
• 2010 - 92
• 2011 - 94
• 2012 - 101 (so far)

Ah...relief!

Hot is nice in the summer, but too much of a good thing is...well...too much. I'm glad we finally got some cooler air to move into the region. Daytime highs the first part of the week will be in the lower 80s and that's gonna feel downright good.

We did bust a few official records this past week at the Akron/Canton NWS office. The hottest was Saturday when the mercury hit 101 degrees breaking an old record set in 1988. Here at the Weather Center in Streetsboro we only made it up to 99 degrees (sad face).  We could have cracked 100, but a thunderstorm moved through mid-afternoon and in a matter of minutes dropped the mercury from the upper 90s to near 80.

At any rate, the 10 day heat wave is gone...at least for this week.  We could see a return next week (the week of July 15th), so don't get too comfortable just yet.

Here are the daytime highs for the recent heat wave:

Date - NWS Akron/Canton - WSTB Weather Center

Thursday, June 28 - 95 / 95

Friday, June 29 - 96 / 95

Saturday, June 30 - 90 / 91

Sunday, July 1 - 94 / 93

Monday, July 2 - 92 / 92

Tuesday, July 3 - 85 / 83

Wednesday, July 4 - 96 / 96

Thursday, July 5 - 90 / 88

Friday, July 6 - 99 / 97

Saturday, July 7 - 101 / 99

The heat is on...for now

Five days of 90+, then finally a break on Tuesday (in the mid 80s), but right back at it now through Saturday. Ah, but, then...relief is on the way for next week.


Here's what he had recently for daytime highs:


Thursday, June 28th - 95
Friday, June 29th - 96
Saturday, June 30th - 90
Sunday, July 1st - 94
Monday, July 2nd - 92
Tuesday, July 3rd - 85 (lots of clouds with rain)
Wednesday, July 4th - 91 and climbing as of 12:30pm


The 90+ temperatures will continue into Saturday.  Sunday will cool down a tad, but then next week more refreshing air will invade the region with daytime highs around 80 to start the week. We will then warm up again late week, but I don't think it will be "90s hot", just in the mid 80s.