ZCZC ARBCLMDTW
CXUS53 KDTX 041919
CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY FOR DETROIT AUGUST/SUMMER 2001...REPEAT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI         
300 PM EDT TUE SEP 4 2001 

...HOT WEATHER EARLY IN THE MONTH LEADS TO 15TH WARMEST AUGUST...
...SOME HEAVY RAINS HELP ALLEVIATE EXTREMELY DRY CONDITIONS...

AUGUST BLAZED IN WITH HEAT AND HUMIDITY ACROSS SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN.
IN FACT...THE HOTTEST PERIOD OF THE SUMMER WAS ENDURED BY ALL FROM 
5TH-9TH WHEN TEMPERATURES PUSHED WELL INTO THE NINETIES. THE PEAK OF 
THE HEAT CAME ON THE 8TH WHEN A SWELTERING 99 DEGREE READING SCORCHED 
THE LANDSCAPE. THAT 99 DEGREE READING BROKE THE OLD RECORD OF 97 SET 
BACK IN 1941. THE AVERAGE HIGH OF JUST UNDER 95 DEGREES FROM THE 5TH 
THROUGH THE 9TH WAS ABOUT 13 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS 13 DEGREE 
DEPARTURE MAY SEEM EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE IF ONE CONSIDERS THAT EARLY 
AUGUST IS...CLIMATOLOGY SPEAKING...NORMALLY NEAR THE PEAK OF THE 
SUMMER HEAT /THE THIRD WEEK OF JULY IS WHEN OUR NORMAL HIGHS PEAK/. 
ALSO...EVEN AFTER THE SECOND WEEK...THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE STILL 
HELD CLOSE TO A HOT 90 DEGREES /89/. 

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 74.1 DEGREES /+3.6 ABOVE NORMAL/ PLACED
THIS AUGUST IN 15TH SPOT FOR WARMEST AUGUST SINCE 1870. THIS PAST
AUGUST WAS THE WARMEST AUGUST SEEN SINCE THE "HOT" AUGUST OF 1995 
WHICH IS IN FIRST PLACE WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 77.1.

THE HOT WEATHER ONLY AGGRAVATED THE DRY CONDITIONS ALREADY IN PLACE 
ACROSS SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN. HOWEVER...THE DRY PATTERN THAT PRETTY 
MUCH BEGAN LATE JUNE DID IN FACT...BEGIN TO ERODE LATE JULY INTO THE 
FIRST HALF OF AUGUST AS CONVECTIVE PRECIPITATION MADE ITS WAY INTO THE 
METRO DETROIT AREA. THEN AFTER MID MONTH...A FEW CONVECTIVE EPISODES 
CONTAINING HEAVY TO VERY HEAVY RAIN PRETTY MUCH HELPED TO ELIMINATE...
AT LEAST IN MOST AREAS...THE EXCESSIVE DRY CONDITIONS AND REJUVENATE 
THE STRESSED VEGETATION. ONE SUCH EVENT WAS BROUGHT ABOUT BY A SLOW 
MOVING LOW PRESSURE AND ATTENDING FRONTS. THE SYSTEM MEANDERED ACROSS 
THE REGION OVER THE WEEKEND OF THE 18TH-19TH AND BROUGHT SCATTERED
SEVERE WEATHER ALONG WITH SOME VERY HEAVY RAINS TO THE AREA. STRONG
OR SEVERE STORMS WERE REPORTED IN MONROE...WAYNE AND OAKLAND COUNTIES.
HEAVIER RAINFALL REPORTS INCLUDE....1.73 IN WALLED LK...1.71 IN
W BLOOMFIELD...1.65 IN CLINTON TWP...1.40 IN PORT HURON...1.25 IN 
NORTH LIVONIA AND 1.10 IN SHELBY TWP.  

INTERESTINGLY...EVEN WITH THE FAIRLY WIDESPREAD MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN
ON THE 18-19TH (INCLUDING 1.25 AT METRO AIRPORT)...RAINFALL FOR THE 
ENTIRE MONTH STILL MANAGED TO COME IN BELOW NORMAL WITH ONLY 2.92 OF 
THE NORMAL 3.49 FALLING AT METRO. HOWEVER...AND LIKE MANY TIMES IN THE 
PAST...HIGHER AMOUNTS OF RAIN WERE OBSERVED AT SEVERAL OTHER LOCATIONS. 

...SUMMER OF 2001...WARM AND DRY...THE OPPOSITE OF LAST SUMMER...
...A COOL AND WET START...HEATS UP AND DRIES OUT MID-LATE SUMMER...

A MORE AMPLIFIED THAN USUAL AND GENERALLY PROGRESSIVE JET STREAM LEAD 
TO SOME INTERESTING VARIANCES IN OUR SUMMER WEATHER ACROSS SOUTHEAST 
LOWER MICHIGAN. THE SUMMER OPENED ON A RELATIVELY COOL AND WET NOTE 
WITH MEMORIAL WEEKEND'S COOL SNAP STICKING AROUND RIGHT THROUGH 
THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE. ANOTHER WET BUT MUCH WARMER PERIOD DEVELOPED 
MID JUNE WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES RISING FROM THE 60S EARLY MONTH...
TO THE 80S AND 90S BY MID MONTH. DURING THIS TIME...SEVERE WEATHER 
REMAINED ACTIVE WITH THE REGULAR CLASH OF OPPOSING AIRMASSES. HOWEVER...
BY LATE JUNE...A DEFINITE PATTERN CHANGE EVOLVED THAT WOULD DOMINATE 
THE REGION THROUGH AT LEAST INTO EARLY AUGUST. 

OUR GENERALLY PROGRESSIVE PATTERN STALLED AS AN UPPER-LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE 
RIDGE BECAME A SEMI-PERMANENT FEATURE OVER THE EASTERN LAKES. THE RIDGE 
ONLY OCCASIONALLY GAVEWAY AND ALLOWED THE INTRUSION OF SOME REFRESHINGLY 
COOL CANADIAN AIRMASSES. IN FACT...AS THE FOURTH OF JULY APPROACHED...A 
RECORD LOW WAS SET WITH A 46 DEGREE READING ON THE 2ND. INTERESTINGLY...
A RECORD LOW HAD NOT BEEN REGISTERED AT DETROIT IN JULY FOR 17 YEARS /1984/. 
WITH THE RIDGE DOMINATING...SEVERE WEATHER AND RAINFALL WERE KEPT LARGELY 
AT BAY WHICH RESULTED IN JULY BEING THE 11TH DRIEST ON RECORD WITH ONLY 
JUST OVER AN INCH /1.16/ OF RAIN FALLING.  THE 1.16 INCHES DOES NOT TELL 
THE WHOLE STORY BECAUSE UP THROUGH THE 29TH...ONLY .32 HAD FALLEN WHICH 
BEAT THE DRIEST JULY ON RECORD BY .18 /.50 BEING THE DRIEST JULY/. A 
RENEGADE THUNDERSTORM WITH HEAVY RAIN ON THE 29TH DOUSED THAT DRIEST JULY 
POTENTIAL. SLOWLY THE RAINFALL EVENTS PICKED UP IN FREQUENCY THROUGH 
AUGUST BUT THE HEAVIER RAINS CAME MID-LATE MONTH. INSULT ADDED TO INJURY 
EARLY IN AUGUST AS THE ALREADY DRY LANDSCAPE WAS BAKED FURTHER UNDER 
SEVERAL /6/ 90 OR BETTER DEGREE DAYS. THE SUMMER AS A WHOLE SAW A TOTAL 
OF 13 90 OR BETTER DEGREE DAYS. THIS IS IN-LINE WITH THE NORMAL FOR A 
SUMMER WHICH IS 12. HOWEVER...IT IS STILL POSSIBLE SOME 90 DEGREE DAYS 
MAY SURFACE IN SEPTEMBER...SO THE TOTAL OF 13 IS PRELIMINARY. THE 
MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 99 IN AUGUST/SUMMER OCCURRED ON AUGUST 8TH. 
THE LAST TIME THE TEMPERATURE FLIRTED WITH THE CENTURY MARK WAS BACK IN 
OUR HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD /1995/...WHEN THE TEMPERATURE HIT 100 ON 
JULY 14TH. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE SUMMER CAME IN AT 72.4...
WHICH IS 2.2 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 70.2. WHILE THIS SUMMER WAS
WARM...IT DID NOT PLACE IN THE 20 TOP WARMEST SUMMERS. IT DID COME
CLOSE TO 20TH PLACE...HOWEVER...WHICH IS 72.5. LAST SUMMER THE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE AT METRO AIRPORT WAS ON THE NORMAL OF 70.2 (BUT MOST AREAS
AWAY FROM DETROIT WERE NOTABLY COOLER).

TOTAL RAINFALL FOR THE SUMMER AT 7.49 WAS NEARLY THREE INCHES /-2.73/ 
BELOW NORMAL. THIS SUMMER'S TOTAL WAS CERTAINLY A FAR CRY FROM LAST 
SUMMER'S WHICH CAME IN AT 14.96 OR A WHOPPING 7.47 HIGHER...SO BASICALLY 
DOUBLE THIS SUMMER'S! THIS REALLY SHOULD NOT COME AS ANY SURPRISE TO THE 
FARMER OR GARDENER IN SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN. THOUGH THIS SUMMER
WAS DRY...IT DID NOT MAKE THE LIST OF THE 20 DRIEST SUMMERS ON RECORD.
THE 20TH DRIEST SUMMER IN DETROIT STANDS AT 6.39 INCHES.
.....................................................................

AUGUST -
 
...TEMPERATURES...                   ...PRECIPITATION...
AVERAGE MAXIMUM ........... 83.7     MONTHLY TOTAL ........... 2.92           
AVERAGE MINIMUM ........... 64.5     DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.... -.51                  
AVERAGE MONTHLY ........... 74.1     GREATEST IN 24HRS/DATES.. 1.25             
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL .....+ 3.6                 ON THE 18TH                               
HIGHEST.......99 ON THE 8TH          2001 TOTAL...............18.89   
LOWEST........57 ON THE 14/15TH/21ST DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL....-3.25 

...HEATING DEGREE DAYS...            ...NUMBER OF DAYS WITH... 
MONTHLY TOTAL..............  0       0.01 OR MORE PRECIPITATION.. 15
MONTHLY DEPARTURE..........-16       0.10 OR MORE PRECIPITATION..  7
2000-2001 SEASON SO FAR.... 54       0.50 OR MORE PRECIPITATION..  1  
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL...... -7       1.00 OR MORE PRECIPITATION..  1
 
...COOLING DEGREE DAYS...            ...SNOWFALL...
MONTHLY TOTAL.......... 290          MONTHLY TOTAL..............    0
MONTHLY DEPARTURE......+104          MONTHLY DEPARTURE...........   0
2001 SEASON SO FAR..... 801          2001-2002 SEASON TOTAL...... 0.0
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL..+230          DEPARTURE FROM AVERAGE...... 0.0
                                     (SEASON AVERAGE)............41.2
PEAK GUST - SOUTHWEST-30 MPH/16TH                                     
                                  
.....................................................................

AUGUST 2001 CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY FOR: 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE...WHITE LAKE MI.

...TEMPERATURE DATA...           ...PRECIPITATION DATA...
AVERAGE MAXIMUM.... 82.1         MONTHLY TOTAL .......... 2.10        
AVERAGE MINIMUM.... 58.8         GREATEST IN 24HRS.......  .80      
MONTHLY AVERAGE.... 70.5                        ON THE 18-19TH                                                                                                 
                                 2001 TOTAL SO FAR...... 19.15  

...HEATING DEGREE DAYS...        ...SNOWFALL DATA...
MONTHLY TOTAL............  5     MONTHLY TOTAL............   0    
2001-2002 SEASON TOTAL... 36     2001-2002 SEASON TOTAL...   0

...COOLING DEGREE DAYS...
MONTHLY TOTAL...........  182
2001 SEASON SO FAR......  328 

DEEDLER

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