Mike Wilhelm's Alabama Weather Blog

---

Bamawx.com

August 2007

Monthly Weather Summary

MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES FOR HUNTSVILLE AND MUSCLE SHOALS
SET RECORDS FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST. IN FACT...AUGUST 2007
RANKS AS THE HOTTEST MONTH ON RECORD SINCE TEMPERATURE RECORDS
BEGAN AT EACH STATION...1907 AT HUNTSVILLE...AND 1893 AT MUSCLE
SHOALS. IN ADDITION...NUMEROUS DAILY RECORDS WERE ALSO TIED OR
BROKEN AT EACH STATION. AN UNUSUALLY STRONG AND PERSISTENT RIDGE
OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILT INTO THE SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES DURING
THE MONTH...EFFECTIVELY STEERING MOST WEATHER SYSTEMS AWAY FROM
THE TENNESSEE VALLEY...AND HELPING TEMPERATURES TO WARM
SIGNIFICANTLY. FOLLOWING ARE TEMPERATURE STATISTICS FOR THE
MONTH OF AUGUST FOR BOTH CLIMATE LOCATIONS.

- THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR AUGUST 2007 AT HUNTSVILLE
WAS 85.7 DEGREES...WHICH WAS 7.1 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AUGUST
TEMPERATURE OF 78.6 DEGREES BASED ON A 1971-2000 CLIMATOLOGY. THIS
WAS 3.26 STANDARD DEVIATIONS FROM THE NORMAL AUGUST TEMPERATURE FOR
THE SAME CLIMATOLOGICAL PERIOD. THIS NOW RANKS AS THE WARMEST AUGUST
ON RECORD...SHATTERING THE OLD RECORD OF 82.8 DEGREES SET IN 2006
AND 1954. IN ADDITION...THIS RANKS AS THE WARMEST CALENDAR MONTH ON
RECORD FOR HUNTSVILLE...BREAKING THE OLD RECORD OF 83.9 DEGREES SET
IN JULY 1930. RECORD DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE SET ON 8
DAYS...INCLUDING THE 10TH, 12TH, 13TH, 14TH, 15TH, 16TH, 22ND, AND
23RD. THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 98.2 DEGREES
AND THE AVERAGE LOW WAS 73.3 DEGREES, WHICH ALSO SET RECORDS FOR THE
MONTH OF AUGUST. THE COOLEST AUGUST ON RECORD WAS IN 1967...WITH AN
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 73.8 DEGREES.

- THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR AUGUST 2007 AT MUSCLE SHOALS
WAS 85.5 DEGREES...WHICH WAS 6.4 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AUGUST
TEMPERATURE OF 79.1 DEGREES BASED ON A 1971-2000 CLIMATOLOGY. THIS
NOW RANKS AS THE WARMEST AUGUST ON RECORD...BREAKING THE OLD RECORD
OF 84.2 DEGREES SET IN 1954. IN ADDITION...THIS RANKS AS THE WARMEST
CALENDAR MONTH ON RECORD FOR MUSCLE SHOALS...ECLIPSING THE OLD
RECORD OF 85.4 DEGREES SET IN JULY 1980. RECORD DAILY HIGH
TEMPERATURES WERE SET ON 9 DAYS...INCLUDING THE 10TH, 12TH, 13TH,
14TH, 15TH, 16TH, 22ND, 23RD, AND 24TH. THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE
FOR THE MONTH WAS 98.6 DEGREES, AND THE AVERAGE LOW WAS 72.4
DEGREES, WHICH ALSO SET RECORDS FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST. THE COOLEST
AUGUST ON RECORD WAS IN 1967...WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 74.1
DEGREES.

PRECIPITATION IN AUGUST FELL EXCLUSIVELY IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE
MONTH...AS THE PERSISTENT RIDGE BROKE DOWN BRIEFLY A FEW TIMES.
INTERESTINGLY...PRECIPITATION ENDED AT NEAR NORMAL VALUES FOR BOTH
LOCATIONS FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST. FOLLOWING ARE PRECIPITATION
STATISTICS FOR BOTH CLIMATE LOCATIONS.

- NO MEASURABLE RAINFALL OCCURRED AT HUNTSVILLE FOR THE FIRST 16
DAYS OF THE MONTH...ONLY THE FOURTH TIME ON RECORD THAT HAS
HAPPENED...AND THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1918. A COUPLE OF HEAVY RAIN
EVENTS LATE IN THE MONTH PUSHED THE TOTAL AT HUNTSVILLE
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO 3.11 INCHES...WHICH WAS JUST 0.21 INCHES
BELOW NORMAL...AND TIES FOR THE 49TH DRIEST ON RECORD DATING BACK TO
1894. SOME PORTIONS OF THE HUNTSVILLE METRO RECEIVED MORE THAN EIGHT
INCHES OF RAIN IN AUGUST...BUT THE HEAVIEST RAIN MISSED THE AIRPORT.

- IN MUSCLE SHOALS...NO RAIN...NOT EVEN A TRACE...FELL THROUGH
AUGUST 15TH. THIS WAS ONLY THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS OCCURRED. THE
OTHER OCCURRENCE WAS IN 1918. A TRACE FELL IN THE FIRST HALF OF
AUGUST IN 1900 AND 1981. A COUPLE OF HEAVIER RAIN EVENTS DURING THE
SECOND HALF OF THE MONTH BROUGHT THE FINAL TOTAL TO 3.26
INCHES...WHICH WAS 0.30 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL...AND IS THE 48TH DRIEST
ON RECORD DATING BACK TO 1893. THIS WAS THE SECOND MONTH IN A ROW IN
THE SHOALS WITH ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL.