Summer rain & another pattern shift coming soon

Here's something for you - we are in the halfway point of July and halfway through meteorological summer and heat has been all over the headlines. We've had some of that in Kansas, as one would expect this time of year, but we've been very fortunate in many ways. The rains continue to move this way and look at the map below. Some of the "coolest" weather compared to average has been right here in the central US. 

I would argue it was our turn to have some better weather after terrible drought and searing heat last July. We just couldn't buy a rain event if we tried. 

Phoenix is nearing a record as the heat has been just absolutely relentless across the southern tier of the country. Let's watch and see if a record is set this year. 

At the halfway point of July, here's a map showing rainfall compared to average and amazingly enough, look at southwest Kansas. Those blue and purple areas indicate 2-5 inches ABOVE average rainfall. Areas that seem to be near or below are around Hutchinson and into the Flint Hills. I don't think anybody is still in dire need at the moment, but we still do need more moisture to keep pushing the drought back. 

Here are some numbers showing rainfall for meteorological summer (June 1 - August 31):

Coming up next week, we will get hit with some very hot weather for a few days. Tuesday and Wednesday might be a little rough with the heat, but it's short lived. 

The heat ridge that has been so suffocating over the southern Plains and the Southwest will start to break down and move back westward. It will open the door for some "cooler" weather to arrive late in the week. And if we are so lucky, a chance of more rain will accompany the shifting temperatures. 

As the heat breaks, we are optimistic about some more, much needed rain opportunities that will be coming our way. I would expect we will have storms back in Kansas by Wednesday night, especially for the northern half of the state. How far south the storms go will be figured out as we get closer in time. Thursday and Friday evenings/nights will also have storms too, helping to cool things down. Bottom line, more active weather down the stretch and NO major heat waves developing for our area.

Will that continue for early August? I'll blog about that early next week. Thanks for coming by.