Summer weather ends on average note
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By NANCY HICKS / Lincoln Journal Star
Summer 2008: Wet in the beginning, dry at the end. With a few strong gusts of wind — 68 mph on July 11; 67 mph June 22; 55 mph on June 5.
Around the middle of July someone turned the spigot off.
And August has been been dry, much drier than the wild, wet June. But not dry enough to be noteworthy.
- August: Rainfall was sparse, with a total of 1.78 inches. That’s 1.57 inches below normal.
Average temperature was 75.5, just 0.1 degree above the historic average. Eleven days were above 90 degrees. - July: Monthly precipitation was 3.58 inches, just 0.04 inches above normal. Rain was frequent through mid month, then sparse later on.
Temperatures were near normal the first two weeks, then mostly above normal. The July average of 78.6 degrees was 0.8 degrees above normal. Eighteen days were above 90 degrees. - June: It was the eighth wettest June on record, with a monthly precipitation total of 8.59 inches, 5.08 inches above normal.
Average temperature was 72.9 degrees, 0.2 degrees above normal. No unusual extremes. Three days were above 90.
In fact, weather wise, August 2008 was an unremarkable month.
“No records set during the month,” according to Lincoln’s climate summary by the National Weather Service.
Temperature wise, the summer was a tiny bit warmer than normal, based on average temperatures for each of the past three months.
So why did five people, in a very unscientific survey Monday morning, believe that the summer of 2008 was cooler than normal?
Probably because we did not have a string of sweltering triple digit days.
It was 102 degrees on Aug. 3, the hottest day of the year and the only day this summer to reach egg-frying-on-concrete temperatures, according to the August weather summary for Lincoln.
Last year there were three 100-plus days: July 17 and 18, and August 13.
And in 2006 the temperature hit 100 or higher 10 times in Lincoln, according to David Eastlack, meteorologist for the National Weather Service Office in Omaha.
Kids’ snowsuits are showing up on store shelves. We’re leaning into the season of rakes, crooked-neck gourds, and long sleeves.
So what kind of weather will the fall bring?
Likely cooler than normal temperatures in September, according to the National Weather Service extended forecast for this area.
And rain? Well, that’s anyone’s guess.
Chances are equal for above normal precipitation and for below normal precipitation, said Eastlack, reading from the official extended forecast.
“That means they don’t have a clue,” he said.
Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.
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weather man wrote on September 2, 2008 12:24 am: