Very Cool and Wet July

July 2014 will go down in the record books as a very cool and wet month. The average temperature for the month of July in Little Rock this July was only 77.5 degrees, over 5 degrees below average. This makes this July tied for the 3rd coolest on record.

This is also the coolest July in over a century. The top 2 coolest Julys are from 1905 and 1891! On of the reasons for the unusually cool temperatures was numerous days with lots of clouds and rain around. This is July was the wettest since 2009 in Little Rock and there was more rain this month than the last FOUR Julys combined. The total rainfall for the month fell just short of landing in the top 10 wettest list for July though, short by only a couple of tenths of an inch. 

7.19 inches of rain was recorded in Little Rock as of Thursday afternoon, which over twice as much as the average. August starts off a lot like July ended, with lots of clouds and temperatures that don't feel much like the middle of Summer. 

Unusually Cool and Wet

This Summer has certainly been an unusual one, with only a handful of very hot days so far. The temperature in Little Rock has only hit 95 degrees 3 times so far this Summer. For comparison, the temperature in Little Rock hit 95 degrees over 40 times by this time in the Summer in 2011! The cool trend continues as highs remain much below normal for the middle of this week. Clouds and showers will keep highs barely from getting to 80 on Wednesday, with highs likely staying in the 70s Thursday.

The record for the coolest high temperature Thursday is only 74, and if the clouds and showers hang on to the afternoon, the record may be broken for Little Rock. A slow warm up begins by the end of the week, but temperatures remain well below average.

Rain will approach by Wednesday afternoon with mainly just a few light showers, but a couple of isolated heavier showers are also possible. Strong storms are not expected. Most of the rain will move through overnight Wednesday into early Thursday.

Some showers will linger into Thursday afternoon, but lingering clouds will keep temperatures in the 70s.

A Flash Flood Watch is in effect through Friday evening for parts of Arkansas including the Little Rock metro area. A disturbance moving along a front brings rain across the State tonight. Some of the rain will be heavy overnight with 1 to 2 inches of rain across much of Central Arkansas, and up to 3 inches South. Rainfall amounts will be less North of I-40. Due to the already rather saturated grounds from recent rainfall, the rains will create some spotty flooding problems, especially for Friday morning. Rain will begin to diminish by Friday afternoon. Some isolated thunder is possible in a few spots, but severe storms are not expected.

The wet weather is also keeping temperatures much below average for this time of year. It feels more like October rather than July with highs Thursday only in the 70s. Little Rock broke the record for the coolest high temperature on July 17th with a high of only 72. The previous record was 77. Another record low high temperature will likely be broken again for Friday as highs only reach the low 70s. The record low high for Friday in Little Rock is 78.

Temperatures will begin to get back normal by Sunday, with Summer heat returning by early next week.