All Things Summer (2011 Summer Heat Waves)

WHEN: Summer 2011
WHERE: The United (in heat) States of America
 
I have been planning this post for at least a couple weeks and thought now (in my series of posts about summer) would be the appropriate time to write it.  I love summer, and one of the main reasons is simply the weather.  Of course, when you're talking about weather, a couple weeks can change a lot.  And weather and summer are happening across the whole country (and northern hemisphere for that matter). Therefore, I didn't really know where to begin and was overwhelmed with what to include in this post.

Of course the ongoing drought and heat in Texas and Oklahoma as well as the heat and humidity in the Midwest are topics one should discuss when talking about this summer's heat.  I might do a post about those topics soon, but for now (in the interest of finishing these three posts) I cannot go in to those.  For now, I will just lay out a few highlights of this summer's weather here in Charleston.

Weather Note #1 - Triple Digits

In the past 5 years, Charleston has only reached triple digits once (100°F on August 6, 2008).  That was until this summer, when not only did we reach triple digits, we broke 100° three days in a row (June 19-21).

Weather Note #2 - Heat Index

Kiawah Island, SC (part of the Charleston metro area) set a new record heat index (unofficial) for the state of South Carolina on July 13 (128°F), since records began over 20 years ago.

Weather Note #3 - Well Above Average

In Charleston, every day in the month of June was above average.  The average high for the month of June was 94.1°F (6.2°F above normal).

Weather Note #4 - Prolonged Heat

From June 1 - July 13, the temperature reached or exceeded 90°, 40 of the 44 days (91% of the days for that period).  Not until yesterday (July 18) did the 7-day average (green line) drop below normal - the first time since May 20.

Weather Note #5 - Dew Points & Humidity

During the first two weeks of July (July 1-14), I could find no other city in the US that was more humid than Charleston.  For that period, our dew point (the absolute measure of humidity) averaged a daily high of 78.0°F.  The only other city that was even close was Key West, Florida (average 77.1°F).

Weather Note #6 - Drought

From April 14 - June 14, only 2.09" of rain fell in Charleston.  As a result, on June 21, 100% of the state was in some level of drought status.  By comparison, we received more rain (2.71") over a two-hour period on July 9!

Weather Note #7 - Absence of Cooling

Yesterday's low in Charleston of 66°F (which is near record low for mid-July) was the first time the temperature has ever dropped below 70° since June 15 and was the coolest temperature since May 20.


Weather Note #8 - Hurricane Season


Hurricane season begins every year on June 1.  This season's activity kicked off with the formation of Tropical Storm Arlene on June 29.  Closer to home today, Tropical Storm Bret churns off the waters of the Carolinas, on its trek towards (and ultimately its demise within) the northern Atlantic Ocean.


Weather Note #9 - More to Come!

As if all of that is not crazy enough, it's only mid-July and so there is much more of summer (and its weather) to come!  After our relative cold front in Charleston during the past 5 days (only reaching the upper-80's), the rest of this week is forecast to be back in the upper-90's, with plenty of humidity to go around.  But you know me, I'm not complaining!  As I saw one lady from Minnesota had commented on weather.com yesterday..."At least you don't have to shovel the heat!"

Finally, post #1 of 3 is here.