Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Weather columnist Kevin Myatt: Data confirm a chilly July in the eastern U.S.
Kevin Myatt is The Roanoke Times' weather columnist.
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Statewide average temperatures for July vividly display the unusually chilly weather pattern that covered much of the northern and eastern U.S.
According to the National Climatic Data Center, July 2009 was the coldest July on record in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, dating to 1895.
It was among the 12 coldest on record in Virginia and 19 other states, stretching from North Dakota to Alabama, and Arkansas to Maine.
Among the contiguous 48 states, 35 states had below-normal temperatures in July. Florida was the only state east of the Mississippi that had above-normal temperatures for the month.
West of the Mississippi, it was among the 12 warmest on record in Arizona, New Mexico and Washington.
A stubborn and prevailing pattern of strong high pressure in the West and a deep southerly dipping jet stream in the East, forced southward by high pressure over Greenland blocking its typical west-to-east flow, was the cause of both the heat in the West and unusual summer chill in the East.
That pattern has unraveled some since the end of July, and hotter weather has moved into some of the areas that were cool. Expect a much different August temperature map.
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