The Atlantic Coast Observer Network - Virginia/North Carolina/South Carolina

http://www.genserva.com/acon

SUMMARY OF CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA 



JUNE 2012

...DERECHO EVENT - JUNE 29TH & 30TH...
...NEAR NORMAL TO BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES...
...TYPICAL SUMMER VARIATIONS IN RAINFALL TOTALS...

  • THE DERECHO       For most of us, the meteorological term derecho and its meaning came in to full view on the 29th and 30th of the month. A large storm developing near Chicago blossomed into what is known as a derecho, spreading southeastward and expanding as it moved quickly toward the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern US. Keep in mind that the storm affected most of Virginians in the evening on the 29th; but for some the event hit early, just after midnight (AM) on the 30th. Hardest hit areas with power outtages of up to nearly two-weeks in spots included northern and western Virginia and western North Carolina. For the best info on this particular event and derechos themselves, visit the search link at NWS - NOAA archives at
    http://firstgovsearch.gov/search?v%3Aproject=firstgov&query=derecho&affiliate=nws.noaa.gov

    Check out this contribution from ACON MD/DE/DC's Kevin Shaw who writes, "Very interesting article on the Quad Cities IL/IA NWS forecast page on the origin of the term "derecho" by Dr. Hinrichs back in the 1880s. There is a link on this site to the paper Dr. Hinrichs wrote back in 1888 on "Tornadoes and Derechos" that is available in its entirety on PDF. Fascinating! http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dvn/?n=hinrichs.


  • THE NORTH AMERICAN MONSOON       (reprint from the CoCoRaHS website) - The word "monsoon" comes from the Arabic word mausim, meaning season. Basically, it describes a seasonal wind shift over a region that is usually accompanied by a dramatic increase in precipitation. Many of us are familiar with the Indian-Asian monsoon that brings heavy rains during the summer months over widespread areas of India and SE Asia. Although these rains often produce major flooding, they are vital to agriculture and the economy. Because so much of the world's population live in this region, a delayed or reduced rainfall season can have a devastating effect on the livelihood of a significant fraction of the world's population. Many other parts of the world experience monsoons, including North America. Our North American monsoon (also known as the Mexican monsoon) typically occurs between July-September and is relatively small compared to the Asian monsoon. However, in parts of NW Mexico, over 50% of the annual rainfall comes in this 3-month period. The rains provide a critical source of replenishment for water resources of Mexico and the SW United States. To learn more about the North American monsoon, check out: "Monsoon" at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/twc/monsoon/monsoon_tracker.php


  • HOW LONG HAVE PEOPLE BEEN TRACKING PRECIPITATION?       In his book Meteorologica, Aristotle (340BC) mentioned topics such as clouds, mist, rain, snow, etc, but not the measurement of precipitation. Measuring rain and keeping records of it was apparently still far off in the future. The earliest quantitative device for measuring rainfall seems to be credited to a king in Korea called King Sejong who lived from 1397 to 1450. One of his goals as king was to make his people literate, so not only did he invent a rain gauge, but more importantly, he invented a phonetic alphabet for the Korean language as distinct from the Chinese characters widely in use in his time and movable type for that alphabet. He decided that instead of digging into the soil to check for moisture, it would be better to have a standardized container about 30cm in depth and 14cm in diameter that stood on a pillar to measure the rainfall. These containers were to help villagers determine their potential harvest and to give King Sejong a better idea of how much the farmers should be taxed! So, these standard containers were distributed to each village. The rain gauge was invented in the fourth month of 1441, according to records. The tipping bucket rain gauge was invented by Christopher Wren in Europe around 1661 and used the standard of weight, or sometimes volume, of the liquid precipitation. This tipping bucket idea is still used in many of the automated electronic gauges today. In 1887, Mr. Cleveland Abbe wrote a manual on Meteorological Apparatus and Methods" for the U.S. Army Signal Corps (agency responsible for U.S. weather observations at the time). In this booklet, Mr. Cleveland described the standards for the weather gauges to be used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps. This standard 8 inch diameter gauge is still in use by many National Weather Service offices and cooperative weather observers across the United States and abroad.


  •   NCDC DATA IS NOW FREE    The National Climatic Data Center in Asheville now provides weather data at no cost. The free data can be found at http://www7.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/


  • DROUGHT MONITOR    http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/    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 Station Extremes - JUNE 2012
    State
    Maximum Temperature
    Minimum
    Temperature
    Warmest
    Average
    Temperature
    Coldest
    Average
    Temperature
    Maximum
    Precipitation
    Minimum
    Precipitation
    Virginia
    105°
    Centreville
    44°
    Blacksburg
    76.2°
    Arlington
    67.3°
    Blacksburg
    10.21"
    Newport News
    1.71"
    Lynchburg
    North Carolina
    107°
    North Whiteville
    46°
    Asheville
    76.1°
    Elizabeth City
    70.7°
    Asheville
    5.07"
    Lumberton
    1.02"
    Charlotte
    South Carolina
    109°
    Columbia
    52°
    Anderson
    Greenville-Spartanburg
    77.5°
    Columbia
    74.5°
    North Myrtle Beach
    9.79"
    Charleston
    1.24"
    Greenville-Spartanburg


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


    TEMPERATURE / WINDS/ ELEMENTS FOLLOWED BY
    PRECIPITATION / BAROMETRIC PRESSURE

    VIRGINIA | NORTH CAROLINA | 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 CWA TIME RECORDED
    BCB 79.70 54.80 67.30 -0.40 95.0 29,30 44.00 3 3 0 0 0 76% 37 250 1 3.0 5 0 0 0 3 LWX 2400
    BRI 81.70 56.40 69.10 1.00 100.0 29 48.00 3,4 4 0 0 0 64% 3 1 0 0 0 LWX 2400
    CHT 83.40 62.10 72.80 1.90 101.5 29 52.20 3 8 0 0 0 69% 18 023 29 0.3 360 4 0 0 0 0 LWX 2400
    CHO 86.60 63.20 74.90 3.00 104.0 29 56.00 7,8 12 0 0 0 31 100 18 3.6 8 0 0 0 3 LWX 2400
    DAN 86.70 60.00 73.40 -1.40 104.0 29 49.00 3 10 0 0 0 67% 49 350 29 4.2 7 0 0 0 2 RNK 2400
    DCA 85.90 66.60 76.20 1.10 104.0 29 58.00 6,7 11 0 0 0 57% 70 300 29 8.0 2 0 0 0 0 LWX 2400
    IAD 83.80 59.90 71.80 -0.60 102.0 29 50.00 3 9 0 0 0   71 290 29 6.0 4 0 0 0 0 LWX 2400
    GAV 85.33 61.60 73.47 -2.42 102.0 29 52.00 3 11 0 0 0 67% 47 338 25 8 1 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    HDV 83.10 60.40 71.80 -1.40 101.0 29 51.00 6 7 0 0 0 70% 24 270 29 225 3 0 0 0 0 LWX 2400
    LYH 84.10 57.50 70.80 -0.80 103.0 29 47.00 3 9 0 0 0 69% 61 360 21 3.4   4 0 0 0 4 RNK 2400
    NPN 84.30 63.00 73.40 -2.50 102.4 29 52.20 6 8 0 0 0 48 248 30 1.4 225 8 2 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    FHC 83.36 65.68 74.52 -0.78 98.9 29 52.80 6 7 0 0 0 65% 37 320 25 1.4 203 4 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    NOR 82.40 63.20 72.80 -1.80 99.0 29 49.00 6 6 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    ORF 82.80 66.00 74.40 -0.90 100.0 29 55.00 7 7 0 0 0 66% 51 330 29 8.0 2 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    POR 83.80 63.70 73.70 -2.00 99.3 29 52.10 6 9 0 0 0 74% 46 360 30 3.4 010 6 1 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    CTR 85.80 59.00 72.40 -1.10 104.6 29 49.60 5 12 0 0 0 73% 18 320 29 0.2 112 5 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    MEC 85.50 61.83 73.93 103.0 29 52.00 6 7 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    RIC 85.90 62.30 74.10 -1.20 103.0 29 54.00 6,7 12 0 0 0 66% 60 340 25 6.1 7 1 0 0 1 AKQ 2400
    ROA 84.30 58.70 72.70 -0.20 104.0 29 52.00 3,8 7 0 0 0 65% 81 340 29 5.2 6 0 0 0 2 RNK 2400
    WAL 82.40 64.00 73.20 1.00 100.0 29 51.00 18 7 0 0 0 52 330 29 9.1 4 0 0 0 1 AKQ 2400
    WOO 78.00 61.60 69.80 -0.90 97.0 30 50.00 3 1 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 2 LWX 0800
    WSH 79.20 60.60 69.90 -1.85 98.6 29 52.60 26 0 0 0 7 78% 19 090 29 0.2 070 6 0 0 0 0 LWX 2400
    Averages 83.55 61.46 72.56 -0.58 101.20 51.34 7.6 0.0 0.0 0.3 68% 45.6 4.0 5.2 0.8
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    AVL 81.7 59.6 70.7 0.20 98.0 30 46.0 3 3 0 0 0 69% 30 010 22 4.5 3 0 0 0 4 GSP 2400
    MRH 83.1 68.4 75.8 0.10 94.0 30 57.0 8 1 0 0 0 37 250 14 9.4 0 0 0 0 0 MHX 2400
    CLT 86.5 62.9 74.7 -0.60 104.0 29,30 55.0 3,9 9 0 0 0 63% 28 160,210 11,20 5.5 4 0 0 0 0 GSP 2400
    ECG 86.1 66.2 76.1 0.70 97.0 29,30 54.0 6,18 11 0 0 0 64% 47 340 25 8.3 1 0 0 0 2 AKQ 2400
    FAY 87.6 63.2 75.4 -2.80 106.0 29 54.0 7 11 0 0 0 66% 64 50 25 6.5 6 0 0 0 4 RAH 2400
    GSO 84.9 63.1 74.0 -1.10 102.0 29 53.0 3 8 0 0 0 64% 47 240 23 6.4 6 0 0 0 0 RAH 2400
    HSE 81.7 69.3 75.5 0.40 91.0 30 58.0 8 1 0 0 0 70% 38 240 25 8.7 0 0 0 0 0 MHX 2400
    HKY 84.1 62.8 73.5 -0.90 100.0 30 51.0 3 6 0 0 0 28 190 1 3.2 3 0 0 0 2 GSP 2400
    LBT 87.5 63.2 75.4 -2.60 103.0 29,30 55.0 7,17 10 0 0 0 70% 61 330 17 5.2 6 0 0 0 2 ILM 2400
    EWN 85.8 63.9 74.8 -2.30 99.0 30 54.0 7 8 0 0 0 70% 30 150 24 6.2 4 0 0 0 1 MHX 2400
    RDU 86.8 62.5 74.6 -1.80 105.0 29,30 52.0 3 9 0 0 0 65% 38 330 29 5.4 7 0 0 0 0 RAH 2400
    RAL 85.9 60.5 73.2 -2.50 103.0 29,30 48.0 3 8 0 0 0 24 1 2 0 0 0 0 RAH 2400
    ROX 85.6 61.7 73.7 0.90 103.0 29 51.0 7 9 0 0 0 73% 46 360 29 360 8 1 0 0 1 RAH 2400
    WHI 86.6 62.9 74.8 -1.80 106.5 30 53.4 17 9 0 0 0 73% 30 246 1 2.3 140 3 0 0 0 1 ILM 2400
    ILM 85.0 65.3 75.2 -2.70 103.0 30 56.0 7 6 0 0 0 70% 30 200,220 1,25 6.8 2 0 0 0 0 ILM 2400
    Averages 85.3 63.7 74.5 -1.1 101.0 53.2 7.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 68% 38.5 6.0 3.7 1.1
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    AND 86.1 63.9 75.0 -1.4 105 29,30 52 2,3 9 0 0 0 36 330 12 4.5 5 0 0 0 0 GSP 2400
    CAE 88.4 66.6 77.5 -1.6 109 29,30 57 3 9 0 0 0 64% 45 260 1 4.8 3 0 0 0 1 CAE 2400
    CRE 83.2 65.8 74.5 -2.4 94 30 57 8,15 2 0 0 0 73% 52 210 28 7.8 2 0 0 0 1 ILM 2400
    CHS 85.4 66.8 76.1 -2.9 98 30 58 3 4 0 0 0 39 240 11 6.8 5 0 0 0 0 CHS 2400
    FLO 87.1 64.9 76.0 -2.2 105 29,30 58 18,27 9 0 0 0 70% 32 050 26 5.5 4 0 0 0 1 ILM 2400
    GSP 86.7 64.4 75.6 -1.1 105 29 52 2,3 9 0 0 0 65% 29 270 1 4.9 6 0 0 0 0 GSP 2400
    OGB 86.4 65.3 75.8 -2.5 103 30 56 3 7 0 0 0 32 300 1 4.1 0 0 0 0 3 CAE 2400
    Averages 86.2 65.4 75.8 -2.0 102.7 55.7 7.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 68% 37.9 5.5 3.6 0.9
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    TRI 86.2 58.4 72.3 0.8 103 30 47 3 9 0 0 0 37 260 1 3.1 4 0 0 0 6 MRX 2400
    DAV 71.2 50.9 61.0 89 30 41 26 0 0 0 0 PBX 2400
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    BCB 2.96 -1.04 1.22 11 1.22 11 3 0 20.99         0.0 10.0 RNK 2400
    BRI 3.45 0.50 1.38 18 1.38 18 8 1 16.18       0.0 4.8 30.200 16 29.720 29 29.930 LWX 2400
    CHT 1.72 -2.35 0.80 1 0.81 1-2 7 0 16.38         0.0 2.6 30.325 16 29.640 1 29.940 LWX 2400
    CHO 3.26 -0.47 0.73 1 0.73 1 9 0 17.34 29.660 4 LWX 2400
    DAN 3.53 -0.32 2.04 18 2.05 18-19 7 1 16.07         0.0 3.0 30.300 16 29.630 4 RNK 2400
    DCA 2.38 -1.40 1.22 1 1.22 1 5 1 13.12         0.0 2.0     29.660 4 LWX 2400
    IAD 1.79 -2.19 0.61 1 0.61 1 5 0 14.78         0.0 2.8 29.660 4 LWX 2400
    GAV 2.74 1.11 25 1.11 25 14 1 17.02         0.0 7.4 30.310 16 29.660 4 29.970 AKQ 2400
    HDV 2.38 -2.31 1.11 1 7 1 15.14         0.0 2.6 30.310 16 29.620 1 AKQ 2400
    LYH 1.71 -1.91 0.68 11 0.70 11-12 10 0 17.12         0.0 8.5 30.330 16 29.660 4 RNK 2400
    NPN 10.21 5.89 3.45 1 4.82 1-2 12 4 31.70       0.0 0.8 30.280 16 29.610 4 AKQ 2400
    FHC 8.93 4.67 4.46 22 4.46 22 10 3 25.71       0.0 0.2 30.293 16 29.624 4 29.970 AKQ 2400
    NOR 5.25 0.87 2.17 22 2.17 22 9 2 24.86         0.0 0.5 AKQ 2400
    ORF 5.27 1.01 2.19 22 2.19 22 11 2 21.74         0.0 0.5 30.270 16 29.610 25 AKQ 2400
    POR 8.13 3.95 4.25 22 4.25 22 11 2 31.25         0.0 0.5 30.280 16 29.620 4 29.956 AKQ 2400
    CTR 1.77 -1.25 0.57 22 0.58 22-23 12 0 13.34         0.0 6.1 30.270 16 29.620 4 29.945 AKQ 2400
    MEC 2.67 0.61 2 0.75 1-2 9 0 19.44         0.0 7.5 30.060 15,16 29.470 4 29.750 AKQ 2400
    RIC 4.27 0.34 1.85 22 1.86 22-23 13 1 16.58         0.0 4.5 30.320 16 29.650 4 AKQ 2400
    ROA 3.25 -0.58 1.02 11 1.12 11-12 9 1 17.74         0.0 6.1 30.330 16 29.660 4 RNK 2400
    WAL 2.72 -0.57 1.50 1 1.74 1-2 9 1 19.03         0.0 0.5 30.300 16 29.600 4 AKQ 2400
    WOO 3.17 -0.46 0.89 1-2 9 0 13.84         0.0 5.6 30.370 16 29.840 2 LWX 0800
    WSH 2.21 -3.01 0.75 12 0.79 12-13 10 0 15.65         0.0 3.8 30.370 16 29.690 1 LWX 2400
    Averages 3.81 -0.03 1.61 1.69 9.0 18.86 0.00 0.0 3.8 30.289 29.645 29.923
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    AVL 1.68 -2.97 0.67 22 1.22 21-22 9 0 15.66         0.0 T 30.290 16 29.720 5 GSP 2400
    MRH 1.43 -3.21 0.99 25 1.02 25-26 8 0 16.00         0.0 T 30.300 16 29.620 4 MHX 2400
    CLT 1.02 -2.72 0.52 6 0.52 6 7 0 14.41         0.0 T 30.280 16 29.690 4 GSP 2400
    ECG 3.52 -0.97 1.35 25 1.78 22-23 5 1 23.55   30.250 16 29.610 4 AKQ 2400
    FAY 4.22 -0.13 1.66 25 1.67 25-26 10 3 19.23     0.0   29.660 4 RAH 2400
    GSO 2.21 -1.52 0.82 22 0.82 22 8 0 15.69       0.0 T 29.660 4 RAH 2400
    HSE 2.75 -1.28 0.85 25 0.90 1-2 7 0 25.53       0.0 T     29.620 4 MHX 2400
    HKY 3.21 -0.91 1.60 6 1.75 5-6 8 1 17.70         30.260 16 29.660 1 GSP 2400
    LBT 5.07 0.73 2.75 23 2.77 23-24 9 1 19.39         0.0   30.240 16 29.660 5 ILM 2400
    EWN 2.50 -2.09 0.84 25 0.87 25-26 9 0 20.16         0.0 T 30.230 16 29.640 4 MHX 2400
    RDU 3.10 -0.42 1.19 1 1.09 1 6 2 18.96         0.0 0.9 29.660 4 RAH 2400
    RAL 3.66 0.13 1.19 12-13 11 0 19.15     0.0 0.6 30.290 16 29.680 4 RAH 2400
    ROX 3.42 -0.35 1.05 1 1.05 1 12 1 17.46       0.0 3.3 30.380 16 29.730 4 30.070 RAH 2400
    WHI 2.29 -2.21 1.01 23 1.20 23-24 8 1 22.13         0.0 3.3 30.180 20 29.656 5 29.969 ILM 2400
    ILM 1.88 -3.30 1.52 12 1.53 12-13 8 1 16.67         0.0 T 30.210 16 29.660 5 ILM 2400
    Averages 2.80 -1.41 1.20 1.29 8.3 18.78 0.0 0.6 30.265 29.662 30.020
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    AND 2.84 -0.88 0.99 10 1.51 10-11 9 0 13.29       30.270 16 29.690 25 GSP 2400
    CAE 4.18 -0.51 1.25 10 2.25 10-11 6 2 15.32     0.0 0.0 30.250 16 29.700 5 CAE 2400
    CRE 2.52 -2.12 1.06 12 1.60 12-13 10 1 12.86 0.0 30.210 16 29.670 5 ILM 2400
    CHS 9.79 4.14 2.13 12 3.45 11-12 10 4 21.27     0.0 0.0 30.210 16 29.690 26 CHS 2400
    FLO 2.12 -2.50 1.12 12 1.12 11 6 1 18.76 30.230 16 29.680 5 ILM 2400
    GSP 1.24 -2.56 0.54 5 0.54 5 7 0 13.29         0.0 T 30.270 16 29.690 25 GSP 2400
    OGB 4.22 -0.90 1.39 24 1.39 24 8 1 17.56 30.260 16 29.710 5 CAE 2400
    Averages 3.84 -0.76 1.21 1.69 8.0 1.3 16.05 30.243 29.690
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    TRI 1.20 -2.7 0.82 1 0.82 1 7 0 17.99         0.0 1.2 30.230 16 29.64 1 MRX 2400
    DAV 2.92 0.91 18 0.93 18-19 12 0 25.90 0 108.2 PBX 2400
    Averages
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED


    Virginia:

    Arlington - " JUNE 2012 WAS THE EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH IN WASHINGTON WITH A MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE ABOVE THE 1981-2010 MONTHLY NORMAL. A MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 104 DEGREES ON THE 29TH WAS THE WARMEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED IN JUNE FOR WASHINGTON. THE PREVIOUS WARMEST TEMPERATURE IN JUNE WAS 102 DEGREES ON 9 JUNE 1874 AND 2011. THE 104-DEGREE READING WAS ALSO TIED FOR THE FIFTH WARMEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED DURING ANY MONTH. TWO DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORDS /INCLUDING THE 104 DEGREES ON THE 29TH/ AND ONE DAILY HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORD WERE SET IN JUNE. THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 90 DEGREES OR HIGHER ON 11 DAYS THIS JUNE...FIVE MORE THAN THE 1981-2010 NORMAL FOR JUNE. JUNE 2012 WAS THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE JUNE WITH AT LEAST 10 DAYS OF 90-DEGREE-OR- HIGHER TEMPERATURES. JUNE 2012 WAS THE SIXTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH OF BELOW-NORMAL RAINFALL. OVER HALF OF THE MONTHLY RAINFALL OCCURRED ON THE 1ST. A 70-MPH WIND GUST WAS MEASURED AT DCA AIRPORT ON THE EVENING OF THE 29TH WHEN A DERECHO PRODUCED WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WINDS ACROSS THE AREA. " - [ + - ] - Notes from NWS Sterling, VA

    Bridgewater - Clayton sends these additional notes: " The precipitation for the year is now around 2 inches below normal. On the 18th, Bridgewater was drenched with a huge rain storm. Some places in northern Bridgewater got 3 to 5 inches. Streets and basements were flooded. The southern part of the the town got only an inch. On the 29th, a powerful wind storm struck the eastern part of the U.S. The reports were about the same everywhere. Tree limbs were scattered and trees blown down. Power was off in most areas. Washington was hard hit and lost power for as many as 22 hours. Our phone is off and the Internet is "dead" as of this report. " - [ - + ]

    Chantilly - Russ sends these additional notes: " June was dry and ended with a heat wave. The mean monthly temperature was 72.8° (+1.9°). The mean high temperature was 83.4° (+0.6°) and the mean low temperature was 62.1° (+3.2°). We broke multiple records, with an all time June record high on the 29th (101.5°), high minimum temperature on the 21st (71.5°), and record low maximum temperature on the 18th (67.6°). Precipitation was 2.35" below normal at 1.72", as we returned to the dry pattern which preceded May. Thunderstorms were observed on the 1st, 12th, 22nd, and 29th. The storm on the 29th was classified as a derecho which traveled over 800 miles and struck after sunset on our hottest June day ever with 60+ mph winds knocking out power across many states for up to a week. We ran on backup power at this station for 32 hours and were very grateful for the utility workers who labored around the clock in record heat to restore our power (and air conditioning!!). *Please note, anemometer is currently partially obstructed from the North and East " - [ + - ]

    Dulles - from NWS Sterling (KLWX): " THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE FOR JUNE 2012 WAS SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL AT DULLES. A MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 102 DEGREES ON THE 29TH WAS THE WARMEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED IN JUNE FOR DULLES. THE PREVIOUS WARMEST TEMPERATURE IN JUNE WAS 100 DEGREES ON 27 JUNE 1964. THE 102-DEGREE READING WAS ALSO TIED FOR THE SIXTH WARMEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED DURING ANY MONTH. A RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 68 DEGREES ON THE 18TH BROKE THE PREVIOUS LOW MAXIMUM RECORD OF 71F SET IN 1973. THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 90 DEGREES OR HIGHER ON NINE DAYS THIS JUNE... THREE MORE 90-DEGREE DAYS THAN THE 1981-2010 NORMAL FOR JUNE. RAINFALL IN JUNE WAS WELL BELOW-NORMAL. JUNE 2012 WAS THE 12TH DRIEST JUNE ON RECORD...BUT THE WETTEST JUNE SINCE 2009. A 71-MPH WIND GUST WAS MEASURED AT DULLES AIRPORT ON THE EVENING OF THE 29TH WHEN A DERECHO PRODUCED WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WINDS ACROSS THE AREA. " - [ + - ]

    Glen Allen - Lowell reports: " June was the coolest June on record at the Glen Allen station. The monthly mean temperature had a departure of -4.0°F and was below average in precipitation by 0.27 inches. Remember June of 2010 was the hottest on record at the Richmond International Airport and is in this three year average. (Records since August 2008) There were 11 days in June with maximum temperatures of 90°F or more. However, the 102°F recorded on the 29th was the highest temperature ever recorded at this station for June. The maximum precipitation recorded in a day was 1.11 inches on the 25th in a severe thunderstorm when 0.47 inches fell in five minutes which was the most intense precipitation since June 3, 2009 when 0.48 inches fell in 5 minutes. The thunderstorm of the 25th was small and severe. It had small hail of 0.25 to 0.33 inches which lasted for about one minute. The storm had 47 mph winds the highest wind speed of 2012 but much higher winds were in the news of 60 to 80 mph. However the storm didn't have much lightning. Wind damage was the main destruction and many trees were broken off not like Irene when most were uprooted. We were also lucky on the night of the 29th as a derecho traveled over 450 miles from the Chicago area with winds to 80 mph in places like the Roanoke Airport but weakened just west of Henrico. Thunder was heard on eight days during June but the 25th was the only severe storm here. June was the clearest on record with an average relative humidity of 61.6 % only 1 % from being the lowest on record for June. These factors helped in giving June the greatest temperature range on record at Glen Allen. The lowest dew point temperature for June was 45.7°F on the 26th at 0225 and the highest dew point was 78.3°F on the 21st at 1452. The Richmond International Airport had 103°F on the 29th setting a new record for the date. Only one day in the Richmond records was hotter for the month of June which was June 26th, 1952 when a 104 øF observation was taken. They also tied the record high maximum temperature of 98°F on the 20th which occurred in 1933. The Richmond International Airport reported the mean temperature for June of 74.1°F which was their coolest June since 2003 with a mean of 72.7°F. Their 4.27 inches of precipitation rated 52nd place in the past 142 years. - [ - M ] "

    Hampton - NWS Wakefield (AKQ) reports: " THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WAKEFIELD VA HAS CONFIRMED A TORNADO NEAR HAMPTON IN HAMPTON COUNTY VIRGINIA ON JUN 2 2012 . THE TORNADO BEGAN AS A WATERSPOUT TOUCHDOWN WITH POWER FLASHES ON THE MONITOR MERRIMAC BRIDGE. ITS TRACK WENT OVER CHESAPEAKE AVENUE... THROUGH DOWNTOWN HAMPTON...TO THE HAMPTON YACHT CLUB BEFORE MOVING INTO THE CHESAPEAKE BAY. TENTS AT THE BLACKBEARD FESTIVAL WERE BLOWN OVER. HUNDREDS OF HOMES WERE DAMAGED AT BOTH THE MERRIMAC SHORES AND WITHE NEIGHBORHOODS. AT THE HAMPTON YACHT CLUB...WINDOWS WERE BLOWN OUT AND THE ROOF WAS PARTIALLY DAMAGED. THE HAMPTON ROADS SEA FOOD BUILDING ON SUNSET ROAD ALSO EXPERIENCED ROOF DAMAGE. "

    Herndon - Randy sends these notes: " June was below normal for temperature and for precipitation. The temperatures ranged between a high of 101 and a low of 51. We averaged 1.4 degrees below normal for the month. The month started off very mild until about the 20th when the warmer air moved in reaching the max temperature on the 29th. On the precipitation side, the month was 2.31" below normal with 2.38" measured. This is the sixth consecutive month of below average precipitation. We had strong thunderstorms on the first and then again on the 29th with very little in between. The storms on the 29th included very strong winds which did extensive damage through out the area including widespread power outages. Our power was down for over 45 hours. We have now had only 15.14" for the year which is now about 7.4" below normal for the year. " - [ - - ]

    Richmond - from NWS Wakefield (AKQ): " THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WAKEFIELD VA HAS CONFIRMED A TORNADO NEAR MECHANICSVILLE IN HANOVER COUNTY VIRGINIA ON JUNE 30 2012. AN NWS STORM SURVEY HAS CONCLUDED THAT THE TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES, WITH A PATH ABOUT SEVEN AND ONE HALF MILES IN LENGTH AND 50 TO 100 HUNDRED YARDS IN WIDTH. THE TORNADO PRODUCED DAMAGE CONSISTENT WITH AN EF-0 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE, DOWNING NUMEROUS TREES AND PRODUCING SOME MINOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE IN THE AREA. "

    Portsmouth - " The 8.13" of rain recorded during June 2012 in the West Cradock area of Portsmouth, Virginia, produced the THIRD WETTEST JUNE IN THE DATABASE TO JULY 1976. The Top 5 Wettest Junes include: 1) 10.14" 2006, 2) 8.25" 2009, 3) 8.13" 2012, 4) 7.56" 1978, and 5) 6.98" 2004. June's average temperature (73.7°) was 2.0° BELOW NORMAL. Precipitation was WELL-ABOVE NORMAL by 3.95" or 194% of normal relative to normal Junes for the period from 1977 to 2011. Surface frontal passages occurred on the 2nd, 4th, 13th, 14th, 19th (warmfront), 24th, and 25th. A strong surface front in the form of a derecho passed early morning on the 30th. For this observer, it meant standing (with no great ease!) on the upper front deck here at the station, holding flags, weather instruments and flowers in place. Rarely do I stand out in a storm with straightline winds, but looking at my weather webcam, while the rain gauges were firmly in place, the 4-foot stand on which they were mounted was soon the "Leaning Tower of Portsmouth". So, after holding the instrumentation stand steady, I quickly learned the effects of severe, ongoing straightline winds which lasted at this station for 5 minutes, gusting to 46mph for what seemed to be eternity. Fortunately, the lightning and rain that accompanied the storm occurred here after the straightline winds subsided. JUNE STATION RECORDS: 1st - RAINFALL 1.26" (prev 0.54" 2001], 6th - TEMPERATURE Minimum 52° [prev 53° 1991], 7th - TEMP TIED Minimum 54° [prev 1991], 14th - WIND GUST 31mph [prev 30mph 1989], 18th - TEMP Minimum 54° [prev 56° 1980], 20th - TEMP TIED Maximum 94° [prev 1993], 21st - TEMP TIED Maximum 96° [prev 1988 & 1994], 29th - TEMP Maximum 99° [prev 97° 1980], 30th - WIND GUST 46mph [prev 27mph 1998], 30th - RAIN 0.61" [prev 0.48" 1984] " - [ - + ]

    North Carolina:

    Greensboro - from NWS Raleigh RAH: " THE HIGH TEMPERATURE JUNE 29 AT PIEDMONT TRIAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 102 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 100 SET IN 1894. " - [ - - ]

    Raleigh - Bob reports: " THE AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURE FOR JUNE WAS 2.5 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL WITH PLEASANT TEMPERATURES DURING MOST OF THE MONTH. HOWEVER, THE END OF MONTH WAS VERY HOT WITH 103 HIGHS ON BOTH THE 29TH AND 30TH WHICH CONTINUED INTO EARLY JULY. PRECIPITATION WAS SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL FOR JUNE AND 0.25" ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE YEAR. THERE WAS NO SEVERE WEATHER (DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL) OBSERVED DURING THE MONTH IN THIS REGION. " - [ - + ]

    Raleigh - from NWS Raleigh RAH: " THE DAILY RAINFALL JUNE 11 AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 1.06 INCHES. THIS BREAKS THE OLD DAILY RAINFALL RECORD OF 0.93 SET OM 1904. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE JUNE 30 AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 105 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 102 SET IN 1959. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE JUNE 29 AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 105 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 101 SET IN 1945. THIS ALSO BREAKS THE ALL-TIME JUNE HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORD OF 104 SET ON JUNE 27 OF 1954. " - [ - - ]

    North Whiteville - Chris sends these notes: " One word, especially about the end of the month: HOT. I have had a weather station in service since mid 2006. The hottest temperature recorded was 106.6 on 8/5/2007. On June 30th, 2012 I recorded a high temp of 106.5 (with a maximum heat index of a sick 131.2 - confirmed three different ways). " - [ - - ]

    Nearby Locations:

    Tri-Cities - from NWS MRX, Morristown, TN: " The monthly-averaged temperature at Tri-Cities in June was 72.3 degrees which was 0.8 degrees above normal. It tied with 1962 and 1960 as the 28th warmest June on record. A record high temperature was broken on the 28th when the temperature peaked at 97 degrees surpassing the previous record of 96 degrees set in 1952. Another new temperature record was shattered on the next day when the afternoon temperature soared to 102 degrees breaking the previous record 95 degrees set in 1952. Lastly, a record high temperature was shattered again on the next day when the temperature peaked at 103 degrees surpassing the previous record of 95 degrees set in 1959. The warmest June at Tri-Cities was in 1952 when the average temperature was 77.9 degrees. Tri-Cities received 1.20 inches of rain in June, which was 2.70 inches below normal. It ranked as the 6th driest June on record. Measurable precipitation occurred on 7 days and only 1 of those days had more than one-quarter of an inch of precipitation. The heaviest precipitation fell on the 1st when 0.82 inches of rain was reported, which accounted for the bulk of the precipitation for the entire month. The driest June of the 74 years of observations taken at Tri-Cities was in 1986 when only 0.75 inches of precipitation was recorded. " - [ + - ]



    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
      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



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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:

      
    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   
      WOO  Woodstock, VA 5NW Lauck Walton 12/1/85 jwalton@shentel.net
       LDY Ladysmith, VA Danny Jessee 2003 STATION CLOSED 8/31/2010 danny@dannyjessee.com
    BRI     Bridgewater, VA Clayton Towers Ctowers19@aol.com WAL   Wallops Island, VA 37° 56'26" N 75° 27'47" W Wallops Flight Facility Airport
    CEN  Centreville, VA Paul Bassett 1985, 38° 50.9788' N LAT. 77° 25.6374' W LON. | Elevation 324' | m.psb@verizon.net AVL    Asheville, NC  Asheville Regional Airport 35-25-55N 082-32-15W 670M
    CHO   Charlottesville, VA  Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport ASOS  (Rappahannock County) 38-08-18N 078-27-21W 192M 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 Airport 35-12-48N 080-56-55W 220M
    IAD   Dulles - Washington-Dulles International Airport  38-56-05N 077-26-51W 93M   
    FCH    Falls Church, VA Erica Page 3/7/94 Windie1970@aol.com HKY  Hickory, NC 
    HAM    Hampton, VA 5NE Dave Kessel 1989 davidkessel@cox.net ECG  Elizabeth City, NC,  Coast Guard Air Station 36-15-47N 076 10-58W 11M
    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
    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
      MON    Moncure, NC  Chatham County - Mac McIlwain mac.mcilwain@embarqmail.com
      RAL    Raleigh, NC 7NNW  Bob Woodson -  6/1/93 kf4mmm@qsl.net
    LKU     Louisa, VA 1N Joseph Bowers 1944 - NWS ID  44-5050-02 STATION CLOSED RDU   Raleigh-Durham, NC Raleigh-Durham International Airport 35-52-14N 078-47-11W 130M
    LOU     Louisa, VA 6S John Bullock (about 1970) STATION CLOSED ROX    Roxboro, NC 2SE Merriell A. Jay 1/93
         WHI   North Whiteville, NC Christopher Crawley 12/10 34.413744N / 078.751908W
    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 STATION CLOSED 5/31/10 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@yahoo.com