...AUGUST 2012 MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY...

August 2012 was a near normal month for both temperatures and precipitation for the most part. There were no top 10 warmest, coolest, driest or wettest months set at the four major climate sites. For the year...2012 is still on pace as the warmest year on record at all sites. The lead has slipped a bit for Jonesboro, Tupelo and Jackson. 2012 continues to be one of the driest years on record across the majority of the mid-south with the exception of Northeast Mississippi. Here is the climate data that tells the story:

TEMPERATURE DATA:

                              MEMPHIS   JACKSON   JONESBORO   TUPELO

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE (AUGUST):   82.7      78.5       80.4      79.3

NORMAL AVG. TEMP (AUGUST):      82.0      78.6       79.8      80.8

DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL (AUGUST):  0.7      -0.1        0.6      -1.5

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE (YEAR):     69.2      65.6       67.2      67.8

NORMAL AVG. TEMP (YEAR):        65.0      61.8       62.1      64.3

DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL (YEAR):    4.2       3.8        5.1       3.5

PRECIPITATION DATA:

                              MEMPHIS   JACKSON   JONESBORO   TUPELO

TOTAL PRECIPITATION (AUGUST):   2.64      2.18       3.82      3.14

NORMAL PRECIPITATION (AUGUST):  2.88      3.00       2.54      3.45

DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL (AUGUST):-0.24     -0.82       1.28     -0.31

TOTAL PRECIPITATION (YEAR):    19.58     25.15      19.42     30.75

NORMAL PRECIPITATION (YEAR):   35.38     35.87      31.11     36.47

DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL (YEAR): -15.80    -10.72     -11.69     -5.72

THE FOLLOWING TABLES SHOW THE RANK, AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, YEAR OF OCCURRENCE AND ITS DEPARTURE

FROM THE 1981-2010 SET OF NORMALS.

TOP 10 WARMEST YEARS THROUGH AUGUST 31:

MEMPHIS                             JACKSON

RNK     AVG     YR      DEP         RNK     AVG     YR      DEP

1       69.2    2012    4.2         1       65.6    2012    3.8

2       67.3    2006    2.3         2       65.1    1954    3.3

3       67.2    2007    2.2         3       65.0    1952    3.2

4       66.9    2005    1.9         3       65.0    1953    3.2

5       66.7    1921    1.7         5       64.2    1990    2.4

5       66.7    1999    1.7         6       64.0    1991    2.2

5       66.7    2000    1.7         7       63.9    1949    2.1

5       66.7    1998    1.7         7       63.9    1998    2.1

9       66.6    1981    1.6         9       63.7    1995    1.9

10      66.5    1925    1.5         10      63.6    2007    1.8

JONESBORO                           TUPELO

RNK     AVG     YR      DEP         RNK     AVG     YR      DEP

1       67.2    2012    5.1         1       67.8    2012    3.5

2       67.1    1921    5.0         2       67.6    1938    3.3

3       66.6    1901    4.5         3       67.4    2006    3.1

4       66.0    1925    3.9         4       66.8    1949    2.5

5       65.9    1932    3.8         5       66.7    1953    2.4

6       65.9    1954    3.8         6       66.5    1944    2.2

7       65.0    1998    2.9         7       66.4    1932    2.1

8       64.9    1943    2.8         8       66.3    1954    2.0

8       64.9    1986    2.8         8       66.3    1991    2.0

10      64.5    2006    2.4         10      66.2    1990    1.9

THE FOLLOWING TABLES SHOW THE RANK, PRECIPITATION, YEAR OF OCCURRENCE AND ITS DEPARTURE

FROM THE 1981-2010 SET OF NORMALS.

TOP 10 DRIEST YEARS THROUGH AUGUST 31:

MEMPHIS                             JACKSON

RNK     PRE     YR      DEP         RNK     PRE     YR      DEP

1       19.25   1936    -16.13      1       15.97   2007    -19.90

2       19.40   1925    -15.98      2       24.60   1958    -11.27

3       19.58   2012    -15.80      3       25.15   2012    -10.72

4       20.06   1934    -15.24      4       25.70   1987    -10.17

5       20.36   1931    -15.02      5       25.93   1986    -9.94

6       21.21   2007    -14.17      6       26.04   1969    -9.83

7       21.22   1941    -14.16      7       27.24   1985    -8.63

8       21.50   1901    -13.88      8       27.46   1985    -8.41

9       22.25   1986    -13.13      9       27.90   1977    -7.97

10      22.27   1896    -13.11      10      28.41   1988    -7.46

JONESBORO                           TUPELO

RNK     PRE     YR      DEP         RNK     PRE     YR      DEP

1       17.76   1941    -13.35      1       18.28   1988    -18.19

2       19.19   1980    -11.92      2       19.77   1943    -16.70

3       19.42   2012    -11.69      3       23.21   1986    -13.26

4       19.60   1943    -11.51      4       23.35   1941    -13.12

5       20.05   1925    -11.06      5       24.05   1942    -12.42

6       21.23   1901    -9.88       6       24.21   2007    -12.26

7       21.57   1996    -9.54       7       24.79   1958    -11.68

8       21.66   1977    -9.45       8       25.68   1987    -10.79

9       21.87   2010    -9.24       9       27.01   1954    -9.46

10      23.06   1963    -8.05       10      27.05   2006    -9.42

Significant Weather Events:

For August 2012...the drought continued to be the main story across the region. Exceptional drought conditions continued across northwestern portions of the Mid-South. Any crops that are not irrigated are suffering and producing no to low yield. Drought conditions have improved somewhat at the end of August and early September with the heavier rains received from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac. Another big story was the very low river levels of the Mississippi River. Portions of the river were closed to the south of Memphis due to the low river levels and exposed sandbars. With the rains from Isaac across our area and the Ohio River Valley, the Mississippi River should come up a nudge over the next couple of weeks.

There were only a few days with some severe weather for the month. On August 13th, a wind gust of 60 mph and a report of quarter size hail were received in Obion and Lake Counties. There was also golfball size hail reported in Panola County on August 13th. Other than that, there were a few days with strong to potentially severe thunderstorms but no reports of hail or damage were received.

Climate Outlook:

The Climate Prediction Center, or CPC, continues to predict warmer than normal temperatures through the month of September in the one month outlook. The CPC has also forecast the warmer than normal temperatures to continue for the Mid-South in the 3 month temperature outlook for September, October and November. The precipitation is forecast to have equal chances of above or below normal rainfall over the month of September. The precipitation is still forecast as having equal chances of above or below normal amounts over the next 3 months for most of the region. North Mississippi is forecast to have above normal precipitation in the 3 month outlook. This forecast is likely a result of the forecast of oncoming El Nino conditions in the Pacific Ocean, which typically leads to wetter than normal conditions across the Mid-South.

According to the latest Drought Monitor, Northeastern Mississippi has been classified as abnormally dry to moderate drought by the Drought Monitor. North-Central Mississippi and Southwestern Tennessee have been classified as in a severe drought. Northwestern Mississippi, Eastern Arkansas and Western Tennessee along the Mississippi River...including the Memphis Metro Area, have been classified as in an extreme drought. Finally...Northeastern Arkansas, the Missouri Bootheel and extreme Northwestern Tennessee have been classified as in an exceptional drought. Recent rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac will help with the drought conditions across much of the area.

RRH