July 2014 recap! Lower than normal temps!

Pieter Bruegel the Elder - Hunters in the Snow

Dryer and much cooler than what is normal. That would be the most precise way to define the weather we experienced over the SW portions of Missouri for July 2014! Rainfall was 2.28 inches versus a normal of 3.43. Average high temperatures were 86°F (versus 89°F) with lows at 63°F (versus a average low of 66°F). Those two combined for an average of 74.1°F versus what should have been 77.5 degrees! This whopping 3.4 degree lower difference is significant in my view. But, what is even more interesting was the overnight low average, which was three degrees below normal. (After all, it is essentially the night time lows that would signal a warming planetary trend, not the daytime highs)!

Valid for Forsyth Missouri

 Some food for thought there, (and yes, I realize this was only a local phenomenon while the Federal authorities continue to push a global warming agenda. That said, I'll make an early prediction that the coming winter will break records for being one of the coldest we seen in recent memory. In addition, I'd like to remind all that during the last Little Ice Age, temperatures all across the northern hemisphere exhibited wild gyrations from very hot summers to extremely cold winters and vice versa! As they say, the truth will out!

 A note about solar incidence: We are currently in solar cycle 24 which is the 24th solar cycle since 1755, when recording of solar sunspot activity began. It is the current solar cycle, and began on January 4, 2008, but there was minimal activity until early 2010. It is on track to be the Solar Cycle with the lowest recorded sunspot activity since accurate records began in 1750. Low sunspot activity over long periods of time could be an indicator of coming colder or highly variable weather patterns.