August 2013 Revisited

August 2013 turned out to be:

Above average:  Temperature, rainfall, wind, humidity
Average or near: Nothing
Below Average: Solar radiation

My station's average temperature of 71.8° was way warmer than the long term August average of 66.7°, and warmer than the more recent (2001-2012) average of 69.1°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 70.4°.  This was the 12th consecutive month in Hood River to experience above average temperatures.

The maximum temperature (at my station) was 93°, and the low temp was 53°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 94° and 52°.

The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 92°, and the low wind chill was 53°.

Solar radiation averaged 512 Ly/day, compared to an average August of 571 Ly/day.  Meaning it was a little cloudier than average, likely due to thunderstorms, which will be discussed in some detail further down here.

Speaking of thunderstorms, they provided above average rainfall for the month, and set two local precipitation records (see below).   My station received 0.57" for the month, while HOXO reported 0.47"  An average August receives 0.36".    The longest dry spell this summer (43 days) started on June 27th, and ended on August 9th, due to... you guessed it... thunderstorms...

The 24 hour average wind speed (for the month) at my weather station was 4.1 mph, compared to an average August wind speed of 3.8 mph.  The peak wind gust was 30 mph on the 1st.  Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like the Waterfront) were, of course, higher. 

Barometric pressure peaked at 30.12", and the low barometric was 29.70".

Now... about those thunderstorms... On Friday, August 9th, one of the most spectacular thunderstorms in memory rolled into town, putting on an amazing show, complete with eerily awesome reddish-orange sunset skies to the west, and a double rainbow to the east.  Not to mention, breaking the rainfall record for the date.  The storm produced over 2000 lightning strikes around the Mt Hood/Gorge area, and 12,000 strikes throughout Oregon.

But wait, there's more!  The next day, August 10th, another T-storm arrived, not quite as impressive as the first, but producing measurable rainfall, which erased the "It never rains on August 10th in Hood River" record.

There were 4 local weather records set this month.  As mentioned, on the 9th we received 0.08" of rain, breaking the previous record of 0.03", set in 1989.  On the 10th, which hadn't ever had rain (at least since 1928), HOXO recorded 0.01", confirming that, yes indeed, sometimes it doesn't take much to set a new weather record.

Two "high low" temperature records were set during August.   On the 16th, the low temperature of 64° broke the previous record (63° in 2003), and on the 30th, the low of 63° topped the old record of 60° (1979)

These monthly summaries use data from my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. To view my weather station's data for August 2013, click here.  For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at MCAREC, and HOXO, the automated station located right next to MCAREC.

Ahh, August:   Fond memories of great times spent packing the kids (if I had any) and the dogs (if I had any) into the car for long road trips... If I remember correctly, those were great times, with the greatness mostly revolving around the "getting back home" part.

Anyway, this catchy little tune from the 1983 movie "Vacation" was written by Lindsey Buckingham (of Fleetwood Mac fame).   The official video for the song is catchy also, but a little too dark and depressing for my liking, kind of like being at work.