A look back at June and what’s ahead for July

June was a fairly quiet month of weather across mid-Missouri, but a few notable events gave the month some extra kick.

We started off with Cristobal, the earliest "C-Named" tropical system on record in the Atlantic. The storm carved a path from Louisana, up into Wisconsin dumping several inches of rainfall across the Mississippi.

Those who saw the rainfall were lucky! Parts of southern Illinois and southwestern Missouri have seen quite a bit of dry weather over the past couple of months. Minor drought conditions have started to develop in those area, creeping closer and closer to mid-Missouri. (So much for the river-flooding potential! I think we're okay with that at this point, though 😉)

Our unique weather came in the form of the Saharan dust that settled over many states over the past week and a half. While this is indeed a yearly occurrence, this particular event was noteworthy because the size and density of the dust was the largest in 50 years, allowing it to be even more visible this year.

And while June means the first days of summer, it also means the start of shorter days. Throughout the month of July, we'll end up losing about 20 minutes of sunsets.

Here's an awesome website that has awesome visuals about how sunlight changes throughout the year in mid-Missouri.

So what's ahead for July? Well, obviously it will be hot, but a heat wave here or there is certainly in the cards. The Climate Prediction center is indicating a 50% chance of above normal temperatures. No big indications we'll see abnormal rainfall either... it fact, we may even trend dry.

That may be concerning news if that continues into the fall.

-Luke