By Aaron Wilson
Summary
July was an interesting weather month for the Ohio Valley. According to NOAA, Ohio experienced its 15th wettest July on record (1895-present). Even more interesting, daytime highs for July 2021 rank as the 33rd coolest, yet overnight lows rank as the 27th warmest, the 7th largest spread on record. Indeed, this was the result of numerous cloudy/rainy days that kept daytime temperature in check, not to mention, the occasional influx of wildfire smoke from active fires in the western states.
Since the start of the month, widespread rainfall has been limited across Ohio. Figure 1 shows precipitation over the last 7 days through 8am August 9, 2021. A few rounds of showers and storms managed to drop 0.50-2” across West Central, North Central, and parts of northeast Ohio. Additional areas picked up rainfall on Monday as well as another small disturbance moved through the state. Fortunately, during this drier stretch temperatures have been mild, running 1-3°F below average through the first 8 days of the month.