The Truth of a Heat Wave

It is insane when a temperature of 90 degrees and a dew point of 70 degress brings on a feeling of relief. In Wisconsin this feeling only takes place during an extended heat wave in the middle of summer. That is exactly where we are at. We've been doing our best to keep hydrated and keep the sunscreen applied while outdoors. As for being inside the house we feel very fortunate to have central air to keep things comfortable. Looking ahead there might be a 24 hour period early next week that provides some relief from the heat, but the heat will return and stay with us for another extended period of time. Anyone following the LRC theory (Lezak's Recurring Cycle) knew the recent warmth was coming with great potential to provide extreme summer weather. This part of the pattern has been documented thoroughly via LRC Weather, WeatherWatch12, and even here at OSNW3. This coming week is the pattern feature that brought us our first heatwave of the summer back in early June. The repeat looks to be a little less extreme than I had originally thought back on Jun-9 as it is taking on a look like it's predecessors from late winter and early spring, but never the less it is recurring and will be continuing the heat and humidity making the month of July a wonderful summer month for those still remembering our prolonged winter and cool spring.

(OSNW3 Weather Brief)
(OSNW3 July Observations)

(OSNW3 July 2011 Summary)

(click on graph for the month summary data - it will open a new tab/window)

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The Dog Day That Will Not End
Over the past 8 days the max temp has averaged 87.7 degrees, the min temp has averaged 69.3 degrees, and the max dew point has averaged 74.2 degrees. The combination of each data point creates a hot and sticky situation. I like to define these types of days as "dog days". If our max temp exceeds 80 and our min temp stays above 65 on any given day, that day qualifies as a "dog day". We are well on our way to be competing with the numbers of last summer. OSNW3 Dog Days 2007-2011

(OSNW3 - Dog Days thru Jul 23, 2011)

OSNW3 Dog Days - 2010
OSNW3 Dog Days - 2009
OSNW3 Dog Days - 2008
OSNW3 Dog Days - 2007

On a side note, since 1893, Oshkosh has endured streaks of 25+ days where the maximum temperature was 80+ degrees 8 times; 1908, 1919, 1921, 1930, 1963, 1966, 1983, and 1988. The longest streak took place in 1921, Jun 16 thru Jul 31, a whopping 46 days. During that period the average max temp was 90.7 and the average min temp was 66.5. It's average was a "dog day" by definition. Talk about hot.

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Front Of House
We are deep into summer now. I hope the hundreds of thousands of folks that visit the EAA this coming week find ways to stay cool. Click here for an Oshkosh weather brief, all links are provided by the National Weather Service. Speaking of the NWS, check out my new golf ball markers.  Thank you NWSGA!

(FOH - Jul 23, 2011)