MONTHLY SUMMARY: JUNE 1998 UPDATED: 7/17/98 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...A WET NORTHERN VIRGINIA... ...THE NORTHERN HALF OF NORTH CAROLINA NEAR NORMAL... ...SOUTHERN NORTH CAROLINA AND MUCH OF SOUTH CAROLINA HOT... ...DRY FOR MUCH OF SOUTH CAROLINA... First, A BIG WELCOME to new member Rick Schwartz from Alexandria, Virginia. Over the northern reaches of our area of focus, temperatures ran below normal for much of June's first half. All areas in our ACON region warmed-up for the second half of the month. Temperatures were blazing over southern North Carolina and all of South Carolina, ranging from 2 to in excess of 5 degrees above normal!! The mountainous sections of the region experienced above normal temperatures as well. Rainfall was well-above normal over Northern Virginia and DC with Alexandria and Annandale reporting their wettest June's on record! Most noteworthy was the high number of days in these areas- even south to central Virginia - with thunderstorms, many of which contributed greatly to the above average precip totals. Over interior southwest and southern Virginia and all of North Carolina, precip totals were around normal or slightly below normal. In the Greenville/ Spartanburg area, as in the Tri-cities areas, rainfall totals were above normal; but much of the remaining South Carolina areas were far below normal leading to tremendous "burning" of crops. NOTES FROM "AROUND THE LEAGUE"- Alexandria - This was one of the wettest June's since 1972! On a lighter note, the rains likely contributed to the invasion of his townhouse by earthworms on the 15th and 16th! Seems they were "washed-ashore" by increasing rainfall! Here's a reprint of Rick's recent "Hurricane Hot Spots" short-subject: In the Autumn of 1996, "Virginia Climate Advisory," put out by the Virginia State Climatologist Office, discussed how temperatures temporarily rose up to 10 degrees when what was left of the center of "once Hurricane Fran" passed over the Waynesboro weather station in Central Virginia. At that point, Fran had been downgraded to a minimal tropical storm with no definable eye on radar. There seemed to be an invisible warm core only a few miles wide. "When the back side of the remnant eye returned, the temperature dropped back the exact same amount it had warmed in the period of a few minutes." One of these days, the remnants of a hurricane will pass directory through the ACON (VA/NC/SC) area. Observers may then have an opportunity to extensively document a latent warm core-- still apparent even when an eye wall no longer appears on radar. A latent warm core, or perhaps localized "hot spot," may help explain the sudden localized deluges or tornadoes which occasionally occur after a storm has traversed hundreds of miles inland. Annandale - June was like May what with its split personality! Cool weather prevailed until the 16th with above average temps until the 30th! June had 12 days with the temp >= 85, the least number of such days since 1995. The month was the wettest June ever, surpassing the previous record of 5.94" in 1983. June had a record 19 days with rainfall (old 14). A one-hour rainfall of 1.39" fell on the 23rd, nearing a previous one-hour amount of 1.41" recorded in 1992. On the 15th, Lowell recorded the largest hail ever experienced at his station. The hail's average size was marble size with some hail up to dime size. The lowest barometer, 29.45", since June 1981 (29.40") was recorded on the 15th. Arlington - According to NWS WBC, Reagan-Washington National reported that June 1998 became the 6th consecutive month with above normal precip. However, it did not even come close to the record for June which was 11.53" set in 1972. Precipitation for the first half of 1998 has totalled 28.48" which is over ten inches above normal. Temps were well below normal for June. Bridgewater - The first strong thunderstorm of the year with hail and strong winds occurred on the 16th. So far this year there have been 24 precipitation spells with thunder. Last year there were only 12 for the entire year. Each night around midnight, thunderstorms occurred on the 27th, 28th, and 29th. I thought this was unusual for this to happen on three consective nights. The lightning was similar and quite vivid in all three of these storms. I couldn't stay in bed. I had to get up and watch Mother Nature's fireworks! The precipitation and average temperature for June was above normal. The total precipitation for the year is 28.47" which is about 11 inches above normal. (notes from Clayton Towers) Centreville - On Monday, June 15th, between 1810 and 1820 LDT, 1" to 1.5" disk shaped hail fell. Accumulation was very light. Horizontal shearing during passage of gust front was considered as possible cause for shearing resulting in the flat, disk nature of the hail. (Any suggestions for Paul?) Paul's average monthly temp was 1.4 degrees in excess of the normal while precip was 2.14" above the 4.23 inch norm. Falls Church - Erica noted a June that had double the normal amount of rainfall!! There were also a great number of thunderstorm days compared with the average. As for temperatures, the average high and average low were about normal. Fredericksburg - 12 days here with measurable precip. This was the 6th consecutive month with at least 4.75" of rainfall. (notes from Ken) Hampton - Dave Kessel notes that June began cool-to-mild, but with very humid conditions. The typical June weather occurred from mid month until the end of June, something which he has not observed in the past several years. During the transition from "cooler" to very hot/humid conditions, severe thunderstorms occurred on 3 days. On Saturday, June 13th, severe thunderstorms produced nickle-size hail and a 45 MPH wind gust. However, winds gusting to 60 MPH and baseball-size hail were noted over Langley AFB and over eastern Poquoson. On Monday, June 15th, severe t-storms passed 5 miles to the north of his station and produced a 50 MPH gust with some wind damage. On Tuesday, June 16th, severe thunderstorms produced 70 MPH winds with widespread wind damage in Hampton. My station was without power for 12 hours! Also, 2 inches of rain fell early on Sunday, the 28th, as a front stalled in the area. It will be interesting to see if this pattern of severe weather, warm-ups, and cool-downs continue! Herndon - Russ Topping noted: Another wet month, mainly due to numerous thunderstorms. We had half inch hail during a severe thunderstorm on the 15th. A new record high of 95 degrees was set on the 26th and a daily record 1.42 inches of rain fell on the 15th. Mechanicsville - Glenn noted strong thunderstorms which produced sharp lightning, downpours, and gusty winds on the 13th and 22nd. Newport News - The month, according to Gary's records, averaged 2.3 degrees above normal. The month was wetter than normal. On the 13th, while at his daughter's wedding in Yorktown, Gary's neighbors reported hail during a thunderstorm. On the 28th at 4:30 AM, sharp lightning provided a strong wake-up call and 2.16" of rain in 70 minutes. The highest low temp record for the month was broken with 81 degrees on the 27th. The 81 degrees also broke a record, the highest low temp for ANY month at NPN! Norfolk - The average monthly temp was 1.8 degrees in excess of normal. Meanwhile, precip was 0.74" above normal. (from NWS AKQ) Portsmouth - Like many stations near DC and VA, temps during the first 10 days of June averaged below normal before a warm-up occurred for most of the remaining days. Temps ranged from 52 on the 8th to 98 on the 26th. The mean monthly tmperature was 1.9 degrees above normal while precip was slightly below (-0.17") or 95% of the norm. A south-southwest gust to 46 MPH was recorded here on the 16th while just about 8 miles to the northwest of this station, a 62 MPH gust was recorded at Western Branch HS in western Chesapeake. Richmond - The mean temperature was 0.1 degree above normal while precip was 0.79" above normal. The year to date precip is 11.36" above normal! (report from NWS AKQ) Roanoke - Wendell noted a much drier June compared with previous months. Precipitation was only .09" below average. The temperature was 2.1 degrees above normal. An unusal number of t-storms totalling 12, none severe! (Note to Wendell: just as surprisingly that a report for May precip/temps issued by NWS Blacksburg [for ROA, BCB, LYH] appeared on the NWS IWIN home page, none was retrievable for June! There continues to be some problem with the NWS' making your area's summaries easily retrievable! They don't show up often on the Internet using the normal methods for retrieving data!!) Stafford - From Danny Jessee come these notes: - June was the second rainiest month of the year, receiving 241% of = normal rainfall - Year-to-date precipitation 203% of normal - June finishes 1.21=80 above average, with a string of rather hot days = near the end of the month - Severe storms knock down many trees and power lines on June 16 (1.32") Weems - Francis Socey's monthly summary indicated 11 days with t-storms! Woodstock - A cool and wet June according to Lauck. This was the 5th straight June with precip at least an inch above the 1950-1970 average. Asheville - The monthly mean temp was 2.3 degrees above normal. The monthly rainfall total was 0.59" above normal. (from NWS GSP) Brevard - This report is based upon temperature readings for 20 and rainfall for 30 days, travelling again from the 11th to the 20th. June was warm with an average high of 84.9 deg. F compared with a range of 76.5 to 84.5 deg.for the past eight Junes. The average low, 59.8 deg. made for comfortablesleeping. Rainfall, 6.49", is about average for a month whose rainfall ranges from 2.14 to 13.14". Thunder was observed on 13 of the 20 days and morning fog occured on 11 days. Charlotte - The month's temps averaged a whopping 5.2 degrees above normal!! 21 days saw temps reach or exceed 90 degrees!! Precip ran some 0.17" above normal. (from NWS GSP) Greensboro - NWS RDU notes that the Piedmont-Triad area experienced average monthly temps some 2.4 degrees above normal. Precip was slightly below normal (-0.28") For the year, precip is 8.13" above normal. A record low minimum was established on the 7th at 47 degrees. The old record was 51. One record high minimum of 72 degrees was tied on the 12th!! Henderson - During June, temperatures were above normal and precip, finally, was below normal. Raleigh - Bob reports that June was a warm month with the average temp approximately 2.4 degrees above normal. The high of 98 degrees on the 30th was the highest June max temp since 1994. At least 5 severe weather watches were issued during the month. Raleigh - June precip, sayeth NWS RDU, rebounded nicely, ending the month near average. However, for the year, precipitation continued to be above normal with 9.88" in excess. The month began with average temps running near to slightly below normal. However, the month ended with 11 days in a row of "90 degrees or higher" days with each day registering 5 or more degrees above normal. There were two record high minimum temperatures: 70 degrees tied the record on the 1st and 75 degrees on the 16th broke the old record of 73. Roxboro - June was a hazy, humid month. Hotter and drier than normal, too. Very uncomfortable dew point levels! Wilmington - NWS ILM reported that Wilmington's temps were definitely on the warm side in June. The average temp was some 4.5 degrees in excess of normal. This marked the 3rd warmest June on record (back to 1871!) The 20 days with high temps of 90 degrees or warmer was the 2nd most for any June in history. Record warm lows were set on the 3rd, 16th, and 28th while they were tied on the 1st, 2nd, and 15th. The coldest reading was 52 degrees on the 8th which tied the record low for the date. The highest peak wind gust ever recorded in June occurred on the 17th when the anemometer peaked at 64 MPH from the south!! Columbia - The average monthly temp- according to NWS CAE - was 4.9 degrees above normal while the precip total was 2.74" below normal!! Greenville/Spartanburg - The average monthly temperature was 2.5 degrees above normal while rainfall totals were 0.97" in excess of the norm. Yearly total rainfall was some 5.78" above normal. (from NWS GSP) Ruby - Franklin reports that June was rather dry. More rain has fallen this month but the heat was so intense that the rain evaporated as fast as it fell. Crops in theis area are burning at this time. Tri-cities - NWS TYS notes than the Tri-cities average monthly temp was right at the norm while precip was 3.85" in excess of the norm. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- UPDATED MEMBERS' E-MAIL ADDRESSES: (posted by permission) BRE Bob Keehn Bob_Keehn@citcom.net BRI Clayton Towers Ctowers@rica.net POR Bill Trotter wtrotter@whro.org RAL Bob Woodson woods@pipeline.com CEN Paul Bassett III pbassett@digizen.net WSH David Yowell deyowell@mnsinc.com FCH Erica Page erica@erols.com RMD Roy Britt rbritt@erols.com NEW Joyce Winfree joywood@shentel.net FRB Ken McKneely mckneelys@email.msn.com STF Danny Jessee tornado@tidalwave.net WOO Lauck Walton jwalton@shentel.net NPN Gary Leonard garleonard@aol.com -----------------------------------------------------------------------------