Weather Vault: August 2012

Posted:  8:00 AM 9/1/12
Updated:  5:24 PM 9/4/12

The month of August started hot, much like July was with highs in the lower 90s for the 1st, a Wednesday.  The 2nd saw temperatures soar into the upper 90s, but thankfully we saw some thunderstorms south of Springfield that dropped a reported 3" in some places.  Friday was just as hot, but more humid.  Saturday was also hot, but the overnight hours brought central Illinois more rainfall.  Between Thursday and Saturday some areas saw 4" of rainfall! 

The next week started out warm with Sunday being in the 80s and only a few 90s on Monday.  Tuesday was the next hot day with middle to upper 90s under mostly sunny skies. Wednesday the 8th saw some more clouds but still made it into the 90s.  A few showers started to push in from the west in the evening, but we didn't get much rain from this event. 

Thursday the 9th brought a generally cloudy day that saw some afternoon sunshine.  That sunshine turned to Severe Weather and parts of McLean, Champaign, Vermilion, and Edgar Counties saw storm damage.  You can get the entire rundown of the reports in the weather vault.

The weekend of the 10th through the 12th was cooler with generally plenty of sunshine.  Sunday was a bit cloudy with a few showers.  The showers would linger into Monday the 13th, but generally totals were sparse and light.  the 14th and 15th were both sunny days with fairly pleasant temperatures and cooler morning starts. 

Thursday the 16th brought another chance of severe weather that produced strong winds.  The hardest hit areas were in Moultrie, Coles, and Effingham counties.  The town of Gays was hit especially hard and there were many other impressive damage and rainfall reports. 

The weekend of the 17th through the 19th had great temperatures with highs in the middle to upper 70s, with just a few 80s. The nice temperatures would hold on into the next week as well with highs around 80 for Monday the 20th and Tuesday the 21st. The 22nd saw temperatures rise into the middle to upper 80s and we were back into the 90s for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Sunday brought a great amount of rainfall, with some places reporting up to 4", but areas around I-70 didn't get much.  Plenty of sunshine returned on Monday afternoon and stuck around through Thursday.  High temperatures during this time were around 90.  The heat stuck around through the weekend and into the next week.

The change in the weather came on the last day of the month, Friday, the 31st.  The reminants of Hurrican Isaac arrived in central Illinois, bringing scatterd showers.  Much heavier rain would arrive in the first few days of September. Rainfall to begin September would good as the Exceptional Drought was still around by the end of August.

We will be updating this story with more August 2012 weather facts as we gather them.

Statewide Summary

August actually finished a bit below normal for the state with an average of 73.5 degrees.  That's only 0.1 degree below normal, so we'll actually call it "normal."  The rainfall average was 3.4", which is 95% of what we should see for the month.  Hoopeston actually had the second highest total for the month at 8.33"

These numbers brought the statewide average for temperatures down to 59.0 degrees, which is still 4.2 degrees above normal.  This is still the warmest January - August on record in Illinois with the second warmest being 1921 with 58.3 degrees.  

The statewide rain totals are still well below normal with a statewide total of 17.45 inches.  That number should be 7.31 inches higher.  This is the fourth driest July through August on record with the driest being 1936 at 14.95 inches.  1988 at 17.12" and 1934 at 17.41" were the second and third driest.  

National Numbers 

The U.S. recorded the 16th warmest August on record with an average temperature of 74.4 degrees. The average precipitation was 2.59", making this August very close to average.  You can see the August summary with this signficant event image.


Worldwide Numbers

August of 2012 went down as the 6th warmest August on record.  Furthermore, the global land temperatures were the 2nd warmest and the global ocean temperatures were the 5th warmest on record. This is the 330th consecutive month with global temperatures warmer than the 20th century average.  The last time there was a month cooler than the average was February of 1985. 

You can see the summary for August in this significant event image. 

Global Numbers  
The average temperature for August was 0.62 C above the 20th century average, making it the 4th warmest August on record.  This helped the Arctic shrink to the lowest mark on record.  Check out the significant event map for more.


Local Numbers

	Maximum Temperatures
	Normal	August 2012
Champaign-Urbana	83.7	87.1
Danville	83.8	86.0
Decatur	86.1	86.8
Effingham	Not Listed	88.0
Springfield	84.9	89.5

	Minimum Temperatures
	Normal	August 2012
Champaign-Urbana	63.1	61.2
Danville	63.1	59.7
Decatur	64.1	62.6
Effingham	Not Listed	59.9
Springfield	63.6	61.0

	Average Temperatures
	Normal	August 2012
Champaign-Urbana	73.4	74.1
Danville	73.5	72.9
Decatur	75.1	74.7
Effingham	Not Listed	74.0
Springfield	74.3	75.3

	Precipitation
	Normal	August 2012
Champaign-Urbana	3.93"	5.55"
Danville	3.48"	3.65"
Decatur	3.77"	2.66"
Effingham	Not Listed	5.57"
Springfield	3.24"	2.94"