Deadly Heat In July Scores The Fifth Hottest Month Ever!

Baltimore, MD - Mike Masco

Email: mike.masco@wmar.com

The official numbers are in and Baltimore goes down in the books as the fifth hottest month in history! 21 of the last 31 days in July hit 90 degrees or greater! Of those 21 days, four of them featured temperatures at or well above the century mark.  July 7th and 14th were the hottest days of the month with high temperatures reaching an astonishing 104 degrees.  Not only was the actual air temperature hot, but the humidity added insult to injury. The highest heat index was achieved in mid July when the inner harbor and Frederick, Maryland reached a real feel of 118 degrees! 

July of 2012 follows a string of record breaking "hot" months. Last year July 2011 became the hottest month ever in Baltimore history. A few "cooler" days the last week of July knocked Baltimore out of the running from the top spot to a still impressive fifth ranking. 

The average temperature in Baltimore was 81.4 degrees which is a few tenths of a degree cooler than the average 81.7 degrees in 2011 and 81.5 degrees in 2010, 1995 and 1872 (the top 5 hottest months in our history).

Not only were we hot, but the country as a whole was on fire! According to NOAA 4,313 record highs were reached this month. 299 of those records were ALL TIME RECORD HIGHS since the 1800s. Not only were the days scorching but the nights were just down right misery! 3,543 record minimas were set, meaning night temperatures were at record levels with some nights never getting out of the lower 90s !

The heat in Maryland contributed to 21 deaths while 19 of them occurred in Baltimore City alone.

The reason for this incredible heat has been the location of the jet stream which remained near the Canadian border for most of the month.

Unusually strong high pressure situated itself over the central part of the nation causing extreme drought conditions for many in the central plains.

The pattern has flipped around to start August. While it has remained warm and sticky in the east, the threat of storms will continue into the first half of August.

The heat still hold strong as west as Tulsa and Oklahoma both averaged the last 5 days at and around the 110 degree mark. Tulsa will make a run for their all-time record of 115 the first week of August.

Mike Masco

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