By Chuck Otte
Geary County Extension Agent ( Ret. )
The month of July gave us above average temperatures, and slightly below average precipitation. With the talk of a developing El Niño, we always grow concerned as to what that means for eastern Kansas, especially with rainfall, or lack thereof. There’s a lot of El Niño to go, but so far, so good!
The average daily high for July was 89.4, three tenths of a degree below average. However, the average overnight low was 71.4, 2.9 degrees above normal. This gave us a monthly mean temperature of 80.4, 1.3 degrees above average. While not a great deal above average, it was still the eleventh straight month of above average temperatures. Since January 2000 there have only been two longer streaks of consecutive months above average. June 2021 through October 2022 saw 17 consecutive months above average and September 2004 through August 2006 had 24 consecutive months above average. In the last 35 years, 2005 was the only year where every month experienced above average temperatures. The highest temperature for July was the 100 degree afternoon on July 20th. The coldest temperature was the morning low of 65 on the 23rd. Over the last 30 years, July has averaged 16 days with temperatures of 90 or above. Fortunately we only had 13 days in July with temperatures of 90 or above. There was one temperature record set in July. The overnight low of 80 on the 27th broke the old record high low temperature for that date of 79 set in 1956. The hottest July was in 1954 with a sweltering monthly mean temperature of 87.0 degrees. July 1954 had 19 days of highs of 100 or more, including three consecutive days when it reached 114. The coolest July on record is jointly held by 1950 and 1967 with a cool monthly mean temperature of 73.8 degrees.
The area received 3.77 inches of rain during July, slightly below the long term average of 4.14 inches. The first ten days of the month and the last ten days saw the area receive timely rain, with the middle third of the month exhibiting concerningly dry weather. Because of the exceedingly wet month of June we are still well above year to date average precipitation. Long term average January to July is 21.10 inches. We have received 25.04 inches year to date. The driest July on record was in 1983 when 0.04 inches of rainfall was barely enough to disturb the dust in the rain gauges. Contrary to commonly held belief, the wettest July was NOT 1951, but one year earlier in 1950 when 13.65 inches of rain deluged the area. 1951 is actually the third wettest July with 12.43 inches and 1948 the second wettest with 12.99 inches.
August very slowly starts to cool down and is normally expected to be just slightly wetter than July. Average daily highs in August start the month at 89 degrees and by the end of the month are down to 87. Average overnight lows range from 68 on the 1st to 65 on the 31st. Amount of daylight will be decreasing by over 2 minutes per day through most of the month. Daylight by the end of the month will be over one hour less than at the start of the month. Long term average rainfall for August is 4.55 inches, which is just slightly more than July’s.