The wet weather in June, shifted to much drier conditions in July. The exception was southwest and south central Kansas. These divisions saw much needed drought relief. The South Central Division had the greatest departure from normal, with an average of 4.53 inches, which was 131 percent of normal. The Southwestern Division averaged 3.16 inches, which was 113 percent of normal. In contrast, the East Central division averaged 1.29 inches. The statewide average precipitation was 2.24 inches. That placed July 2014 as the13th driest since 1896.
The statewide average temperature for the month was cooler than normal, at 75.5 degrees F, or 3.2 degrees cooler than normal. As in June, the range of temperatures was quite wide. The warmest reading reported was 109 degrees F on July 7 at Great Bend. The coolest reading was 40 degrees on the 17th at Pratt. No new daily maximum temperature records were established, although 8 records were tied. There were 186 record low maximum temperatures recorded. On the cold side of temperatures, there were 6 new daily high minimum temperature records set, and 102 record low minimum readings set.
With the lack of rainfall, it isn’t surprising that severe weather was not as extensive as in June. There were no tornadoes reported, and only 26 hail reports with 74 wind damage reports. This total of 100 severe storm reports was much less than June’s total of 814 severe weather events.
Drought conditions persist across the state, but there was significant improvement in western Kansas, as would be expected with the above-average precipitation and cooler-than-normal temperatures. Only a tiny sliver of extreme northeast Kansas is in near normal conditions. However, the area of extreme drought has been reduced, particularly in central and south central Kansas. There was a small increase in extreme drought in extreme southwest Kansas, where rainfall was more limited. Less than 10 percent of the state is in extreme drought, and an additional 24 percent is in severe drought. The cooler temperatures in July moderated the negative impact of the lack of moisture.
The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is expected to switch to an El Niño event by late summer, but it remains to be seen what impact will be felt. The August temperature outlook is for cooler-than-normal temperatures across most of Kansas, with the southern counties likely to have near-normal temperatures. The precipitation outlook is for above normal from the northwest through the southeast, and neutral for north central and northeast Kansas. This does not indicate how that moisture might be distributed, and means heavy rains or extended dry periods are both possible.
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Table 1 |
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July 2014 |
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Kansas Climate Division Summary |
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Precipitation (inches) |
Temperature (oF) |
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July 2014 |
2014 Jan through July |
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Monthly Extremes |
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Division |
Total |
Dep. 1 |
% Normal |
Total |
Dep. 1 |
% Normal |
Ave |
Dep. 1 |
Max |
Min |
|
Northwest |
1.31 |
-2.18 |
37 |
10.28 |
-3.88 |
72 |
74.9 |
-1.9 |
107 |
45 |
|
West Central |
2.04 |
-1.40 |
63 |
12.55 |
-1.14 |
90 |
75.5 |
-1.9 |
106 |
51 |
|
Southwest |
3.17 |
0.40 |
116 |
11.59 |
-1.14 |
89 |
76.7 |
-2.1 |
107 |
53 |
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|
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North Central |
1.31 |
-2.80 |
32 |
12.73 |
-5.28 |
70 |
76.0 |
-3.0 |
108 |
48 |
|
Central |
1.55 |
-2.39 |
39 |
15.20 |
-3.71 |
80 |
76.8 |
-3.1 |
107 |
47 |
|
South Central |
4.54 |
1.01 |
131 |
17.27 |
-2.76 |
86 |
75.8 |
-4.6 |
104 |
40 |
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Northeast |
2.04 |
-2.34 |
45 |
15.88 |
-5.89 |
73 |
74.3 |
-3.6 |
104 |
48 |
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East Central |
1.29 |
-3.01 |
29 |
15.53 |
-7.98 |
65 |
74.7 |
-3.7 |
103 |
48 |
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Southeast |
1.85 |
-2.22 |
46 |
16.82 |
-8.85 |
65 |
74.8 |
-4.6 |
102 |
49 |
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STATE |
2.24 |
-1.49 |
64 |
14.26 |
-4.41 |
77 |
75.5 |
-3.2 |
108 |
40 |
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1. Departure from 1981-2010 normal value |
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Source: KSU Weather Data Library |
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Mary Knapp, Weather Data Library
mknapp@ksu.edu
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