Category: accuracy

The big story for November seemed to be intrusions of cold air on a few occasions, which left the area under Canadian high pressure and very cool temperatures. Overall temperatures and precipitation were well below average for the month, making for a cold and dry November.  The average temperature for meteorological fall (September-October-November) was near…

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The weather was fairly benign for the month of October until the last day of the month, Halloween, produced some excitement. Fortunately predicted rain ended prior to trick-or-treating, though scattered storms just north of the metro produced one tornado touchdown – an EF-1 in Caraway, AR, east of Jonesboro – in the Mid-South. Overall temperatures…

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Climatological fall starts in September but it didn’t feel like autumn with temperatures well above normal and precipitation highly variable. At the official observing site at Memphis International, rainfall was below normal, but on the north side of the county, at MWN headquarters in Bartlett, rainfall totaled nearly 2″ more than at the airport. Climate…

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The last month of climatological summer (June-July-August) was slightly below normal for both temperatures and rainfall. This resulted in temperatures for the June-August period averaging 1.0 degrees below normal with total precipitation about 0.25″ above normal. The highest temperature of the summer was tied twice this month at 97 degrees. In fact, there were no…

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As one might expect in July, rainfall across the metro was unevenly distributed thanks to pop-up thunderstorms that brought heavy rain to small areas.  However, the month was unusual from a big weather picture perspective as it was dominated more by northwest flow weather events than a strong Bermuda High and afternoon airmass storms. Though…

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Like April and May, June was wetter than normal at the airport, however the precipitation was not evenly spread across the metro and some places came in much drier than normal.  Temperatures were just slightly above average and there were no temperature records set during the month.  There were two severe weather episodes – on…

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Like April, May was cooler and wetter than normal. In fact, the month was very rainy with the May precipitation total of 10.75″ ending up as the 4th wettest on record.  Temperatures so far in 2013 are averaging about one degree below normal, while the year has been very wet with 10.30″ of rain above…

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Cold and wet. Temperatures averaged below normal during April, while precipitation was above normal.  For the year, precipitation is above normal by almost 5″ and more than twice as much rain has fallen in the first 4 months of 2013 as compared to 2012.  Temperatures so far in 2013 are averaging about one degree below…

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Temperatures averaged well below normal during March, which was no surprise to those hoping for a long string of spring weather!  In fact, while not making the “Top 10″ for coldest Marches on record, it was the 2nd coldest March in the past 40 years in Memphis (trailing only 1996)! For the first 3 months…

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Temperatures averaged very near normal, while precipitation was below normal for February. On February 18th, a squall line produced strong thunderstorms, but no severe weather in the city despite a few Severe Thunderstorm Warnings.  Icing created hazardous driving conditions on bridges and overpasses on February 2nd while a light wintry mix fell on the 20th-21st.…

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Temperatures once again averaged well above normal, while precipitation was below normal, with the year ending in the top 10 driest on record.  Drought conditions continued to abate, even though rainfall was below normal. Most of the Memphis metro is now classified as being “abnormally dry,” which northern Shelby and Tipton Counties are still in…

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Following a year of average monthly temperatures that were above normal, Memphis International Airport finished the month with below normal temperatures for the second month in a row, due mainly to low temperatures that averaged more than 3 degrees below normal. Rainfall was well below normal once again continuing a dry 2012. There was one…

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For the first time in a year (since October 2011), Memphis International Airport finished the month with below normal temperatures as seasonal conditions, including multiple cold fronts, kept temperatures in check overall even with a few warm spells. In addition, precipitation was only slightly below normal, alleviating drought conditions a bit more this month, particularly…

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A break in the heat that has resulted in 2012 being (year-to-date) the warmest on record came after the first week of September when temperatures reached the upper half of the 90s for 7 days straight.  A cold front that dropped the high 20 degrees ended the run of 90s, probably for the year.  For…

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** We neglected to highlight our “Isaac’s Mid-South impacts” entry from August 30, which was the 1,000th post on the MWN Blog!  Thanks for being a reader and supporter! ** Though still above normal temperature-wise, August started to see the yearlong heat spell relax just a bit.  For the year, the average temperature in Memphis…

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Yet another well above average month temperature-wise as July finished as the 7th warmest on record despite a “cooler” spell mid-month. There were three daily temperature records tied during the month, including the 4th (100 degrees), 6th (102), and 1st (tied warmest minimum at 80 degrees).  For the year, the average temperature in Memphis continues…

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Another above average month (temperature-wise) went into the books, though June was not as much above average as several previous months. However, cooler days to start the month were overshadowed by a very hot spell as the month ended. There were three daily temperature records tied or broken during the month, including the 25th (100 degrees…

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