Geary County Extension Agent Chuck Otte has reported that the warm conditions continued into July but not quite as hot and rainfall also increased, although not enough to move us out of the extreme drought that we have been experiencing. Average temperatures were slightly above average, but while July is normally our hottest month of the year, temperatures were not much different from June!
The average daily high during July was 90.5, 0.4 degree above normal. The average overnight low was 69, 1.5 degrees above normal. This gave us a monthly mean temperature of 79.7, which was only 0.9 degree above normal. The July monthly mean temperature was even one tenth of a degree cooler than June. July is normally our hottest month of the year. The highest temperature during July was the afternoon high of 102 on July 3rd. The coolest temperature for July was the morning low of 61 on the 31st of July. There were no temperature records set or tied during July. The hottest July on record was in 1954 when we had a monthly mean temperature of 87 degrees. The coldest July was just a few year before that in 1950 when we had a monthly mean temperature of only 73.8 degrees. We reached that cool mark in 1967 as well.
While May and June are normally our wettest months and rainfall starts to diminish in July, we did see a welcome increase during the month. Average July rainfall is 4.07 inches. Milford Lake received 3.28 inches during the month and Junction City received 4.44 inches. The monthly totals at both locations represent nearly one third of all the precipitation that they have received in 2018. Normal year to date rainfall through July is 20.72 inches. Milford Lake has received 10.60 inches and Junction City 12.80 inches. The wettest July on record dates back to 1950 (not 1951 or 1993) when 13.65 inches of rain deluged the region. The driest July on record was in 1983 when 0.04″ wasn’t even enough to settle the dust in the rain gauge! Since September 1st of last year we have received 15.92 inches of precipitation. Long term average (1931 to present) through that same 11 month period is 29.14 inches. This is the driest September through July period on record.
As the daylight slowly starts to wane in August temperatures also typically show a slight, but noticeable, decline. Average daily highs for August start at 91 and by the end of the month they should be down to 88. Overnight lows decline from 67 on the 1st to 64 by the 31st. Average precipitation also shows a slight decline in August with normal monthly rainfall still a respectable 3.96 inches.