June can pretty well be summed up with two words: hot and dry. Average daily high and low temperatures as well as monthly mean temperature were all significantly above average and rainfall was about half of normal. The average daily high for June was 87.9, 3.6 degrees above normal. The average overnight low was 67.5, which was 5.1 degrees above normal. This gave us a monthly mean temperature for June of 77.7, 4.3 degrees above normal. While significantly above normal it didn’t come close to being record setting. The hottest June on record was in 1953 when we had a monthly mean temperature of 83 degrees! Recently, 2016 and 2018 have been hotter. &nbsp;The warmest temperature for June was 93 degrees on the 25th and 26th. The coolest temperature for the month was 56 on the morning of the 10th. There was one temperature record set in June. The overnight low of 75 on the 6th broke the old record high low temperature of 72 set in 1963. As a measure of heat stress we often look at overnight low temperatures. Anytime we have overnight lows that stay above 70 degrees we can start to see plant growth issues. While average overnight low temperatures for June are in the 60s, we had 12 nights during June when the lows were 70 or above. While the temperatures were above normal for the month they weren’t brutally hot. However, with temperatures being above normal AND below normal rainfall, we start to get concerned about potential drought building into the area. The U.S. Drought Monitor, while showing Geary County not yet officially in a drought, does show drought creeping closer with roughly 60% of the state currently in some level of drought. June is technically our wettest month with 4.8 inches of rain being normal. In June Milford Lake recorded 2.64 inches of rain and Junction City receiving 2.2 inches. Were it not for a very wet May, we’d be seeing a lot more moisture stress in our lawns and crops. Year to date Milford Lake has received 17.75 inches and Junction City 15.17 inches. Normal through the end of June is 16.65 inches. July is the hottest month of the year. Evaluating long term data we find that our hottest day of the year, with over 70 years of data, is July 18th. Average daily highs during July essentially run from 90 to 92 degrees without much change through the month. Average overnight lows basically run 67 to 68 degrees. July also starts to show a decline in rainfall with average precipitation of 4.07 inches. July brings us our best chance of seeing daytime highs of 100 or more. Long term averages show that we would expect four days during July with triple digit readings.&nbsp;

Extension Agent Chuck Otte provides the June weather summary for Geary County