Update on the Heat and Drought

Just last week I posted some stats on the hottest and driest Augusts on record in the Triangle. With the extreme heat of the past week and the dry conditions, we are still on track for 2007 to make the record books as one of the driest Augusts on record. With a some scattered showers and storms a couple of afternoons over the airport, this will not be the driest August. Rainfall for this month now stands at 0.85". The driest August ever was in 1950 when RDU only recorded 0.81". 2007 could still easily make the top 5 driest Augusts unless we see a few scattered storms over the next couple of afternoons. Luckily, that is a possibility. We won't see any drought busting rains but scattered late day storms are possible Sunday and for the first of the work week.

This year will top the list for the hottest August on record. As of yesterday, the monthly average temperature at RDU was 84.6. The hottest August at RDU before this year was in 1995 when the monthly average temperature was 80.6.