Insider Blog

This summer has been hard for agriculture, with intense drought lasting throughout these past couple of months. Last month alone, almost 99% of Missouri was in a drought, causing farmers to make tough decisions with their livestock and crops. This drought also damaged select crops, creating several problems for the agriculture business as a whole.

Much of Mid-Missouri is already well ahead of schedule for rainfall this month thanks to frequent heavy storms to kick off August. We actually ended July just under our monthly rainfall, but a quick pattern change to near-daily storm chances in the last weeks pushed numbers up quickly. Columbia and Jefferson City are both over

The numbers are in, and last month was officially the hottest month ever recorded globally. July saw global temperatures 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit above average, which is over half a degree warmer than the previous record set in July 2019. Mid-Missouri followed this trend over the past month and even outperformed global trends. For Columbia, temperatures

Over the past week, Mid-MO has seen substantial rainfall, with areas getting 7-9 inches. With these systems, plenty of flooding advisories and warnings took place, but we also saw drought conditions take a hit. With that, river levels are also looking a little more normal because of this much needed rainfall. But what does this

Early this morning, a strong storm moved through Columbia Regional and Ashland that brought damaging winds along with heavy rain. On average, the areas surrounding Columbia Regional were observing winds in the 50-60 mph range, but Columbia Regional submitted a storm report of winds up to 80 mph. This was recorded at approximately 3:42 AM,

Excessive rainfall has recently brought widespread chances for flooding to Mid-Missouri with more possible further into August. Some localized areas have seen instances of half a foot of rain falling in a few hours, which can bring flash floods in just minutes. It’s important not to take these events lightly, as flooding is an underestimated

Heavy rainfall has inundated portions of central Missouri due to persistent storms tracking over the same regions recently. A specific atmospheric setup is needed for consecutive storms to move over the same area of land in quick succession; typically, the first round will use up most energy. However, our area has been seeing an influx

Dry conditions have prevailed most of summertime across our area with the season starting off exceptionally quiet, but a big pattern shift has brought recent changes. July saw more weather systems with scattered periods of rainfall, and large portions of Missouri have caught up on seasonal rain. We saw the highest rain amounts this past

The weather team has extended our weather alert day into tomorrow due to strong heat hanging on. Temperatures will be slightly cooler, but because of morning rain chances, we’ll see an increase in humidity levels. These humidity levels play directly into the heat index, which will be in the 100-105 range, putting mid-Missouri in dangerous

In rural areas, a process plants go through can actually contribute to humidity and increase the feels like temperatures. When temperatures are on the rise, it allows for more water vapor to be in the atmosphere as well. This value is what we call the dewpoint, and the higher this number is, plus the closer

This summer continues to shatter records both on land and sea. July likely observed the hottest recorded week in history as heat waves bring exceptionally abnormal conditions. This warmth is also being felt in the world’s oceans, as the Atlantic is currently undergoing a never-before-seen heat wave. On Tuesday, sea surface temperatures off the coast

After a busy July full of rain chances and milder conditions, the long-term pattern looks to somewhat dry up and quiet down. A ridge of high pressure is currently building across the western United States, and this system could be in place through the rest of the month. Heat alerts are already up from the