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May 30, 2023

A look back at July — Near

by: Jessica Camuto Posted: Aug 1, 2023 / 05:00 PM CDT Updated: Aug 1, 2023 / 07:37 PM CDT The month of July was an active month for the Tennessee Valley. Between severe weather, excessive heat and

by: Jessica Camuto

Posted: Aug 1, 2023 / 05:00 PM CDT

Updated: Aug 1, 2023 / 07:37 PM CDT

The month of July was an active month for the Tennessee Valley. Between severe weather, excessive heat and locally heavy rain, the second month of meteorological summer kept us all on our toes.

For the Huntsville area, while it seemed extremely hot at times, the average temperature for the month was 80.8 degrees. This was 0.5 degrees below average. This was calculated by taking the average of the high and low temperatures. The reason it felt so hot in July was because of the extreme humidity which led to heat index values over 100 degrees. Around 40 percent of the month’s temperatures were below average.

The Huntsville area recorded a little more than 4.75 inches of rain throughout the month, which is about 0.25 inches above normal. July 9th was the wettest day when over an inch of rain fell.

It was cooler than last July. The average temperature, combining highs and lows, last year was 84.3 degrees, 3.5 degrees warmer than what we saw this year.

While the temperatures were cooler, rain totals have been higher. Last year, many across the Tennessee Valley were experiencing moderate drought conditions due to the lack of rainfall. Huntsville recorded 4.77 inches of rain, about 3.25 inches more than last year.

Looking at the rest of the Tennessee Valley, while the humidity lead to extreme heat indices, the actual air temperatures were near average. Muscle Shoals recorded the warmest average temperature, 81.4 degrees, and also observed the most 90-degree-plus days with a total of 25.

Above-average temperatures forecast to continue in August

When it comes to rainfall, the Huntsville area recorded the highest totals of the locations listed above. There were also multiple areas across Madison County that dealt with flash flooding, including the Harvest community. Fayetteville recorded nearly 3.20 inches leading to a nearly 1.80-inch deficit of rain for that area.

The storm systems that tracked through the region this month were known as mesoscale convective systems. A MCS is a meteorological term for a cluster of storms capable of hazards such as frequent lightning and damaging winds. The environment over our region was supportive of severe storm development with plenty of warm air, moisture, and at times, wind shear.

When we break down the severe warnings issued for the area, there were a total of 60 severe thunderstorm warnings and six flash flood warnings. No tornado warnings were issued by the National Weather Service. However, two tornadoes were confirmed in some July storms. While no tornado warnings were issued, severe thunderstorm warnings were in effect during the storms that produced tornadoes. The official criteria for a severe thunderstorm warning are winds in excess of 58 mph, one-inch hail and/or a tornado.

Two communities in Madison County were directly impacted by tornadoes that spawned from severe storms. The first tornado occurred on the 17th and was a short-lived EF0 with peak winds around 80 mph. This EF0 left behind a nearly 2.5-mile-long damage path in the Monrovia community.

Two tornadoes so far this July – A look at 2023 tornadoes to date

Later that week, a second tornado produced damage across southeastern parts of the county. The EF1 spawned as an outflow boundary moving south out of Jackson County collided with the severe storm moving through Madison County. This collision likely caused enough spin to induce a tornado. Peak winds were 93 mph. This tornado left behind a damage path of just around seven miles near the Hampton Cove community.

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