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This article
says that this July 2009 will be the hotest
July we ever had in Phoenix!
No way! We have not had one single 122°F (50°C) day (which is the record for Phoenix)! Hell we didn't even have one single 118°F (48°C) day (which was the old record for Phoenix)! On the other hand we did have a couple of days where the low was above 90°F (32°C). Those don't happen very often! A couple days with the low over 90°F? Make it 9 days with the low over 90°F!!!!
Valley's record heat July '09 shaping up to be warmest month ever in Phoenix area by John Faherty - Jul. 29, 2009 12:00 AM The Arizona Republic July 2009 will go into the history books as the hottest month the Valley has ever seen. The National Weather Service looked at all the data for this July, then added the forecast temperatures for the last few days of the month. The news was grim. The average temperature for July will be 98.2 degrees. That includes the morning lows and afternoon highs. The previous record was 97.6, set in July 2003. This July will also set the record for the highest average minimum temperatures for the month. The average low will likely be 87.1 degrees. The average high temperature is expected to be 109.4, the third highest on record. The reasons for the heat are complicated, but much of the trouble stems from a lack of moisture. No moisture means less cloud cover and fewer thunderstorms to cool things off. Relief - a relative term - is on the way. Today's high is expected to reach only about 108 degrees. "That might feel, almost, a little bit pleasant," said Leslie Wanek of the Weather Service. So enjoy.
July hottest month ever in Valley Mike Branom, Tribune July 30, 2009 - 3:49PM Tim Hacker, Tribune July 2009 will be the Valley's all-time hottest month. Think about that: For all the baking summers since the start of weather record-keeping here more than 110 years ago, the thermometer's mercury has never risen higher than during these 31 days. The raw numbers are staggering: Nine nights when the temperature didn't fall below 90 degrees; 15 days with highs at 110 and hotter. And almost no rain (0.40 inches - less than half of normal) to cool things down. Typically in July, the highs are around 107 with the lows falling to 83. Gary Woodall, the new meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service's Phoenix office, comes from Texas, so he knows a little about summer heat. But what he's hearing from his crew is these extreme temperatures are more often seen in the early summer. "Out of sync," Woodall said of a calendar that says July with conditions screaming June. "It's too damn hot and hotter than hell," said Los Angeles transplant Kevin August, who's been living in Mesa for two years. August uses a wheelchair and says it's tough to get around in the heat. "You can tell it's hotter than last summer," he said. "I just drink more water and stay out of the heat as much as I can." Jim Greenway of Mesa, who has lived in Arizona for 30 years, said: "I'm just used to it, I guess. I don't necessarily like it, but it doesn't bother me. I hate the winter weather." What's happening in the Valley is just one part of a pattern creating abnormal weather across the nation. High pressure is dominating the West Coast, setting records from the Sonoran Desert to the Pacific Northwest. On Wednesday, the Seattle area reached triple-digit temperatures, almost unheard of there. Portland, Ore., is approaching its all-time marks for consecutive 90-degree days and hottest month ever. Meanwhile, back East, low pressure has parked over the Great Lakes, ushering in cool Canadian air from the north. Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis and Milwaukee all are enjoying remarkably pleasant Julys. But the hand of man also has played a role in the Valley's roasting. The effect known as the urban heat island - where buildings and roads trap the day's warmth and only grudgingly releases it at night - is responsible for July's overnight lows rising since the 1890s nearly a degree a decade. Is there any relief on the horizon? According to the Weather Service's forecast, no. High pressure is expected to build back up over the region, and by next Monday the Valley may again be under an excessive heat warning. |