ROANOKE, Va. – August falls in the peak of summer, but this year, the month has been cooler than normal.
Our average high temperature is typically around 86° and our average low is around 65°. Out of the 24 days we’ve been through this month, 15 have featured below normal high temperatures.
The beginning of this month started off in a weird fashion. We had a wedge (cold air damming event) setup that brought cooler-than-average air, cloud cover, and rain from the north.
This made it one of the coolest starts to the month on record, but that slowly changed as Summer tried to make a return.
When digging through the data, you would think this month would be near the top of the list for the coolest on record, but it was surprising to see that it is tied for 26th.
However, this is highly likely to change because temperatures are expected to be far below normal for the rest of the month.
The setup this week is slightly different than what we’ve seen. Cool and dry air from way up north is being streamlined into the region between an area of High and Low pressure.
This setup pushes east through the week with cold air advection (cool air replacing warmer air) still occurring.
This atypical setup for the time of year will have afternoon temperatures in the mid-upper 70s and overnight lows in the low-mid 50s, helping swing our monthly average temperature in the downward direction.
And I’m sure a lot of you will appreciate the sneak peek to fall this week!
A reminder, the real deal is less than a month away!
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