June 2009 Summary

June usually is a month of transition from mild and comfortable weather to hot and humid weather. June 2009 was no exception. The month began with cool temperatures. The lowest temperature of the month was 45F (7C) on June 5. The highest temperature of the month was 93F (34C) on June 24. The last week of the month was very hot for late June. In fact, on June 24 the heat index reached 103F (39C). June 29 and 30 however, have been unseasonably cool and comfortable with low humidity and overcast skies. It has actually felt more like late September than late June.

Rainfall for the month has been below normal. Only 3.65 inches of rain has fallen which is 0.69 inches below normal. The maximum 24 hour rainfall total was 0.89 inches on June 10. Interestingly, some areas in the region have has nearly three times the amount of rain this month. Louisville, Kentucky has had nearly 10 inches of rain this month, while Indianapolis has had over 6 inches of rain this month.

Looking ahead, the CPC (Climate Prediction Center) has put us in the below normal temperature category and the equal chance of above or below precipitation category. I have very little faith in the long range outlooks.

Hot-Hot-Hot!!!

Today was the hottest day so far this summer with an afternoon high of 93F (34C) and a heat index of 100F (38C). It's a bit early to have such high temperatures. In 2008, the highest temperature of the year was 93F, but it didn't happen until September 3. In 2007, the maximum high for the summer was 96F on August 29. So perhaps this is a sign of the upcoming summer temperature pattern.
Check out the areas of poor air quality. The yellow shading indicates moderate air quality, the orange indicates unhealthy air for sensitive groups, and the red areas (Houston and Dallas, Texas) indicates unhealthy air for all groups. Today was a ozone action day in Indianapolis and Cincinnati. The cause of the air quality alert is due to the high temperatures and a still atmosphere. Without the wind to mix things up, the atmosphere becomes stagnant and ozone levels increase.

Click on the photo below for a larger view. It was taken earlier this month from the International Space Station as it was flying over an erupting volcano in Japan.

On This Date...

On this day in 1992, the temperature dropped to an all time record summer low of 37F (3C) in Indianapolis. In outlying areas though, the temperature dropped even further where widespread frost developed. Significant crop damage occurred forcing many farmers to till their crops under and replant.

Surprise Showers

A nice surprise this morning as two clusters of showers and thunderstorms developed along a stationary boundary this morning and headed towards the southeast.
Earlier in the morning the shield of rain over east central Indiana was larger and heavier, but has held together well enough to give us some brief heavy downpours.
The area of rain east of Louisville has been the largest and heaviest batch of rain. In fact, several flash flood warnings were issued in counties just to the southwest of Indianapolis. There were even a few severe thunderstorm warnings with the rain due to strong wind gusts.
There is a 40% chance of more showers and thundershowers later in the day, but I don't think we'll get much. We hardly ever do. :-(

Tornado Watch 'til 3am

A tornado watch has been issued until 3am Saturday morning. A line of storms is marching across Illinois and moving into western Indiana. A lot of the storms have been falling apart as they move east, but the watch (issued earlier in the day for areas north of I70) has been extended to the south quite a bit.

Indiana Summer Heat

FROM THE NWS IN INDIANAPOLIS...

With temperatures in the upper 80s and low 90s in the forecast for later this week, it's time to shift gears into a summer mindset, even though the mild and very wet weather the past few weeks has not felt too summerlike yet.

However, now is a good time to recall your tips for keeping safe in the hot weather and how to effectively 'beat the heat'. A great place to get started is: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/heat_wave.shtml

While many times it feels much hotter than the 90s, in fact temperatures of 100 or better are very rare in the Indianapolis area. The last time the mercury reached to 100 or better was August 16, 1988; almost 21 years ago! In the record books, it is not uncommon to see stretches of 20 or 30 years in Indianapolis without temperatures reaching 100 degrees.

On average, Indianapolis will see 18 days every year in the 90s. Most of them come in July, which averages 7 days a year of 90 degrees or better. August averages 5 days in the 90s, and June sees 3 on average. September averages 2 days, and May just one.

Heat Advisory - 100+

HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN INDIANAPOLIS HAS ISSUED A HEAT ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING.

HEAT INDEX READINGS WILL REACH NEAR 100 DEGREES THIS AFTERNOON.

.A VERY WARM AIR MASS WILL BE IN PLACE ACROSS CENTRAL INDIANA AS HIGH TEMPERATURES REACH THE LOWER 90S THIS AFTERNOON. THIS WILL BE SOME OF THE FIRST 90 DEGREE TEMPERATURES OF THE YEAR. DEW POINT TEMPERATURES IN THE LOWER 70S WILL ADD TO THE HEAT AND RESULT IN HEAT INDEX READINGS AROUND 100 DEGREES FOR A FEW HOURS THIS AFTERNOON.

Boaring, Buggy, and Blah

I really don't like this time of year. The weather is far from interesting. Yes, there have been several storms in the area over the last few weeks, but nothing nearby. It seems the skies like to split just as the storm clouds move this way. In the winter, weather events cover a much larger area, not just a few square miles like summer storms.
We did have some hail a couple of weeks ago in the Castleton area causing some significant damage to homes and cars. The hail was about the size of golf balls. A lot of the hail stones were large enough that they hung around for an hour or so after the storm.
Besides the boring weather, the bugs are bad this summer. The deer flies are big enough to carry you away. I wish it were winter again.