Some strong thunderstorms Tuesday evening produced heavy rainfall across NW Ohio.  Afterwards, there were some rainbows across the Toledo area.  Many of our viewers sent in pictures to our SEE, SNAP, SEND web page.  You can see all the pics (and some video) at www.pics.wtol.com

You can send in your pictures and video to us at pics@wtol.com

 The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center has released its outlook for August.

It features below normal temps and near normal precipitation.

As we look at some computer models going out a couple of weeks, we do not see any significant change in the recent pattern.  We will have some warm days, but occasionally see cooler than normal highs. 

The outlook does not imply there will not be any hot weather in August….it just means that when we average everything out at the end of the month, the result will be below normal.

Normal highs during the month of August go from 83° to 78° from the 1st to the 31st, and lows range from 63° to 58°.

Highs this last week of July will top out in the low/mid 80s.  Normal high is 83°, so this is actually what July should be doing. 

This month will still be in the top coolest Julys thanks to the majority of the month having below normal temperatures.  As of Monday morning, we rank # 2…but the warmer temps will knock that down a bit this week.

One positive aspect of the cooler than normal temps has been a reduction in air conditioning use.  This month has produced only one-third the normal level of cooling needed in a typical July.

As mentioned before, it has been pretty dry lately, and the rain yesterday into today is making up that deficit.

Rainfall yesterday was steadier east of Interstate 75.  Rainfall amounts via our StormTrack 11 Doppler show rainfall totals 0.25″ or less in many areas west of I-75.   Areas towards the Indiana border had less than 0.1″ of rainfall.

Locations east of I-75 picked up around 0.50″ to 1.00″.  Some isolated spots received between 1.00″ and 1.50″.

Additional rainfall will add a bit to the totals today.  We are tracking another system for Saturday.

July ends next Friday, and as of now, no major warm-ups are in sight.

Our extended computer models which go out through next week show signs of the current pattern repeating in a similar fashion.  Temps look to be near or slightly below normal…so the chance of any 90° weather before August 1 looks slim.

Normal high this time of year is around 84°.

During this point of the summer, we need about 1.00″ to 1.25″ of rain each week.   Thanks to the summer sun and evaporation, that is how much the soil loses each week.  We need that amount of rain to balance things out and keep everything green.

July so far has had only 1.40″ of rain, which is 0.37″ below normal.

Our yearly total is 22.88″, which is 4.50″ above normal.  A lot of this surplus was gained earlier in the year, and that surplus was a bit higher a few months ago.

If you take all of the highs and lows of the month, add them all up, and then take the average….you get the “average monthly temperature”.

Here are the top 5 coolest Julys on record (since 1871):

1. 68.0  –  1891
2. 68.5  –  1965
3. 69.0  –  1971
4. 69.1  –  1967
5. 69.6  –  1962

As of late yesterday, our monthly average temp so far is 67.7 degrees.  That makes it the coolest July ever on record.  There are a few more weeks of the month to go, but unless we see a prolonged period of warmer temps, this month will most likely end up somewhere in the top 5.