July 2026 Observations & Discussions

[westMJim]

The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 87/62 there were 10 CDD’s there was no rainfall and no significant weather conditions were reported. For today the average H/L is 83/63 the record high of 98 was in 1917 the coolest high of 60 was in 1925 the record low of 46 was in 1971 the warmest low of 79 was in 1917. The most rainfall of 1.59” was in 1925.  Last year the H/L was 78/58.

Some weather history for July 31^st 1986,  The temperature at Little Rock, AR, soared to 112 degrees to establish an all-time record high for that location. Morrilton, AR, hit 115 degrees, and daily highs for the month at that location averaged 102 degrees. (The Weather Channel) 1988, wenty-one cities A heat wave produced record highs in the upper 90s as July ended, with Grand Rapids hitting 98 degrees and Lansing 96 degrees. There were also record high minimum temperatures of 79 degrees at Grand Rapids and 74 at Lansing.in the north central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Sioux City, IA, with a reading of 107 degrees. The reading of 105 degrees at Minneapolis, MN, was their hottest since 1936. Pierre and Chamberlain, SD, with highs of 108 degrees, were just one degree shy of the hot spot in the nation, Palm Springs, CA. (The National Weather Summary) Here in Michigan 1917, A heat wave produced record highs in the upper 90s as July ended, with Grand Rapids hitting 98 degrees and Lansing 96 degrees. There were also record high minimum temperatures of 79 degrees at Grand Rapids and 74 at Lansing.

 

[Clinton]

I'm getting some thunderstorms this morning .80 inches have fallen and I may tack on a little bit more.  My family is headed to the current river in the Missouri Ozarks this morning for a float trip.  It's going to be a little chilly for floating with highs in the 70s.  The  cool dry air will be refreshing.

[Minny_Weather]

First time in a month we've had anything resembling a decent rainfall.

[hawkstwelve]

Well we somehow found a way to go from 1+ inches showing on most models to 0.1" falling so far from this system. A huge miss from SE SD through NW IA with the heaviest precip staying to our south and north. Hello dryslot.



View map on CartoSky

[Hawkeye]

As the above map shows, Cedar Rapids was the big winner in Iowa this morning.  I received 2.70".  A few spots just east of Cedar Rapids received close to 4".  A few lucky spots may get another 1-2" tonight, although tonight's heavy cells should be more scattered.

[james1976]

Really nice and much needed rain today. I received 1.30". I think the airport recorded 1.82". Temps were in the 60s all day. We needed a day like this. Currently 68° while grilling burgers and a camp fire going. Rain has ended and moved off to the southeast. 

[Hawkeye]

My total today is up to 3.55".  Another 1-2" could fall overnight if more cells pop over us.  Each one of these little cells is producing very heavy rain.  

[chescowxman]

Here in East Nantmeal July finished with a slight 0.3 below normal average temperature for the month. This was the 4th below average month across our first 7 months of 2026. I will have the Chester County wide month summary later today. We turn a bit more humid today with rain chances again increasing by tomorrow night and lasting through much of the upcoming work week. No total washouts but a chance at some much-needed rainfall for areas who missed the beneficial rains last week.

[Hawkeye]

I finished July, which was generally dry for most of the month, with 6.75" of rain.  The last two months have produced almost 16" of rain.

[Hawkeye]

My 36-hr rain total is 4.29".

[summerrules]

July 2026 finished as the 6th warmest July on record in Minneapolis, 4th warmest in Duluth, and 3rd warmest in Fargo. No idea what the CPC was thinking with its July outlook. Quite incompetent on their part, pretty terrible stuff.

[Bryan1117]

On 7/31/2026 at 11:09 AM, hawkstwelve said:

Well we somehow found a way to go from 1+ inches showing on most models to 0.1" falling so far from this system. A huge miss from SE SD through NW IA with the heaviest precip staying to our south and north. Hello dryslot.



View map on CartoSky

Crazy that there was that big of a dry slot in SE SD/ NW IA from this system… sorry you missed out on the better rainfall.

Thankful for the 1.40” we picked up Thursday night/ Friday morning here in my backyard… hopefully we can get some more next week here as we definitely need more moisture.

[Bryan1117]

5 hours ago, Hawkeye said:

I finished July, which was generally dry for most of the month, with 6.75" of rain.  The last two months have produced almost 16" of rain.

In my backyard (far SW side of Omaha), I measured around 3” total precip for the month (a bit below average), however the official recording spot for our area (Omaha Eppley) only recorded 1.31” for the month. Quite the disparity with these summer storms here locally. 

[summerrules]

On 7/1/2026 at 10:45 PM, summerrules said:

TWC's July outlook. I'd bet a lot of money it'll end up closer to reality than the CPC outlook map.

Yep, TWC did a much better job. The CPC's outlook, though, was just unacceptable. Really have no idea what they were thinking.

 

 

[Hoosier]

Almost the entire US was warmer than average in July -- an impressive display of widespread warmth in the context of what is already a strong Nino.  Just some cooler than average places sprinkled in.  

[Grizzcoat]

On 7/24/2026 at 3:42 AM, Grizzcoat said:

Just want to show how "AI" and other media sources can be wrong- if they go with "AI" 

AI shows that never has MSP recorded a warmer avg temp in July than DSM. (It really depends on what you type in and WHEN-- I did several , and 75% of the time it came out with MSP never has had a warmer July avg than DSM-- 25% it did come to the consensus that it has happened , but did not list the years. I wonder why this is as facts are facts?

Here is AI results 75% of the time -

however - here is the actual climo data-- 2006 and 2008 show MSP with a warmer avg temp in July than DSM. 

Climate change? or how about UHI being the biggest influencer?? I only post this because I have two homes, one in DSM and one in MSP and it's very likely that 2026 will have MSP warmer than DSM for avg temp as MSP is currently running .2F warmer through the 23rd and with cooler temps for DSM  compared to MSP for today ( rain/low clouds in DSM)  and NWS forecast out 7 days has MSP warmer than DSM to end the month.  I'am still looking at DATA from both going back to each inception as a station ( well back into the  1800's) laborious!!!! - but so far- only 2006/2008 and likely 2026 will show up with DSM being cooler in July than MSP. So if my data is correct and no month of July pre 2006 was cooler in DSM than MSP 240 miles N -- what does that say? Likely nothing to those that are 100% sold on AGW/ Climate Change. But maybe-- UHI plays a big part in this- especially since the warmer July's in MSP have happened most recently in the data recrod?  And trust me KDSM has a HUGE UHI compared to surrounding areas, but not as much as MSP-- but 240 miles S?   

Love data and climo and it's my job recording it as CWO- especially when ASOS is down and manual backup is needed. And this is becoming more common as ASOS 1980's technology is failing and the replacement parts are getting hard to find. ASK any NWS TECH. 

I haven't taken the time, but I wonder if MCI or STL has ever been cooler than DSM in July? And to be fair- that is not the same latitude difference between MSP and DSM.

Anyways- it's very rare for DSM to be cooler in July than MSP.  But seems to be becoming more common if you look back 140+ years.   Just an interesting tidbit of real verifiable truth compared to AI and sometimes it pays to do your own homework and not "cheat". 

Another July with MSP warmer than DSM . 3 in the last 20 years- 2006 and 2008 and now 2026 (none in the previous 150+ years). It's very tough to do. but helps with increased H20 vapor and UHI -- especially since DSM has seen 3 of it's top 10 July rainfalls in the last 3  years?? IS that normal climate?  Or is that climate human induced ??? Or just an anomaly that needs to be thrown out?/     What is "normal climate"?   See Below.  I think H20 vapor/ UHI  is bigger influence than Co2 * 100 is my .02 cents, as this is exactly what one would predict with similar Metro's and UHI (but factor in being 240 miles N to S apart - even though MSP is that much bigger, the 240 miles Latitude wise should account for this?   ) and never has MSP been warmer than a July  DSM pre 2006. Just some climo facts that need a discussion and if one goes outside the major metros of DSM and MSP--( say Blaine,MN (ANE) and Ankeny,IA- (IKV) the climo's pretty much stay the same but of course do not have climo records of 100+ years or the accurate? precip records.