After a period of hot and humid weather where heat indices reached triple digits in some locations, we welcome cooler than normal temperatures for the next several days. It is still summer, though, so sweaters, mittens, and scarves will not be necessary! There were a few temperature records broken over the August 5-6, 2024, period, but surprisingly none otherwise across Indiana. What a nice reminder that we are usually hot and humid this time of year! In fact, the July 2024 average daily temperature (as well as the average daily maximum and minimum temperatures) were very close to normal. Does this mean global climate change is not real? Absolutely not! The key word there is “global” and while the average temperatures for the month were near normal, the variability and extremes illustrate how much the atmosphere has been agitated.
Which brings us to precipitation. July’s precipitation was well above normal across much of Indiana except for a few areas (Figure 1). Overall, this seemed to be beneficial for both agricultural production and statewide water supplies. The timing seemed good, too, with rainfall events happening every few days. Unfortunately, several of those events were particularly heavy at times that led to flooded areas, but impacts were predominantly minimal.
Figure 1. July 2024 precipitation presented as the percentage of normal (1991-2020 base period).
Because of these often-timely rainfall events, Indiana remains clear of any drought with only few area still classified as Abnormally Dry (D0) by the U.S. Drought Monitor (Figure 2). Unfortunately, the precipitation forecast for the next 7 days (Figure 3) is predicting very little moisture. With cooler temperatures forecasted over this time, evapotranspiration rates should remain lower, but drought development should be monitored closely. Extended climate outlooks (August 15-21, 2024) are favoring above-normal temperatures with near-normal precipitation amounts. Assuming this outlook is correct, any short-term dryness over the next week should hopefully not lead to serious impacts for long.
Figure 2. U.S. Drought Monitor status for conditions as of Tuesday, August 7, 2024.
Figure 3. Accumulated precipitation forecast for August 8-15, 2024.