NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

JULY 20233

2-8: Heavy rain across portions of the central Plains, central Corn Belt, and Northeast benefited corn, soybeans, and other summer crops. Parts of the South also received meaningful rain, providing some relief during a string of hot, humid days.

9-15: Widespread showers and thunderstorms affected much of the central and eastern U.S. Excessive rain fell in a few areas, including parts of the Northeast, while daily severe-weather outbreaks from the Plains to the East Coast resulted in localized wind and hail damage.  In addition to the Northeastern downpours, which fell early in the period and again at week’s end, flash flooding dotted portions of the Plains, Midwest, midSouth, and Southeast.

As the week began, pounding rain in the Northeast caused extensive flooding. Reading, PA, endured its wettest July day on record, with 5.35 inches falling on the 9th. That total edged Reading’s standard, which had been 5.28 inches on July 21, 1916. The following day, with a 5.28-inch sum, Montpelier, VT, experienced its wettest day on record, clipping 5.27 inches on August 28, 2011. With 9.85 inches of rainfall through the 16th, Montpelier secured its wettest July on record (previously, 8.00 inches in 2008). Montpelier was also on the cusp of its wettest month on record, August 1989, when 10.69 inches fell. Elsewhere in the Northeast, daily-record totals included 2.54 inches (on July 9) in Poughkeepsie, NY, and 2.74 inches (on July 10) in Worcester, MA. Meanwhile, separate areas of rain resulted in daily-record totals for July 9 in Jonesboro, AR (4.30 inches); Oklahoma City, OK (3.23 inches); and Tuscaloosa, AL (2.89 inches). In Florida, Jacksonville reported thunderstorm wind gusts ranging from 47 to 55 mph on July 7, 9, and 10. As the week progressed, showers overspread the Midwest and continued in the mid-South. By July 12, daily-record totals in Arkansas totaled 4.12 inches in El Dorado and 3.47 inches in Monticello, while Lansing, MI, netted 2.95 inches. Later, thunderstorms dotted several areas, including the Plains and the South. Record-setting rainfall totals for July 14 reached 2.62 inches in Pensacola, FL, and 2.56 inches in Topeka, KS. At week’s end, atypically heavy showers returned across the middle and northern Atlantic States, with daily-record totals noted in Lynchburg, VA (4.29 inches), and Williamsport, PA (3.29 inches). Lynchburg narrowly missed experiencing its wettest July day on record, set last year on the 31st with 4.44 inches.

16-20: A nearly stationary front boundary draped across the Plains and mid-South served as a focus not only for a sharp temperature gradient, but also for heavy showers and locally severe thunderstorms. Some of the heaviest rain, locally 4 to 8 inches or more, fell in southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and environs, leading to extensive flash flooding. Heavy showers (locally 2 to 4 inches) extended to other areas, including New England, Florida’s peninsula, and the central Plains, as well as northern Oklahoma.

, another round of Northeastern rain caused local flooding. Record-setting rainfall totals for July 16 reached 4.65 inches in Islip, NY, and 3.35 inches in Providence, RI. For Islip, the previous wettest July day had occurred in 1969, when 3.75 inches fell on the 28th. Periodic heavy showers also affected Florida, where daily-record amounts ranged from 2 to 4 inches or more in locations such as Punta Gorda (4.22 inches on July 19) and Leesburg (2.45 inches on July 18). Daily-record totals locally topped 2 inches in other areas, with Albany, NY, reporting 2.31 inches on July 18 and Hibbing, MN, receiving 2.31 inches on July 19. However, the flood highlight of the week was the deluge that struck western Kentucky and portions of neighboring states on July 18-19. A preliminary state 24-hour rainfall record was broken near Mayfield, Graves County, KY, where a preliminary total of 11.28 inches fell. The same general area had been devastated by the historic mid-South tornado outbreak of December 10-11, 2021, during which 24 of the 89 tornado-related fatalities occurred in Graves County. Elsewhere in western Kentucky, Paducah endured its second-wettest calendar day on record, with 6.95 inches on July 19. The only wetter day in Paducah was September 5, 1985, when 7.49 inches fell; the wettest July day had occurred in 1983, when 5.48 inches fell on the 3rd. Later, downpours dotted other areas of the interior Southeast, with dailyrecord amounts in Tennessee reaching 3.28 inches (on July 20) in Crossville and 4.53 inches (on July 21) in Memphis.

23-29: Late in the week, heavy showers and locally severe thunderstorms developed from Nebraska (and portions of neighboring states) into the mid-South. A separate area of significant rainfall stretched from the Great Lakes States into the Northeast. Severe weather peaked on July 28, with a large outbreak of high winds and isolated tornadoes stretching from the upper Mississippi Valley to the mid-Atlantic.

Although much of the country experienced dry weather, there were pockets of heavy rain. On July 23, Charleston, SC, collected a daily-record total of 3.68 inches. A day later, a cold front traversing the Pacific Northwest produced daily-record amounts in Washington locations such as Quillayute (1.04 inches), Bellingham (0.73 inch), and Hoquiam (0.69 inch). Loosely organized tropical moisture arrived along the southern Atlantic Coast during the mid- to late-week period. In Florida, record-setting rainfall totals for July 27 reached 6.19 inches in Fort Lauderdale and 1.95 inches in Melbourne; the previous wettest July day in Fort Lauderdale had occurred in 2013, when 5.68 inches fell on the 13th. Parts of the eastern Corn Belt also received heavy rain, with South Bend, IN, netting a daily-record sum of 1.78 inches on July 28. One of the highest winds associated with the July 28 severe weather outbreak occurred in Marshalltown, IA, where a gust to 93 mph was clocked. At week’s end, heavy rain returned to the waterlogged Northeast, where daily-record amounts on July 29 reached 3.07 inches in Boston, MA, and 1.85 inches in Watertown, NY. Elsewhere in New York, Albany completed its wettest July on record, with the 10.70-inch total surpassing the 2009 mark of 9.91 inches.

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.jimmunleywx.com