No, you’re not imagining it. July has been kind to us so far this year. Temperatures have been relatively mild, and there’s hope for more rain in the coming days.
KEY POINTS:
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Without the heat high overhead, San Antonio has experienced a mild July
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At times temperatures have been 15 to 20 degrees cooler than last year
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Upcoming weather pattern suggests increasing rain chances and mild temperatures to end July
JULY BY THE NUMBERS
The pesky heat high, which often settles over Texas in the summer, has been elsewhere this July. That has allowed for highs this year in San Antonio to be close to average — in the mid- to upper-90s — or even cooler. At one point, from July 12 through 14, highs were in the 80s! In contrast, last July we were stuck under the high, and temperatures soared to 100 degrees to 106 degrees for 15 days in a row.
In the summer, “high” pressure means “dry” because it prevents rain from developing. This year, without the high overhead, we have seen more rain. Some neighborhoods around the San Antonio metro area have seen 3 to 5 inches of rainfall. Officially, at the San Antonio International Airport, July’s rainfall currently stands at about an inch. By this time last year, we had only received 0.12 inches of rainfall for the month.
STILL IN DROUGHT
While recent rains have been nice, we’re still hurting for more.
Two years of persistent drought have left our reservoirs and rivers low, and the Edwards Aquifer level is 30 feet below average. It’s going to take a lot more soaking rain to bust through our drought. In the summer, these kinds of rains are usually only found from tropical storms.
Still, there’s hope for summer downpours at times the rest of this month…
MORE RAIN ON THE WAY?
Some good news? The heat high is not expected to move back over Texas for at least the next week and a half. Because of that, the week of July 21 through 26 – while still warm with highs in the low-90s – is expected to be cooler than average with rain chances in the mix.
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