Interesting Explanation

     If you’ve been reading my blog or my most recent e-mail newsletter then you know July was cold.  I usually don’t pay too much attention to weather; it just changes too much for me to worry about.  I sometimes look outside to try to determine what to wear but normally I just dress in layers.  Some people think the cold weather is part of Global Warming but it was interesting to hear another take on this July’s cold weather.  Whether or not these folks know what they’re talking about, the warmer weather sounds good to me.

 By Meagan Quigley Temperature Runs Close to Six Degrees Below Normal
Thursday, August 06, 2009 at 10:23 a.m.

With an average high temperature only near 60 degrees, it ranks in the top two or three coldest on record for many locations.  Usually we see 10-12 days with temperatures at 80 degrees or more, but this year, only one day was that warm.  So why have we been staying so cool?

"So far this year we’ve had an upper level trough across the region and it’s been pretty cold.  So we just had colder air flow down from Canada, " said National Weather Service Meteorologist Andrew Kennedy.

Historically, the last time we saw a cool July was in 1992, and we weren’t the only ones feeling the chill.  The whole United States saw temperatures below the normals.

A large part of that was due to the eruption of Mount Pinatubo.  Earlier this year, Alaska’s Mount Redoubt erupted which could play a factor in our cooler weather.

"Because the high latitude volcanoes that do erupt do tend to cool things off in the upper atmosphere, especially in the high latitudes.  So that may have had something to do with it, too," said TV6 Chief Meteorologist Karl Bohnak.

Not only is our air cold, but so are the water temperatures in Lake Superior.

"The water temperatures in Lake Superior are quite cold compared to where they usually are at this time of year.  Usually we’re approaching our peak as far as warmth goes.  We’d be close to 60 degrees at the mid-lake buoys, but right now we’re around 40-50 degrees," Bohnak said.

But for residents that want to see a return of summer, it looks like our luck will soon change.

"The upper level trough is actually going to be moving out to the east and north over the next couple of days.  Across Upper Michigan, we’ll see some 80s and maybe even some 90s across the Wisconsin border," Kennedy predicts.

This pattern change will allow August to end up being somewhat warmer.