July was very warm, somewhat dry

Published 9:15 am Tuesday, August 20, 2024

LONG BEACH — This July was the third warmest in Pacific County records going back to 1895, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

The county’s round-the-clock average for the month was 64.4 degrees, well above the 20th century average of 60 degrees. It has been 14 years since July’s local temperature was below average. This July’s average was exceeded only by 64.8 in 2015 and 1906.

From the start of the year through July, the county’s average temperature was 50.3 degrees, compared to 48.4 degrees for those seven months during the 20th century. Temps have been above average for the year up to July for 12 straight years.

Daytime highs in July averaged 74.4 degrees, also well above the 70.6 degree 20th century average. Nightly lows in the county averaged 53.4 degrees this July, compared to the 20th century average of 49.4 degrees. In the four decades starting in 1984, nighttime lows here have been below average in only three years.

The county’s overall July precipitation was 0.58 inches, according to NOAA, compared to the 20th century average of 1.31 inches. The past five Julys have seen below average rainfall. However, in the “water year” that begins each October, the county recorded 83.5 inches of precipitation — just under seven feet — only slightly below the long-term average of 84.28 inches. Since the start of the 21st century, 13 of the October-July periods have been below average and 10 have been above.

Wider trends

California had its hottest July in 130 years of record-keeping, while Oregon and Washington recorded their second-hottest Julys, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.

Idaho had its eighth-warmest July. All four states had below-average rain totals. Oregon had its 23rd driest July, while Washington had its 25th driest.

Average California temperatures for the month were 7 degrees above normal and broke the previous record set in 2021 by 1.9 degrees.

Oregon and Washington just missed setting records. Oregon’s average temperatures were 6.5 degrees above normal, missing the mark set in 2021 by 0.1 degree.

Washington’s temperatures were 5.5 degrees above normal, falling 0.2 degrees short of the record, also set in 2021.

The Lower 48 had its 11th-warmest July. The two-month combination of June and July was the second-warmest on record. The hottest U.S. summer, June through August, was in 1936.

The heat affected some crops, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported. In Oregon, berry crops generally had a good year except for some blackberry varieties impacted by the heat.

The federal Climate Prediction Center predicted Aug. 8 sea-surface temperatures along the equator in the mid-Pacific Ocean will stay near normal the rest of the summer.

The temperatures have a 66% chance of cooling and for a La Niña to form sometime between September and November, according to the center. There’s a 74% chance La Niña will be in place between November and January.

Storm tracks influenced by La Niña generally lead to more snow in Washington. La Niña also could increase rain and snow in Oregon, Idaho and California.