Contents of This Report:

• Divisional, Statewide & Regional Temperatures
• Divisional, Statewide & Regional Precipitation
• Regional Time Series
• Other Notable Weather events

The satellite image to the left shows smoke and heat signatures from the Florence and Sour Biscuit fires in Oregon on August 6th. By the end of July, around 363,000 acres had burned in Oregon alone in 2002.

Temperature Analysis

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July 2002 temperatures were above normal for much of the contiguous U.S. with the south being the regional exception. Much above average temperatures were evident in 16 states, of which one state, Utah, ranked record warmest July in the 108 years of reliable data. A time series shows July temperatures for Utah, which for the last 5 Julys have averaged warmer than the long-term mean. The trend since the record cold July of 1993 has clearly been steeply positive. Since the beginning of 2001, Utah monthly mean temperatures have averaged below the long-term mean in only 3 months (February and March 2002 and December 2001).

A map of average temperatures for July broken down by climate division shows that much of the mean statewide warmth in Utah is concentrated in a band of record divisional temperatures in the north and west portion of the state. Similarly in Nevada, the northwestern division with record temperatures contributed to that state's rank of second warmest July in the 108-year record. Divisions in central Texas had temperatures much below normal leading to below average statewide temperature for the month. A time series of Texas, division 3 (the division which encompasses the Dallas, Fort Worth metropolitan area) shows that July temperatures have considerable year-to-year variability, though July 2002 was the coolest July since the mid-1970s. Divisions in much of the remainder of the South were mostly near-average.

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July temperatures in the West North Central region were much above the long term mean (second warmest in the 1895-2002 record). This contributed to a general trend of increasing July temperatures since the early 1990s for the West North Central region. Temperature time series for all regions can be found in the table below.

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Precipitation Analysis

Nationwide, July precipitation was near average, ranking 53rd driest July in the last 108 years. However, there was much regional variability in conditions across the country. Drought conditions continued to worsen in areas of the country such as Colorado and Nebraska, though July also saw a return to dry conditions in the Northeast where several climate divisions were the driest on record for the month of July (see divisional precipitation map). The last 7 months have been driest on record for the states of Colorado, Utah and Arizona. A complete drought analysis for the nation is available on NCDC's drought pages.

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In contrast, July 2002 was significantly wetter than average for the South region. This is the first July in 5 years that precipitation has been greater than the long-term mean, and much of the monthly wetness is due to a storm early in the month which came ashore in coastal Texas. Precipitation time series for all regions can be found in the table below.

The growing season runs from March through September for the Primary corn and soybean belt. Preliminary data indicate that precipitation was near average for the 5th month of the growing season. This is the 8th year in which July precipitation has been near average for this region. The season-to-date has been slightly wetter than average during 2002.

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Regional Temperature and Precipitation Time Series

Other Notable Weather Events - July

Questions?

For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services Division:

Climate Services Division NOAA/National Climatic Data Center 151 Patton Avenue Asheville, NC 28801-5001 fax: 828-271-4876 phone: 828-271-4800 email: questions@ncdc.noaa.gov

For further information on the historical climate perspective presented in this report, contact:

Catherine Godfrey NOAA/National Climatic Data Center 151 Patton Avenue Asheville, NC 28801-5001 fax: 828-271-4328 email: Catherine.S.Godfrey@noaa.gov

Jay Lawrimore NOAA/National Climatic Data Center 151 Patton Avenue Asheville, NC 28801-5001 fax: 828-271-4328 email: Jay.Lawrimore@noaa.gov

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