Star Date 22 August 2016 Monday

Captain's Log
Happy Monday! :)

THIS WEEK (22-28 AUG): Finally RELIEF from the oppressive heat and humidity from the Midwest to the Northeast. The next few days will feel awesome with much cooler conditions but all good things come to an end. For the U.S. overall this last week of August looks to trend the 8th coolest and 4th driest of the past 25+ years. Looks like we'll get our 7th named tropical system of the season this week (Gaston) which could become a major hurricane. Fortunately it appears to remain a fish storm (doesn't impact land) passing well East of Bermuda.

2week outlook

NEXT WEEK (29 AUG - 4 SEP): Temperatures begin to rebound with the nation trending 5th warmest and 7th wettest of the past 25 years as we head into September. The tropics bear watching as computer models have been showing a much more active pattern, even showing systems off Florida. Way too early to say exactly where a system will flare up but we're entering the period historically where activity ramps up quickly with higher risk for land falling systems in the U.S.

summer summary to date

Summer-to-date Summary. U.S. is still trending top 1 or 2 hottest Summer in 121 years with rainfall driest in 4 years (see charts above). It's been feast or famine all year with long stretches of dry weather followed by bouts of extreme rainfall in short order for some. The Northeast, Southeast, parts of the Central Plains and West remain the hardest hit areas for dry conditions while the Gulf Coast, Kentuckyand parts of the Upper Midwest have way too much water. West Kentucky is approaching record wet levels.

90 day rainfall

Every state in the country has Summer temperatures trending above average - a rare event for so much of the country to be trending on the warm side. The Northeast, Southeast and Southwest arehaving the3rd hottest Summer on record; North Central the hottest in 4 years and 5th hottest of the past 25 years; South Central is 5th hottest in 25 years and the Northwest coolest in 4 years. The U.S. overall is tied for a top 1 or 2 hottest Summer in 121 years for the nation as a whole.

summer temps

We hope you have a great week folks! - Capt Kirk out.