June 2019
Monthly Overview - June 2019
Heaviest Precipitation Shifts to the Southeast
June 2019 precipitation was below normal in the northwestern half of the region and above normal in the eastern and southern reaches of the Midwest. Departures from normal ranged from more than 2" below normal in Upper Michigan to more than 6" above normal in central Kentucky
(Figure 1). Some areas in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Upper Michigan had less than 75% of normal with some areas in Upper Michigan at less than 50% of normal. Totals in the southern and eastern areas of the region had more than 150% of normal rainfall with areas in southern Indiana, central Kentucky, and northeastern Ohio exceeding twice their normal rainfall (Figure 2). The rains in Kentucky were in areas where dryness had begun to emerge prior to June while rains in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan fell where wetness had been an ongoing problem coming into the month. The drier than normal condition in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin were mostly welcome after very wet conditions to begin the year. Daily precipitation records in the Midwest numbered just under 400 with the records scattered relatively evenly across the region
(Figure 3).
Normal Temperatures
Temperatures in the Midwest for June averaged out to near or slightly below normal (Figure 4). Statewide temperatures in the region ranged from 0.1°F below normal in Minnesota to 1.7°F below normal in Michigan. The month began with warm temperatures, followed by a couple weeks of cool temperatures mid-month and then very warm temperatures in the last week of June. There were fewer than 100 daily record highs in June
(Figure 5) and about 350 daily record lows (Figure 6), mostly record low maximum temperatures. Both record lows and record highs were scattered across the region.
Lack of Drought Extends to Six Months
The Midwest remained completely free of drought through June. This marked the six-month point of the streak (27 straight weeks as of July 2, 2019) which began at the beginning of 2019. The current streak is easily the longest such streak for the Midwest since the inception of the US Drought Monitor in 2000. There was some dryness in Kentucky and northern Minnesota as June began
(Figure 7) but generous rains in Kentucky led to the removal of all abnormally dry regions in that state during the month. The areas of northern Minnesota noted as abnormally dry expanded slightly in June (Figure 8).
Flooding Eases but Continues
The long-lived flooding of major Midwest rivers continued in June, however river levels were generally falling throughout the month. Moderate flooding remained in some locations on the Missouri, Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, and Wabash rivers. Minor flooding continued at many locations in the southern half of the region
(Figure 9).
Severe Weather
Severe weather affected locations across the region in June with over 1900 reports (Figure 10). Severe weather was reported on 29 of 30 days in June somewhere in the region with nine days topping 100 reports and another ten days topping 10 reports. The majority of the reports (1455) were for high winds associated with strong thunderstorms. More than 360 hail reports included a couple dozen with reports of hail 2" or more in diameter. 74 reports of tornadoes in the Midwest were spread across eight states sparing only Michigan. Two fatalities (in Kentucky and Illinois) were attributed to falling trees and two injuries were reported in Iowa when wind destroyed a mobile home.
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