Midwest Weekly Highlights - August 1-10, 2014

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A Cool Start to August

The first ten days of August were cooler than average across most of the Midwest (Figure 1). Portions of the region were as much as 4°F to 5°F cooler than normal, predominantly across southeast Iowa stretching through eastern Kentucky, while parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota saw near normal temperatures. The Midwest has now seen below average temperatures since the beginning of July. 

Below Normal Precipitation across Upper Midwest

As much as 3” to 5” of rain fell across portions of north-central Missouri, while very little to no rain fell across the northern part of the Midwest (Figure 2). Minnesota stretching through Ohio saw below average precipitation to start the month (Figure 3). Missouri’s significant rainfall totals were anywhere from 2” to 3.5” above normal.

Drought conditions remain minimal across the Midwest, with moderate drought (D2) only in western Kentucky and western Missouri (Figure 4). The lack of rain in northeast Wisconsin into the upper Michigan Peninsula has allowed abnormally dry conditions to develop in this area. Cool temperatures across the northern part of the region have prevented any widespread drought from occurring.

Minimal Severe Weather

Severe weather was minimal across the Midwest during the first ten days of August, including no tornado reports in the region (Figure 5). Hail was reported four of the ten days with the majority of the reports coming on August 1st across Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Golf ball sized hail was reported in White Cloud, MI (Newaygo County) on August 1st. The rest of the region saw only isolated wind and hail reports during the first part of August. Every state except Indiana had at least one severe weather report.

-ETS-