The Atlantic Coast Observer Network - Virginia/North Carolina/South Carolina
http://members.cox.net/wxr/acon.htm

SUMMARY OF CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA 


JULY 2009


...MOST STATIONS IN THE 3-STATE REGION REPORT
BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES - FOR SOME, JULY IS COOLER THAN JUNE!
MANY STATIONS REPORT BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL
SUMMER THUNDERSTORMS PROVIDE SEVERAL STATIONS WITH EXCESS RAINFALL...
  • NORTH CAROLINA WEATHER REVIEWS DISCONTINUED   Word from the NWS RAH Webmaster ... the monthly Weather Reviews summaries have been discontinued.


  • CLEAN UP TIME! (from the CoCoRaHS website)   Good advice for all of us: "CLEAN UP TIME! Is your rain gauge inner-cylinder starting to look a little grungy these days? It's that time of year! For most of us dirt will eventually build up on the bottom of your standard NWS rain gauge inner-cylinder. In humid climates, algae growth can also be a bother. If you want to keep your gauge clean and looking like new, put some warm water with a little gentle liquid hand soap in the tube and let it soak for a few minutes. Then twist a thin soft towel and spin it into the cylinder until it reaches the bottom. This will wipe out most of the dirt. It is not recommended to use a firm bottle brush to clean the gauge, nor is using your automatic dishwasher (This will gradually scuff and haze the inside of the gauge). Another method is to take a newspaper, role it to make a tight cylinder, and then rotate the paper on the inside of the tube all the way to the bottom. It will usually clean out the dirt. If you have other great solutions for keeping your gauge clean and looking like new, send them to: info@cocorahs.org with a subject line “Clean Gauge”."


  • HURRICANES and the MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES    Rick Swartz is the author of Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic States, the first book-length reference that examines this region's surprisingly violent hurricane history. For more information on Rick Swartz' Past Hurricanes Underscore the Risk to the Middle Atlantic States visit http://www.midatlantichurricanes.com/.


  • CoCoRaHS AND PRISM    From the CoCoRaHS website comes this info: "We would like to make you aware of our recent collaboration with PRISM (Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model). PRISM is a climate information mapping research group at Oregon State University. For nearly 20 years this group has been learning how to more accurately map elements of our climate -- such as precipitation and temperature -- in challenging environments such as mountains, coastal areas and everything in between. If you have a moment to check out some of their scientific handiwork, including maps of monthly precipitation for recent months or maps of climate averages, check out their website at by clicking here: http://prism.oregonstate.edu/. Christopher Daly, the director of the PRISM Climate Group, has extended an unusual "special offer" to our CoCoRaHS observers. The more data that are available, the better they can make maps. They have created a new "Tool" where you type in your location (latitude and longitude). The PRISM model then provides a best estimate of the average monthly temperatures and precipitation for your area. It even provides an estimate of the history of precipitation for your area (based on surrounding official weather stations operated for the past century). Please keep in mind that the results are not actual data for your community but estimates made by a computer model. When you have some time give it a try. Here are the instructions: Go to http://prism.oregonstate.edu/ and click the "Data Explorer" link in the "What's New" section or the "Internet Map Server" link under quicklinks. You will be presented with a map which you can use to zoom-in/navigate to the area of interest. Note that clicking on the map will update the Lat/Lon coordinates in the table. Alternately you can manually enter the coordinates. Clicking on the "TimeSeries" button will return a table of values for the given cell and years. Clicking on the "Normals" button will return a table of TMAX, TMIN, and Precip values for the selected grid cell.


  • DROUGHT MONITOR    http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html    More information on drought can be found at NOAA's Drought Information Center http://www.drought.noaa.gov/

  • REMINDER All National Weather Service station data listed herein is preliminary and may be subject to change.  The data has not been certified and cannot be used in legal actions.  Only reports certified by the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC can be used for these purposes.

    • ACON VA/NC/SC Member Station Extremes - JULY 2009
    State
    Maximum Temperature
    Minimum
    Temperature
    Warmest
    Average
    Temperature
    Coldest
    Average
    Temperature
    Maximum
    Precipitation
    Minimum
    Precipitation
    Virginia
    97°
    Richmond
    48°
    New Market
    78.1°
    Norfolk (FHC)
    Portsmouth
    68.4°
    Blacksburg
    8.82"
    Wallops Island
    1.07"
    Arlington
    North Carolina
    99°
    Raleigh (RDU)
    54°
    Asheville
    80.5°
    Fayetteville
    70.8°
    Asheville
    9.69"
    Wilmington
    0.96"
    Fayetteville
    South Carolina
    100°
    Columbia
    59°
    Anderson
    80.9°
    Charleston
    78.0°
    Anderson
    8.16"
    Charleston
    0.73"
    Anderson


    ( For an explanation of column headers in the following tables,
    please note the column denotations table below. )

    TEMPERATURE / WINDS/ ELEMENTS

    VIRGINIA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
    
     STN  A      B    C     C1     D    E  F    G    H  I  J K K1  L  M      N   N1   N2   O P Q R R1 R2   S   CWA
     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     BCB 78.2  58.6  68.4   -2.7  85   28  50   19   0  0  0 0 82% 24 260°   1   3.4       8 0 0 0  3     2400 AKQ
     BRI 80.5  60.8  70.7   -3.13 88   28  52   19   1  0  0 0 65%                         0 0 0 0  0     0510/1600 LWX
     CEN 82.9  64.4  73.7   -1.4  92   16  58   19   1  0  0 0 64% 30 315°  25   1.4  315° 2 0 0 0  1     2400 LWX
     CHT 84.8  64.8  74.5   -1.9  94.0 16  57.3 19   2  0  0 0 72% 17 158°  31   0.4  180° 2 0 0 0  0     2400 LWX
     CHO 82.8  62.2  72.5         92   16  53   19   1  0  0 0     30 140°  22   3.4       1 0 0 0  5     2400 LWX
     DAN 87.0  64.9  76.0   -2.8  94   26  56    4   9  0  0 0 70% 43 030°  12   4.0       9 0 0 0  1     2400 RNK
     DCA 85.8  68.0  76.9   -2.3  96   16  62   19   7  0  0 0 61% 38 310°  31   7.6       3 0 0 0  0     2400 LWX
     IAD 85.5  64.3  74.9   -0.8  95   16  53   14   4  0  0 0 64% 36 310°  31   5.5       2 0 0 0  1     2400 LWX
     FCH 86.7  65.9  76.3         93   28  62 17-18 11  0  0 0                             4 0 0 0  1     2400 LWX
     GAV 86.65 67.48 77.06  +0.7  94   26  59    3   8  0  0 0 69% 31 248°  31            10 0 0 0  0     2400 AKQ
     HAM 85    69    77           94   26  59   11   8  0  0 0 50% 43 270°  12   7.0       5 0 0 0  0     2400 AKQ
     HDV 84.4  63.7  74.0   -2.7  94   16  54   14   1  0  0 0 69%                         2 0 0 0  0     2400 LWX
     LDY 84.4  66.8  74.9   -2.6  90   16  59   15   3  0  0 0 60%                         9 0 0 0  0     2400 AKQ
     LYH 83.5  61.6  72.6   -2.5  91 16,25 52   19   3  0  0 0 72% 36 230°  28   3.5       7 0 0 0  1     2400 RNK
     NEW 81.48 59.93 70.70  -1    91   16  48   14   1  0  0 0 67% 26 180°  24  21.38 180° 4        6     1700 LWX
     NPN 88.5  67.8  77.3   -1.7  96.4 26  58.7 11  12  0  0 0     34 270°  31   3.4  248° 8 0 0 0  0     2400 AKQ
     NOR 86.3  68.7  77.5   -1.5  94 26,31 59   11  10  0  0 0                             3 0 0 0  0     2400 AKQ
     ORF 85.8  69.3  77.6   -1.5  95   26  60   11   9  0  0 0 69% 54 230°  29   7.8       6 0 0 0  0     2400 AKQ
     FHC 86.62 69.48 78.10  -0.9  96.1 16  63.9 11  10  0  0 0 76% 32 160°  31   2.0  203°                2400 AKQ
                                                                   32 203°  31
     POR 87.4  68.7  78.1   -1.7  95   26  59   11  11  0  0 0 80% 48 203°  12   3.1  150° 4 1 0 0  0     2400 AKQ
     CTR 85.1  64.8  74.1   -3.8  94.3 26  55.3 19   5  0  0 0 78% 17 225°  31   0.1  178° 4 0 0 0  0     2400 AKQ
     MEC 86.66 65.77 76.52        95   26  59  3,15  3  0  0 0                             7 0 0 0  0     1700 AKQ
     RIC 87.4  66.6  77.0   -0.9  97   26  61 15,19  9  0  0 0 66% 40 270°  26   6.1       7 1 0 0  1     2400 AKQ
     ROA 82.6  64.0  73.3   -2.9  91   16  56   19   1  0  0 0 66% 30 290°   1   5.1       7 0 0 0  0     2400 AKQ
     WAL 83.7  67.8  75.8   -0.8  91 12,31 57   11   3  0  0 0     52 220°  27   8.0       2 0 0 0  2     2400 AKQ
     WOO 76.9  62.4  69.7   -4.8  86   17  56    6   0  0  0 0                             6 0 0 0  3     2400 LWX
     WSH 82.9  61.1  72.0   -3.67 93.9 16  55.8 14   2  0  0 0 72% 23 240°  20   0.6  340° 5 0 0 0  0     2400 LWX
    NORTH CAROLINA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]     
        
     STN  A      B    C     C1    D    E  F      G  H  I  J K K1  L  M     N    N1   N2  O P Q R R1 R2  S    CWA
     -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     AVL 80.3  61.3  70.8  -2.2  86    12 54     4  0  0  0 0 74% 31 320°  1    4.5      6 0 0 0  7     2400 GSP
     MRH 84.0  72.7  78.4        87  3,31 61    11  0  0  0 0     38 240°  6    9.5      6 0 0 0  1     2400 MHX
     CLT 87.4  66.5  77.0  -3.3  95    26 57     4  8  0  0 0 67% 39 100° 30    5.7      1 0 0 0  1     2400 GSP
     ECG 85.8  69.3  77.6  -2.2  93     1 58    11  6  0  0 0 69% 54 280° 17    7.5     12 0 0 0  6     2400 AKQ
     FAY 91.4  69.5  80.5        98  1,26 62    10 21  0  0 0 65% 43 270° 31    6.9      8 0 0 0  7     2400 RAH
     GSO 86.0  67.1  76.6  -1.3  94    26 61   3,4  7  0  0 0 64% 36 320° 17    6.3     12 0 0 0  1     2400 RAH
                                                                  36 230° 31
     HSE 83.7  72.6  78.2  -1.0  88     8 60     8  0  0  0 0 78% 45 220° 24    8.7      0 0 0 0  0     2400 MHX
     HKY 85.0  65.7  75.4  -2.3  92    26 59   3,4  5  0  0 0     46 310° 17    3.6      6 0 0 0  2     2400 GSP
     LBT 89.3  69.4  79.4  +0.2  96     1 61     4 15  0  0 0 72% 44 270° 27    5.0     12 0 0 0  5     2400 ILM
     EWN 87.1  68.5  77.8  -2.5  94     1 59    11  8  0  0 0 74% 67 090° 19    5.3      7 0 0 0  1     2400 MHX
     RDU 90.5  68.6  79.5  +0.7  99    26 60     4 20  0  0 0 64% 40 090° 25    5.9     15 0 0 0  1     2400 RAH
                                                                  40 240°  9                                                 
     RAL 87.0  65.2  76.1  -2.7  93  1,26 57    15  9  0  0 0     25      20            4+ 0 0 0  0     2400 RAH
     ROX 86.4  65.3  76.0  +0.4  96    26 59   3,4  9  0  0 0 70% 33 360° 31        180° 7 0 0 0  2     2400 RAH
     ILM 88.1  71.0  79.5  -1.6  96     1 63  4,10 14  0  0 0 71% 31 250°  6    6.5      8 0 0 0  2     2400 ILM
                                                                  31 210° 17
                                                                  31 240° 30
    SOUTH CAROLINA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]     
       
     STN  A      B    C     C1    D    E  F      G  H  I  J K K1  L  M     N   N1   N2   O P Q R R1 R2  S    CWA
     -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     AND 88.6  67.4  78.0  -1.7  95    26 59 19,20 12  0  0 0     39 260° 12   5.1      10 0 0 0  0     2400 GSP
     CAE 91.8  69.8  80.8  -1.2 100     1 62  4,19 22  0  0 0 65% 49 260° 31   5.2      10 0 0 0  2     2400 CAE
     CRE 86.3  72.0  79.1  -0.3  91     1 63     4  2  0  0 0 75% 45 030° 24   8.6       9 0 0 0  0     2400 ILM
     CHS 89.8  72.0  80.9  -0.8  96     1 67   8,9 20  0  0 0     39 220°  6   7.1       9 0 0 0  3     2400 CHS
     FLO 90.0  69.5  79.8  -1.4  96     1 63     4 15  0  0 0 72% 43 230° 29   5.7       6 0 0 0  6     2400 ILM
     GSP 88.6  68.2  78.4  -0.4  96    26 63   1,2 12  0  0 0 64% 33 280° 17   5.4      10 0 0 0  1     2400 GSP
     OGB 90.6  68.9  79.7        99     1 61     4 20  0  0 0     48 260° 30   4.9      10 0 0 0  2     2400 CAE
    NEARBY STATIONS
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]     
       
     STN  A      B    C     C1    D     E  F     G  H  I  J K K1  L  M     N   N1   N2   O P Q R R1 R2  S    CWA
     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     TRI 81.8  60.8  71.3  -2.9   87    25 51    3  0  0  0 0     43 300° 25   3.5        10 0 0  0  4  2400 MRX
     DAV              61   -6     77    26 42   14  0  0  0 0                                           0700 PBZ

    (Please note the column denotations table below.)
    PRECIPITATION / BAROMETRIC PRESSURE

    VIRGINIA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
       
     STN  T      T1     U  U1   V    V1   W X   Y      Z  1   2 3    4    5     6   6A   7    7A    8    S
     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     BCB  6.44  +2.73 1.38 17 1.38    17 16 2 33.16  0.0  0   0 0  0.0 19.1                             2400
     BRI  2.96  -1.07 0.73 22 0.82 22-23 10 0 21.10  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  9.5  30.30  11 29.70   1        0510/1600
     CEN  2.22  -1.35 1.10 23 1.10    23  7 1 27.23  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  8.7  30.31  10 29.65   1 29.98  2400
     CHT  1.70  -1.87 0.82 23 0.82    23  9 0 29.03  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  7.1  30.314 10 29.647  1 29.647 2400
     CHO  2.43        0.63 29 0.63    29 12 0 20.95                                    29.65   1        2400
     DAN  3.57  -0.87 1.34 20 1.34    20 13 1 25.76  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  4.5  30.29  10 29.62   1        2400
     DCA  1.07  -2.59 0.56 23 0.56    23  9 0 24.20  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  7.5            29.65   1        2400
     IAD  2.18  -1.39 1.48 23 1.48    23  8 1 28.42  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  5.5            29.65   1        2400
     FCH  2.20        1.75 23 1.75    23  6 1 27.51  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  9.5                             2400
     GAV  4.51  +0.16 1.17 17 1.19 16-17 11 1 24.32  0.0  0   0 0  0.0 11.6  30.31  10 29.63   1 29.95  2400
     HAM  1.81        0.88 17 0.88    17 18 0 17.85  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  0.0  30.30     29.63     29.97  2400
     HDV  2.74  -0.81 1.64 23            12 1 28.38  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  8.5  30.26  10 29.60   1        2400
     LDY  1.89  -2.06 0.42 16 0.63 16-17 10 0 17.65  0.0  0   0 0  0.3 10.4  30.32  10 29.65   1 29.96  2400
     LYH  3.09  -1.30 0.73 20 0.76 28-29 11 0 24.31  0.0  0   0 0  0.0 11.2  30.32  10 29.63   1        2400
     NEW  5.33  +2    0.86 18,21                     0.0  0   0 0  0.0  9.8  30.56 10- 29.94   1        1700
                                                                                    11  
     NPN  3.12  -1.74 1.09 12 1.09    12 11 1 26.37  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  2.0  30.30  10 29.62   1        2400
     NOR  2.65  -2.51 0.79 29 0.79    29 12 0 27.17  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  0.5                             2400
     ORF  2.47  -2.70 1.09 12 1.10 12-13 11 1 23.28  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  0.5  30.29  10 29.62   1        2400
     FHC  2.60  -2.57 0.85 17 0.85    17 11 0 25.90  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  0.5  30.274 10 29.605  1 29.940 2400
     POR  3.07  -2.30 1.21 17 1.23 17-18 11 1 27.97  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  0.7  30.28  10 29.61   1 29.943 2400
     CTR  2.69  -1.77 0.61 17 0.61    17 13 0 23.24  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  8.5  30.29  10 29.61   1 29.937 2400
     MEC  4.24        1.28 27 1.35 26-27 12 1 22.16  0.0  0   0 0  0.0 10.6  30.06  10 29.53  17 29.74  0700
     RIC  3.39  -1.28 0.78 27 0.86 26-27 11 0 18.98  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  6.6  30.33  10 29.65   1        2400
     ROA  5.84  +1.84 1.48 20 1.50 22-23 12 3 27.86  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  4.0  30.32  10 29.73  17        2400
     WAL  8.82  +5.26 5.91 27 6.49 26-27  9 2 19.87  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  7.9  30.31  10 29.62   1        2400
     WOO  3.59  +0.55         0.69 25-26 16 0 23.30  0.0  0   0 0  0.0  9.6  30.48  10 29.98   1        0800
     WSH  3.37  -0.82 0.82 20 0.82    20 16 0 27.17  0.0  0   0 0  0.0 10.2  30.38  10 29.75   1        2400
    NORTH CAROLINA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
       
     STN  T      T1     U  U1   V    V1   W X   Y      Z    1 2 3   4    5     6    6A   7    7A    8     S
     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     AVL  2.88  -0.99 0.68 22 0.68    22 14 0 30.35   0.0   0 0 0  0.0  4.7  30.28  10 29.70   1         2400
     MRH  2.93        1.28 13 1.28    13  9 2 21.01   0.0   0 0 0  0.0    T  30.28  11 29.67   1         2400
     CLT  4.69  +0.90 1.82  9 1.82     9 12 2 29.14   0.0   0 0 0  0.0  4.0  30.27  10 29.65   1         2400
     ECG  8.00  +3.05 2.60 17 3.18   5-6 12 4 24.82   0.0   0 0 0  0.0  0.8  30.29  10 29.63   1         2400
     FAY  0.96        0.49 31 0.49    31  3 0 15.29                                    29.70  17         2400
     GSO  1.11  -3.33 0.32 11 0.32    11 10 0 22.14   0.0   0 0 0  0.0  6.9            29.70  17         2400
     HSE  3.22  -1.73 0.60 23 0.91 22-23 14 0 21.26   0.0   0 0 0  0.0  2.3  30.27  11 29.66   1         2400
     HKY  2.94  -1.23 0.98  6 0.99   5-6 13 0 26.05   0.0   0 0 0  0.0   T   30.25  10 29.63   1         2400
     LBT  3.89  -1.72 1.54  6 1.54     6 11 1 16.20                          30.27  11 29.66   1         2400
     EWN  3.66  -3.16 1.50 17 1.50    17 12 1 24.96   0.0   0 0 0  0.0  1.5  30.29  11 29.67   1         2400
     RDU  2.16  -2.13 0.63 13 0.63    13 14 0 21.33   0.0   0 0 0  0.0  6.7            29.70  17         1900
     RAL  6.08  +1.79         2.11 19-20 11 2 27.67   0.0   0 0 0  0.0 10.1  30.29  10                   2400
     ROX  3.26  -1.33 1.50 30 1.50    30 13 1 30.39   0.0   0 0 0  0.0  8.3  30.34  10 29.68   1   30.01 2200
     ILM  9.69  +2.07 6.51  6 6.51     6 13 2 28.21   0.0   0 0 0  0.0  1.0  30.28  11 29.67   1         2400
    SOUTH CAROLINA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
       
     STN  T      T1     U  U1   V    V1   W X   Y     Z   1  2 3  4     5     6    6A   7    7A    8     S
     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
     AND  0.73  -2.90 0.26 27  0.28 12-13 10 0 28.03  0.0  0 0 0   0.0    T  30.26  11 29.68   6         2400
     CAE  5.87  +0.33 3.77 22  3.77    22 14 1 25.67  0.0  0 0 0   0.0    T  30.27  11 29.66   1         2400
     CRE  5.36  +0.17 1.91 24  1.91    24 13 1 21.73                         30.27  11 29.67   1         2400
     CHS  8.16  +2.03 4.15  8  4.15     8 11 1 34.99  0.0  0 0 0   0.0    T  30.26  11 29.70   1         2400
     FLO  5.10  -0.18 2.28  6  2.29   5-6 12 1 22.93                         30.27  11 29.67   1         2400
     GSP  1.78  -2.87 0.70 17  0.70    17 10 0 27.48  0.0  0 0 0   0.0  4.4  30.26  10 29.65   1         2400
     OGB  5.43        1.85  5  1.97   5-6 12 2 27.96                         30.23  11 29.70   1         2400
    NEARBY STATIONS
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
       
     STN  T      T1     U  U1   V      V1  W X   Y      Z  1  2  3   4     5     6   6A   7    7A 8      S
     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     TRI  8.51  +4.30 1.40 13 1.51 28-29 19 3 28.23  0.0   0  0  0   0.0   8.3 30.26 10 29.68   1        2400
     DAV  5.00  -0.6  1.15 26            18 1 40.82  0.0   0  0  0   0.0 189.0                           0700

    Virginia:

    Arlington - From NWS WBC come these notes: " TEMPERATURES THIS JULY WERE BELOW NORMAL. THE BEGINNING OF JULY STARTED OFF PARTICULARLY COOL AS THE HIGH TEMPERATURE DID NOT REACH 90F UNTIL THE 12TH OF THE MONTH. THIS IS THE LATEST IN THE MONTH OF JULY THAT IT HAD REACHED 90F SINCE 1998. RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH WAS WELL BELOW NORMAL AND WAS THE FIFTH DRIEST JULY ON RECORD AT DCA. A DAILY RAINFALL TOTAL OF AT LEAST 0.10 INCHES WAS ONLY RECORDED THREE DAYS DURING THE MONTH...WHICH TIED FOR SECOND FEWEST OCCURRENCES OF 0.10 INCH OR GREATER RAINFALL DAYS DURING JULY. ABOUT HALF OF THE MONTH`S RAINFALL WAS MEASURED ON THE 23RD. JULY 2009 WAS THE FIRST MONTH SINCE MARCH 2009 THAT MONTHLY RAINFALL MEASURED BELOW NORMAL BUT THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE JULY WITH BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL. " [ - - ] 

    Bridgewater - " The month was both dry and wet. The first half of the month had .55 inches of precipitation while the last half had 2.96. There has been only one rather strong thunderstorm in Bridgewater all summer. Most of the big ones have gone northeast of us. This has been a rough summer for forecasters. We have had many forecasts for thunderstorms with nothing happening. We have had rain on 20% while nothing occurred on 90% of the time. Those thunderstorms have been very tricky on the weather people. " - [ - - ] - notes from Clayton

    Centreville - " As far as July's go, this one hardly huffed or puffed and was probably more noted for what hardly approached the norms than for coming close to setting any records. Except for 0.29" on the 1st and 2nd, it wasn't until July 23rd when we finally were able to claim any rain in the bucket. For about 2« hours in the evening, 1.12" fell. After all was said and done, that event amounted to 50% of our monthly total. The average high for July is 86.9° but with just one day reaching above 90° the entire month at 92°ø on the 16th our measured average high only managed to reach 82.9°; a delta of -4°. This was enough to send the average monthly temperature to the negative side of average as well. Typically we reference the July average monthly temperature at 75.1°. This year we came in with 73.7° putting us just 1.4 below normal. The night time lows averaged out to 64.4°; 1.2° above the daily low average of 63.2°. Except for January, this is the next month with the least departure from normal. Too early to tell if another ice age is approaching, but it is comforting to note that there was no reported snowfall. Rainfall, or the lack of it, was certainly noteworthy this month. Two and twenty-two hundredths inch fell this month; 1.35" shy of the normal 3.57". The brief rain event of 1.10" on July 23rd was welcome after 20 days of nothing, but it was just a teasing for what never came later on. The few remaining days of July though did return to intervals of somewhat frequent and spotty showers but amounted to a little less than _ inch. Because of this dry spell, the annual surplus of 3.46" reported in June has now diminished by 39% to 2.11". Looks like the Centreville Surfboard Society will have to postpone their usual summer fete. " - [ - - ] - additional notes from Paul

    Chantilly - Russ reports: The skies turned dry in July and it refused to rain more than .20", for the first 3 weeks. The total precipitation for the month was 1.70", which was 1.87" below normal. This has been one of the driest July's on record. Almost half (0.82") of our rainfall came from a thunderstorm on the 23rd. The average temperature was 1.9° below normal. Nobody seemed to mind the cooler than normal July. We only broke the 90° mark twice this month. Thunderstorms were few, with one on the 23rd and 25th. *Please note, anemometer is currently partially obstructed from the Southeast " - [ - - ]

    Dulles - from NWS Sterling (KLWX) come these notes: " THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE THIS JULY WAS SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL. THE BEGINNING OF JULY STARTED OFF PARTICULARLY COOL AS THE HIGH TEMPERATURE DID NOT REACH 90F UNTIL THE 12TH. THIS IS THE LATEST IN THE MONTH OF JULY THAT IT HAD REACHED 90F SINCE 1998. THE LOW TEMPERATURE OF 53F ON JULY 14TH BROKE THE PREVIOUS DAILY RECORD OF 54F SET BACK IN 1980. RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH WAS BELOW NORMAL. NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF THE MONTHLY RAINFALL WAS RECORDED ON JULY 23RD. BEFORE THAT DAY...DULLES HAD ONLY RECEIVED 0.09 INCHES OF RAIN TO START THE MONTH...BY FAR THE DRIEST JULY 1-22 PERIOD ON RECORD (THE 0.70 INCHES IN 1998 WAS THE SECOND DRIEST). A DAILY RAINFALL TOTAL OF AT LEAST 0.10 INCHES WAS ONLY RECORDED THREE DAYS DURING THE MONTH...WHICH TIED FOR FEWEST OCCURRENCES OF 0.10 INCH OR GREATER RAINFALL DAYS DURING JULY. JULY 2009 WAS THE FIRST MONTH SINCE MARCH 2009 THAT MONTHLY RAINFALL WAS BELOW NORMAL BUT THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE JULY WITH BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL. " - [ - - ]

    Falls Church - Erica notes: " This month came out cooler than average in spite of the heat and humidity towards the end of the month. A bit below average in rainfall- Storms on the 23rd brought some welcome rains especially for my gardens. " - [ - - ]

    Glen Allen - Lowell Koontz sends these additional notes: " July was a little wetter and warmer than average. July's mean average temperature (77.1°F) was a +0.7°F departure when compared to Ashland's average but was -2.3°F cooler here when compared to last July. The 4.51 inches of rain was a +0.16 inch departure when compared to Ashland's average. July had 11 days with measurable rain that was two more than last year. The 0.43 inches of rain that occurred in five minutes on the 17th was the third most intense in the past twelve months. Measurable precipitation occurred on eleven days. July was also cloudier than average and it is normally one of the clearest months of the year. July had only 8 days with 90°F or above temperatures and six of the eight days were 91°F or much cooler than last year when 20 days were 90°F or more. The maximum temperature for 2009 is still 94°F recorded on July 26th, which is the warmest day since August 19th 2008 when the maximum was 95°F. The maximum gust of 31 mph from the WSW on the 31st at 1343 was the strongest wind gust recorded for July. But the storm of July 17th did the most damage as the wind occurred along with a very heavy rainfall of 0.43 inches in five minutes. The wind of the 17th caused minor damage to several Bradford pear trees in our neighborhood and blew down corn in my garden. " - [ + + ] 

    Herndon - Randy sends these additional notes: " July was below normal for temperature and precipitation. The temperatures ranged between a high of 94 and a low of 54. The average high was 1.8 degrees below normal and with lower than average humidity, the average lows were 3.5 degrees below normal yielding the average temperature for the month 2.7 degrees below normal. So much for global warming, five of the first seven months of 2009 have been below normal. On the precipitation side, the first 22 days of the month were very dry, only receiving 0.16" of rain. My water bill will be up now as I had to water my gardens frequently. On the 23rd, the weather pattern changed and we got over 2.5" or rain during the last nine days of the month. The heaviest rain fell in thunderstorms on the 23rd with 1.64 inches falling; then another inch fell during the last eight days We ended up with 2.74" for the month which was a little more than 0.8" below normal. The rainfall for the year is now 1.4" above normal. " - [ - - ]

    Ladysmith - Danny notes: " July finished with temperatures and precipitation both well below normal. " - [ - - ]

    Portsmouth - " July was a cooler and drier month relative to normal for the period from 1976 to 2008. JULY WAS THE 9TH DRIEST JULY IN THE DATABASE TO 1977. The 3.07" of rain in July produced a month that was 2.30" BELOW normal rainfall ( 57% of normal). The month's average temp was 1.7° BELOW normal. COLD FRONTAL PASSAGES OCCURRED ON THE 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 14th, 18th, 19th, and 24th. STATION RECORDS: 6TH - TEMP TIED Minimum Maximum 77° [previous 2006]; 10TH - TEMP Minimum Maximum 78° [previous 79° 1984]; 10TH - TEMP Minimum 63° [previous 64° 1979]; 11TH - TEMP TIED - MINIMUM 59° [previous 1983]; 12TH - WIND GUST - 48mph [previous 46mph 1996]; 15TH - TEMP Minimum 61° [previous 65° 2001]; 17TH - RAINFALL 1.21" [previous 0.64" 1985]; 17TH - WIND GUST - 34mph [previous 33mph 1985]; 29TH - WIND GUST - 28mph [previous 26mph 2005]. At month's end, rainfall for the year totaled 27.97", which is 101% of normal through the end of July, or 0.22" ABOVE normal. " - [ - - ] 

    North Carolina:

    Greensboro - NWS Raleigh (RAH) reports: - " A RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 75 DEGREES WAS SET AT PIEDMONT TRIAD INTL AIRP0RT NC ON JUNE 20TH. THE OLD RECORD OF 71 WAS SET IN 1977/1964/1949. A RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 73 DEGREES WAS TIED AT PIEDMONT TRIAD INTL AIRP0RT NC ON JUNE 21ST. THE OLD RECORD WAS SET IN 1990. Word from NWS RAH... the North Carolina Weather Reviews have been discontinued. " - [ - - ]

    Raleigh - Bob adds these notes: " July weather was on the stormy side with numerous warnings and watches issued for this region. Central Carolina Skywarn was activated on seventeen (17) days during July. The average daily temperature was almost 3 degrees below normal while rainfall was 1.79" above normal. The maximum temperature recorded during July was only 93 degrees. " - [ - + ]

    Raleigh - NWS Raleigh (RAH) reports: " A RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 97 DEGREES WAS TIED AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTL AIRPORT ON JULY 17TH. THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS SET IN 1978. A RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 74 DEGREES WAS TIED AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTL AIRPORT ON JULY 30TH. THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS SET IN 1902, 1995 AND 1976. Word from NWS RAH... the North Carolina Weather Reviews have been discontinued. " - [ + - ]

    Nearby Cities:

    Tri-Cities, TN - from NWS Morristown: " The monthly-averaged temperature at Tri-Cities was 71.3 degrees, which was 2.9 degrees below normal. It tied with 1984 as the 5th coldest July on record at Tri-Cities. A record low temperature was broken on the 3rd when the low dipped to 51 degrees, breaking the previous record of 55 degrees set back in 2008. Another record low was broken on the 19th when the temperature fell to 54 degrees, breaking the previous record of 55 degrees set back in 1984. The coldest July at Tri-Cities was back in 1967, when the monthly-averaged temperature was 69.8 degrees. Tri-Cities received 8.51 inches of rain in July, which was 4.30 inches above normal. It ranked as the 5th wettest July on record at Tri-Cities. Measurable rain occurred on nineteen days, and ten of those days had more than one-quarter of an inch. In fact, more than an inch of rain fell on three separate days. The heaviest rain fell on the 13th when 1.40 inches was reported. The wettest July of the 72 years of observations taken at Tri-Cities was back in 1949, when 9.73 inches of rain was recorded. " - [ - + ]

    Davis, WV - from Dave Lesher's website: " July ended with an average temperature that was WELL-BELOW NORMAL and with BELOW NORMAL rainfall (-0.6) No snow for the month was NORMAL. Year-to-date rainfall of 40.82" was 6.5" ABOVE normal. " - [ - +/- ]



    COLUMN DENOTATIONS:

    A  maximum mean temperature T total precipitation (inches)
    T1 departure from normal
    B  minimum mean temperature U maximum calendar day precipitation (inches)
    C  monthly mean temperature
    C1 departure from normal    		 U1 date of maximum calendar day precipitation
    D  maximum temperature V date(s) of maximum daily precipitation
    E  date(s) of maximum temperature V1 maximum 24-hour precip. & date(s)
    F  minimum temperature W number of days with precip. >= .01"
    G  date(s) of minimum temperature  X number of days with precip. >= 1.0"
    H  days with maximum temperature >=90 Y year-to-date precipitation (inches)
    I  days with maximum temperature <=32 Z maximum calendar day snowfall (inches)
    J  days with minimum temperature <=32 VRB Variable
    K  days with minimum temperature <= 0 1 date of maximum calendar day snowfall (inches)
    K1 average relative humidity 2 number of days with snowfall
    L  peak wind gust (miles per hour)  3 number of days with snowfall >= 1.0"
    M  direction of peak wind gust 4  total snowfall for month (inches)
    N  date(s) of peak wind gust  5 total snowfall for 2007-2008 season (inches)
    N1   average wind speed (miles per hour) 6 maximum barometric pressure (inches)
    N2 dominant wind direction 6A date of maximum barometric pressure
    O  number of days with thunder  7 minimum barometric pressure (inches)
    P  number of days with hail 7A date of minimum barometric pressure
    Q  number of days with glaze 8   average sea-level pressure
    R  number of days with ice pellets STN  Station
    R2 sky cover percentage NR not recorded
    R1 number of days with dense fog [1/4 mile and less visibility] (i) incomplete data
    S  local observation time for temps/precipitation (M) missing, if listed in data table
     ~ "about" E estimated
     +  additional indeterminate number of days CWA - NWS Office County Warning Area


    For ACON VA/NC/SC Recent Weather News, Search GOOGLE at CNN
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    National Weather Service Web Sites & Current Email Addresses
    Within or Nearby the ACON VA/NC/SC Area Can Be Found At:

         NWS Washington/Baltimore, VA/MD
         NWS Wakefield, VA
         NWS Blacksburg, VA
         NWS Raleigh, NC
         NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC
         NWS Wilmington, NC
         NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
         NWS Columbia, SC
         NWS Charleston, SC
         NWS Morristown, TN

         National Weather Service Homepages

         $$$ National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC $$$

    STATION / LOCATION (MILES & DIRECTION FROM MAIN POST OFFICE)/OBSERVER / YEAR RECORDS BEGAN / EMAIL ADDRESS:

      
       ROK   Roanoke, VA 6SW Wendell Prillaman  4/76 wlprillaman@cox.net
      AKQ    Wakefield, VA NWS Wakefield Municipal Airport 36-58-53N 077-00-04W 33M
    DCA    Arlington, VA Washington, DC, Reagan Washington National Airport 38-50-54N 077-02-03W 18M WSH   Washington, VA  David Yowell runamok@runamok.com
    BCB    Blacksburg, VA NWS Virginia Tech Airport 37-13N 080-25W   
    BRI     Bridgewater, VA Clayton Towers Ctowers@rica.net WOO  Woodstock, VA 5NW Lauck Walton - 12/1/85 jwalton@shentel.net
    CEN  Centreville, VA Paul Bassett 1985, 38° 50.9788' N LAT. 77° 25.6374' W LON. | Elevation 324' | m.psb@verizon.net LDY Ladysmith, VA Danny Jessee 2003 danny@dannyjessee.com
       WAL   Wallops Island, VA 37° 56'26" N 75° 27'47" W Wallops Flight Facility Airport
    CHO   Charlottesville, VA  Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport ASOS  (Rappahannock County) 38-08-18N 078-27-21W 192M AVL    Asheville, NC  Asheville Regional Airport 35-25-55N 082-32-15W 670M
      MRH    Beaufort, NC  Michael J. Field Airport 34-44-01N 076-39-38W 3M
    DAN  Danville, VA, Danville Regional Airport, 36-34-22N 079-20-10W 175M  CLT    Charlotte, NC NWS Charlotte/Douglas International Airpot 35-12-48N 080-56-55W 220M
    IAD   Dulles - Washington-Dulles International Airport  38-56-05N 077-26-51W 93M  SSB    Sunset Beach, NC   33.9° N 78.5° W  Tom Myers
    FCH    Falls Church, VA Erica Page - 3/7/94 Windie1970@aol.com HKY  Hickory, NC 
    HAM    Hampton, VA 5NE Dave Kessel 1989 david82@verizon.net ECG  Elizabeth City, NC,  Coast Guard Air Station 36-15-47N 076-10-58W 11M
    CTR  Winterpock in Chesterfield County, VA Albert Arnold 06/03 FAY  Fayetteville, NC Fayetteville Regional Airport, 34-59-22N 078-52-48W 55M
      GSO   Greensboro, NC NWS Piedmont Triad International Airport 36-05-51N 079-56-37W 275M
    CHT   Chantilly, VA Russ Topping -  12/2006  russ.topping@gmail.com - new location December 2006 HSE    Cape Hatteras, NC  Mitchell Field 35-13-56N 075-27-21W 3M
    HDV    Herndon, VA  Randoplh W. Ashby, 3.3 SM South, Lat: 38.922127, Lon: -77.38015, Elev: 390'. Randolph_Ashby@Raytheon.com LBT    Lumberton, NC  Lumberton Municipal Airport 34-36-26N 079-03-36W 37M
    GAV - Glen Allen, Henrico County, VA - Lowell Koontz  8/1/08  wwkoontz@verizon.net EWN    New Bern, NC  Craven County Regional Airport 36-04-03N 077-02-50W 3M
    FRV     Front Royal, VA  Michael Perritt -  04/08 snowyat9@yahoo.com RAL    Raleigh, NC 7NNW  Bob Woodson -  6/1/93 kf4mmm@qsl.net
    LKU     Louisa, VA 1N Joseph Bowers 1944 - NWS ID  44-5050-02jmbiii@earthlink.net RDU   Raleigh-Durham, NC Raleigh-Durham International Airport 35-52-14N 078-47-11W 130M
    LOU     Louisa, VA 6S John Bullock (about 1970) INACTIVE 1/1/02 - MEMBER DECEASED FALL 2004 ROX    Roxboro, NC 2SE Merriell A. Jay 1/93
    LYH     Lynchburg, VA NWS Lynchburg Regional Airport 37-19-15N 079-12-24W 295M ILM     Wilmington, NC NWS New Hanover International Airport 34-16-06N 077-54-22W 9M
    NEW    Newmarket, VA 2W Joyce Winfree joywood@shentel.net CHS   Charleston, SC NWS Charleston Air Force Base 32-53-56N 080-02-26W 13M
    NPN     Newport News, VA 7N Gary Leonard -  6/91 GaryMLeonard@aol.com CAE    Columbia, SC NWS Columbia Metropolitan Airport 33-56-31N 081-07-05W 73M 
    NOR     Norfolk, VA 3NE Jim Fentress 6/1/77 FLO    Florence, SC Florence Regional Airport 34-11-16N 079-43-51W 44M
    ORF     Norfolk, VA 5NE 36-54-13N 076-11-31W 14M  1871 GSP   Greenville-Spartanburg, SC NWS Greenville-Spartanburg Airport 34-53-02N 082-13-15W 286M 
    POR     Portsmouth, VA 36.81° North 76.33° West 3S Bill Trotter -  7/1/76 wxr@cox.net CRE    North Myrtle Beach, SC Grand Strand Airport 33-48-42N 078-43-26W 10M
    MEC     Mechanicsville, VA Glen Martin 11/19/91 OGB   Orangeburg, SC  Orangeburg Municipal Airport 33-27-50N 080-51-13W 59M
    FHC    Norfolk, VA  Fred Heutte Center 36° 54'N 76° 16'W 01/01/03 fhcgarden@cox.net AND   Anderson, SC 
    RIC     Richmond, VA Richmond International Airport 37-30-40N 077-19-24W 50M TRI     Tri-cities, TN  (Bristol / Johnson / Kingsport), Tri-City Regional Airport 36-28-47N 082-23-56W 474M 
    ROA    Roanoke, VA Roanoke Regional Airport 37-19-01N 079-58-27W 362M DAV  Davis, WV Dave Lesher canaanwx@canaantv.tv