Near Normal Temperatures for July

July temperatures averaged close to normal for nearly all of the Midwest. Average temperatures were within 2°F of normal for all but the northwestern third of Minnesota, it was 2 to 4°F above normal (Figure 1). The region averaged 72.8°F which was exactly normal. Statewide temperatures were 2.1°F above normal in Minnesota, 0.1°F above normal for Wisconsin and slightly below normal for the other seven Midwest states. Average maximum temperatures were 3-4°F above normal for Minnesota, but near normal to as much as 5°F below normal for the rest of the Midwest (Figure 2). Most of the daily records were record low maximum temperatures (just over 300, mostly from the 8th to the 13th) and record high minimum temperatures (just under 100, mostly during the first and last week of July).

Variable Precipitation across the Midwest

July precipitation varied considerably across the Midwest (Figure 3). Totals ranged from less than 1.00 inches in northwestern Minnesota to areas with more than 6.00 inches in portions of each of the other eight states in the region. The totals ranged from less than 25 percent of normal in northwestern Minnesota to more than 200 percent of normal in southern Illinois and northern Michigan (Figure 4). Regionwide precipitation was 4.34 inches which was 0.24 inches above normal (Figure 5). Statewide totals were below normal in Minnesota (45 percent) and Iowa (96 percent). The other seven states were above normal with amounts ranging from 108 percent of normal in Wisconsin to 135 percent of normal in Ohio. There were more than 400 daily high precipitation records in July with the 15th to the 17th each having over 40 records set.

July 2021 was the second driest month on record for Minnesota (Figure 6). One of the driest locations in July was Redwood Falls, Minnesota receiving just 0.17 inches while Cedar Rapids, Iowa (0.79 inches), St. Cloud, Minnesota (0.83 inches), and Minneapolis, Minnesota (0.87 inches) also received under 1.00 inches for the month. Sioux City and Cedar Rapids, both in Iowa, had just a trace of precipitation from July 17th to the end of the month and a dozen stations across six states had less than 0.20 inches over that 15-day period. Five stations in Minnesota, with periods of record of at least 50 years, set new monthly records for the least July precipitation in their histories.

Slight Drought Improvements in the Drought Monitor

The area of the Midwest affected by drought shrunk slightly in July, from 30.9 to 27.3 percent. However, the areas in severe and extreme drought increased during the month. Extreme drought increased from 0.2 percent to 3.7 percent, and severe drought went from 7.0 to 16.7 percent (Figure 7). At the beginning of the month there was extreme drought along the Wisconsin-Illinois border near Lake Michigan. That area eased to severe drought in July, but Minnesota went from mostly moderate drought with a little severe drought to mostly severe drought with some large areas of extreme drought. At the end of the month, 75 percent of the state was in severe drought or worse, including 22 percent of the state in extreme drought.

Active Severe Weather Month

Severe weather was reported on 25 of 31 days in July across the Midwest with all nine states impacted (Figure 8). Reports were in double digits on 16 days and reached triple digits on three days. The busiest day of the month was on the 28th with more than 200 reports, over half of which came from Wisconsin. Tornadoes were reported on nine days in July with the peak coming from Iowa on the 14th (Figure 9). That day in Iowa saw at least two dozen tornadoes across the state, including an EF3 tornado in Calhoun County and an EF2 in Bremer and Butler counties. Iowa also had the busiest day for hail on the 9th (Figure 10), including a handful of reports of baseball-sized hail. Of the region’s hail reports (180), nearly half occurred on the 9th (79), with well over half of that day’s reports coming from Iowa (52).

Western Wildfires Impact Visibility in Midwest

Smoke from the western wildfires impacted the Midwest. Especially in the western and northern parts of the region, smoke was visible and hazy conditions were common due to the smoke. Sunsets were redder than normal on numerous occasions in the region due to enhanced scattering of the sunlight due to airborne smoke. Fox 19 located in Cincinnati wrote a story here.