July 2017 Climate Summary: Temperatures were mostly 1 to 2 degrees above normal while precipitation was generally below normal across a good portion of the region. The main exception was across southwest Indiana and part of southern Illinois closer to the I-64 corridor. Near to above normal rainfall fell across much of White and Hamilton Counties in Illinois into southwest Indiana. The highest observed rainfall total was in Pike County Indiana at the Stendal COOP Station where 10.49” occurred. Many locations only picked up 1.5 to 3 inches for the month, which is roughly 1 to 2 inches below normal for July. As is typically the case in the warmer months, thunderstorms cause rainfall to be distributed very unevenly. A clear example of this is in Pike County Indiana where a station observed only 2.13” in the northern part of the county compared to the 10.49” in Stendal in the southeast part of the county. There were also locations where there are no reporting stations, but radar estimates showed fairly heavy amounts occurred. An example of this is in northeast Hamilton County and western White Counties in Illinois where radar estimates showed monthly totals anywhere from 6 to 8 inches, but there is no observation station in that area to measure it. This is a prime example of why we need as many observers as possible in every county to measure precipitation.
As for temperatures, there weren’t really any prolonged cool stretches, which is typical in July in our region. We experienced the coolest temperatures during the last 3 days of the month when some lows dipped into the mid to upper 50s. The hottest stretch was from July 19th through 22nd when temperatures reached the mid to upper 90s with heat index readings from 100 to 110 common, with some higher readings up near 115, particularly on July 21st. Most of the region was under an Excessive Heat Warning during that time. Paducah, KY observed high temperatures of 89 degrees or warmer for 22 straight days from July 7th through July 28th. July 2017 also marks the 14th consecutive month with temperatures at or above normal in Paducah and Evansville.
| July 2017 Review: Precipitation and Temperature Maps (Click on image to enlarge) |
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| Climate Maps are from the Northeast Regional Climate Center |
The graphic below is an interpolated rainfall map using actual observations. Please note that there are likely discrepancies in between observations, since the values are estimated based on nearest reports. Due to the convective nature of rainfall in the summer, amounts are more likely to vary over shorter distances, compared to the cooler months.
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