The Century Club

[jmundie]

In Nashville (maybe not in Memphis) the last two days have felt like fall preview, especially compared to the last, well, 3 months. Upper 80s yesterday with a firm North breeze and low humidity, today was right around 90 with lower humidity.

Feels like football, crisp mornings, and actually enjoying my coffee outside is just around the corner.

[Kevin]

In Nashville (maybe not in Memphis) the last two days have felt like fall preview, especially compared to the last, well, 3 months. Upper 80s yesterday with a firm North breeze and low humidity, today was right around 90 with lower humidity.

Feels like football, crisp mornings, and actually enjoying my coffee outside is just around the corner.

Definitely not Memphis, unfortunately.

Climatology has always shown a sharp contrast in many summers between Nashville and Memphis. The same difference between Memphis and Little Rock, AR...which has had double the # of 100-degree days this year vs us...certainly it seems though that typical contrast has been exaggerated this summer.

[Nashville_wx]

The name of the game here has been Rainfall too tho.

RAINFALL FOR THE YEAR IN NASHVILLE HAS TOTALED 47.50 INCHES. THIS
IS JUST SHY OF OUR NORMAL ANNUAL RAINFALL OF 48.11 INCHES. OTHER
YEARS WITH SIMILAR AMOUNTS OF RAINFALL THROUGH AUGUST 20TH WERE
BACK IN 1950 AND IN 1882.

I find it funny the winter of 1950-1951 had 33.5" of Snow.

[Curt]

Avg temp in August at KMEM is actually 0.1 warmer than KLIT. One can thank the bigger urban heat island in Memphis for keeping overnight lows warmer than LR.

[Kevin]

Avg temp in August at KMEM is actually 0.1 warmer than KLIT. One can thank the bigger urban heat island in Memphis for keeping overnight lows warmer than LR.

That is true. The compiled averages also don't feature the 2001-2010 period yet...which have featured a lot more 100-degree days for each city than the previous normal period.

[Kevin]

Models continue to back off highs for next week while maintaining low dewpoints in the 60s (perhaps even upper 50s). Highs in the mid 90s at best...some new data suggests lower 90s...but with drier air...I think it will heat up a little more. But...in terms of "excessive heat"...anything requiring further headlines across West TN...that should be over with after Tomorrow as HI values should hold near actual temperatures.

[Curt]

GFS showing DP's later in the week dropping to the 50's, with even an upper 40 or two showing up. Temps at KMEM showing 60 one night, which given the UHI mean prob mid to upper 60's, but outlying areas could make that mark. Bottom line is, relief in the way of drier air and much nicer mrning lows are on the way. Perhaps this thread could be put to rest finally??

[StormNine]

 Now it appears we will be heading towards normal late summer period.  So far this year we have had  ,  , , ,

[Kevin]

Models are increasingly suggesting sub-90 highs possible for the entire region Mid-Week...we'll see if it holds!

[tennessee storm09]

also looks like we might even have a few locals go in the upper 50s for overnight lows. that would be nice for sure.

[Crockett]

Raw numbers from the GFS suggesting highs in upper 70s to about 80 on Thursday/Friday for northern Plateau, with lows in the low 50s Friday/Saturday mornings.  

[toastido]

Some interesting figures out of HUN:

996
NOUS44 KHUN 240228
PNSHUN
ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-260230-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
928 PM CDT MON AUG 23 2010

...STATISTICS FROM THE HOT SUMMER OF 2010...

WITH JUST OVER ONE WEEK LEFT OF METEOROLOGICAL SUMMER (JUNE THROUGH
AUGUST) AND SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES ON THE WAY...HERE IS A LOOK
AT SOME STATISTICS FROM THE VERY HOT SUMMER OF 2010.

SO FAR...THIS RANKS AS THE HOTTEST METEOROLOGICAL SUMMER ON RECORD
AT HUNTSVILLE AND MUSCLE SHOALS. HERE IS A MORE DETAILED LOOK AT
SUMMER TEMPERATURE RANKINGS AND A LIST OF VARIOUS RECORDS FROM
THESE LOCATIONS AND A FEW OF OUR OTHER COOPERATIVE OBSERVER SITES.

SUMMER TEMPERATURE RANKINGS SO FAR IN 2010...

LOCATION      2010 TEMPERATURE    RANK   HOTTEST SUMMER
HUNTSVILLE         84.0            1       82.0 (1952)
MUSCLE SHOALS      83.0            1       82.8 (1952)
BELLE MINA         81.7            2       83.3 (1952)
SCOTTSBORO         81.6            1       80.3 (1943)
VALLEY HEAD        79.3            4       79.9 (1914)

THE TEMPERATURES FOR THE HOTTEST SUMMER COLUMN IN THE TABLE ABOVE
REPRESENT THE CURRENT RECORD HOT SUMMERS FOR THE LOCATION INDICATED.
NOTICE THAT THE TEMPERATURE AT HUNTSVILLE SO FAR FOR THE SUMMER OF
2010 IS 2.0 DEGREES WARMER. IF THE AVERAGE DOES NOT FALL BELOW 82.0
DEGREES BY THE END OF AUGUST...THEN THIS WILL END AS THE HOTTEST
SUMMER ON RECORD FOR HUNTSVILLE. THIS IS ALSO THE HOTTEST SUMMER ON
RECORD FOR THE SHOALS SO FAR. HOWEVER...THE FINAL AVERAGE MAY FALL
BELOW THE 82.8 DEGREES RECORD SUMMER SET IN 1952...SINCE SLIGHTLY
COOLER TEMPERATURES ARE ON THE WAY. SCOTTSBORO MAY FINISH WITH THE
HOTTEST...BUT IT COULD BE CLOSE DEPENDING ON THE TEMPERATURES FOR
THESE LAST 10 DAYS OF AUGUST.

NOW FOR SOME RECORD DAILY RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES THAT HAVE
BEEN SET THIS SUMMER...

LOCATION    TEMPERATURE     DATE
HUNTSVILLE      103      AUGUST 4TH
HUNTSVILLE      103      AUGUST 12TH
BELLE MINA      102      AUGUST 13TH
BELLE MINA      101      JULY 9TH
BELLE MINA      100      JULY 10TH
GUNTERSVILLE    100      AUGUST 5TH
CROSSVILLE       98      AUGUST 5TH
CROSSVILLE       98      AUGUST 12TH
CROSSVILLE       97      AUGUST 2ND
CROSSVILLE       97      AUGUST 11TH

WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN SOME DAILY RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES
SET THIS SUMMER...IT IS THE RECORD DAILY HIGH MINIMUMS THAT ARE
TRULY REMARKABLE. FOLLOWING ARE SOME RECORD WARM MINIMUM
TEMPERATURES FOR THE LOCATION AND DATE INDICATED. THE TABLE HAS BEEN
SEPARATED BY LOCATION. SO FAR THIS SUMMER...HUNTSVILLE HAS SET OR
TIED 24 RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORDS...INCLUDING AN
ALL-TIME RECORD WARM OVERNIGHT LOW FOR AUGUST ON TWO OCCASIONS.

HUNTSVILLE
DATE..........TEMPERATURE
JUNE 11TH.........75
JUNE 12TH.........76
JUNE 13TH.........76
JUNE 19TH.........75
JUNE 22ND.........76
JUNE 24TH.........75
JULY 28TH.........75
JULY 31ST.........75
AUGUST 1ST........77
AUGUST 2ND........76
AUGUST 3RD........78
AUGUST 4TH........79 (ALL-TIME RECORD FOR AUGUST)
AUGUST 5TH........78
AUGUST 6TH........75
AUGUST 9TH........79 (ALL-TIME RECORD FOR AUGUST)
AUGUST 10TH.......77
AUGUST 11TH.......77
AUGUST 12TH.......76
AUGUST 13TH.......76
AUGUST 14TH.......76
AUGUST 15TH.......77
AUGUST 17TH.......77
AUGUST 18TH.......77
AUGUST 19TH.......77

MUSCLE SHOALS
DATE...........TEMPERATURE
JULY 1ST...........76
AUGUST 1ST.........76
AUGUST 12TH........76
AUGUST 13TH........75
AUGUST 14TH........76
AUGUST 18TH........77

BELLE MINA
DATE...........TEMPERATURE
AUGUST 19TH........73

SCOTTSBORO
DATE...........TEMPERATURE
JULY 21ST..........73
JULY 26TH..........76
AUGUST 4TH.........76
AUGUST 5TH.........76
AUGUST 11TH........74
AUGUST 13TH........75
AUGUST 17TH........74
AUGUST 19TH........75

VALLEY HEAD
DATE...........TEMPERATURE
JULY 29TH..........71
AUGUST 2ND.........73
AUGUST 3RD.........76
AUGUST 10TH........71
AUGUST 13TH........72
AUGUST 15TH........75
AUGUST 16TH........74
AUGUST 17TH........74
AUGUST 18TH........74
AUGUST 19TH........74
AUGUST 22ND........72

AS YOU WILL NOTICE...MOST OF THE RECORDS FROM THIS SUMMER ARE DUE TO
THE VERY WARM OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES.

FOLLOWING ARE A COUPLE OF TABLES CONTAINING THE YEARLY RANKINGS FOR
THE NUMBER OF SUMMER DAYS WITH DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES AT OR
ABOVE 90 DEGREES FOR HUNTSVILLE AND MUSCLE SHOALS.

HUNTSVILLE
RANK......YEAR.....SUMMER DAYS 90 OR ABOVE
1.........1954...............80
2.........1943...............78
3.........1925...............77
4.........1913...............73
4(TIE)....1921...............73
6.........1914...............72
7.........1993...............71
7(TIE)....2010...............71
9.........1931...............70
10........1956...............69

MUSCLE SHOALS
RANK......YEAR.....SUMMER DAYS 90 OR ABOVE
1.........1925...............84
2.........1954...............78
3.........1914...............76
4.........1943...............75
5.........1936...............74
6.........1934...............73
7.........1899...............72
7(TIE)....1902...............72
9.........2007...............71
10........1987...............70
17........2010...............67

NOTICE THAT HUNTSVILLE CURRENTLY RANKS 7TH...WHILE THE SHOALS RANKS
17TH. HOWEVER...GIVEN THE LATEST FORECAST NUMBERS...HUNTSVILLE IS
LIKELY TO CLIMB INTO THE TOP 5...WITH THE SHOALS POSSIBLY MAKING IT
INTO THE TOP 10 BEFORE AUGUST COMES TO A CLOSE.

THE MAIN STORY THIS SUMMER HOWEVER...HAS BEEN THE HUMID CONDITIONS
AND THE VERY WARM OVERNIGHT LOWS. 2010 FOR HUNTSVILLE RANKS FIRST
FOR THE NUMBER OF DAYS WITH MINIMUM TEMPERATURES AT 70 OR
ABOVE...WHILE THIS SUMMER CURRENTLY RANKS 2ND FOR THE SHOALS.
FOLLOWING ARE A COUPLE OF TABLES DETAILING THE TOP TEN YEARS WITH
LOWS ABOVE 70 DEGREES AT HUNTSVILLE AND MUSCLE SHOALS. 

HUNTSVILLE
RANK......YEAR.....MORNING LOWS 70 OR ABOVE
1.........2010...............74
2.........1998...............65
3.........2006...............61
4.........2005...............60
4(TIE)....2007...............60
6.........1952...............59
7.........1965...............55
7(TIE)....1966...............55
9.........1969...............51
10........2002...............50

MUSCLE SHOALS
RANK......YEAR.....MORNING LOWS 70 OR ABOVE
1.........1998...............75
2.........1943...............71
2(TIE)....2010...............71
4.........1911...............67
4(TIE)....1980...............67
6.........1910...............64
6(TIE)....1899...............64
6(TIE)....1902...............64
6(TIE)....2007...............64
10........1899...............60
10(TIE)...1934...............60

THESE DATA WILL BE UPDATED AGAIN AFTER THE END OF AUGUST WITH FINAL
NUMBERS FOR THE SUMMER. HOWEVER...SINCE SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES
ARE FORECAST THROUGH THE END OF AUGUST...IT IS NOT LIKELY THAT ANY
MORE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORDS WILL BE SET OR MINIMUMS AT 70 OR
ABOVE WILL OCCUR FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE MONTH. AVERAGE SUMMER
TEMPERATURES WILL BE UPDATED THOUGH...AS WILL BE THE NUMBER OF
MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES ABOVE 90. ALSO...LOOK FOR MORE STATISTICS AND
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SUMMER OF 2010 COMING TO OUR WEB PAGE AT
http://HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HUNTSVILLE DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER.

HUNTSVILLE TEMPERATURE DATA ARE AVAILABLE SINCE 1907 AND MUSCLE
SHOALS TEMPERATURE DATA ARE AVAILABLE SINCE 1893. ANY MONTHS THAT
CONTAIN MISSING TEMPERATURE DATA ARE NOT COUNTED IN THE RANKINGS.

$$

KDW

[Coach B]

Wow at the number of record high mins at Huntsville!  Obviously due to the incredible humidity.  Maybe the increased effect of the UHI as well?

[Curt]

The data is in for Memphis...officially the second hottest summer ever in Memphis with an avg of 85.4 degrees, just shy of #1 summer of 1980 at 85.5. Also this summer had the warmest avg low temps on record at 76.3 degrees. There were 21 heat related fatalities and the heat index topped out at 118 on 3 occasions.

I for one am glad to see this summer go, adn I welcome widespread lows in the 50's this weekend. 

[dwagner88]

I wish MRX would do some reports like this. I can't imagine that it was much cooler in Chattanooga than in Huntsville this summer. Maybe a bit cooler overnight, but blazing hot during the day. We hit 98 today. I don't want to see those kind of temps again until at least July 2011.