Considering temperatures, few people will dispute that much of July was a real sizzler.
The month got off to a hot start, with the average temperature about 4 degrees above normal. That was the situation until half the month had passed.However, a cool spell the latter half of the month changed the picture, leaving the average temperature for the entire month at 78.9 degrees, or 1.4 degrees above normal.
There were four days when the temperature hit 100 degrees or higher. That was one day above the average (over the past 30 years of record keeping) for July. One hundred-degree readings were recorded 10 times through July 31, said William J. Alder, meteorologist in charge of the Salt Lake office of the National Weather Service.
And the thermometer hit 103 Aug. 8 - breaking the record for that day - and 102 on Aug. 9, according to Belinda Jensen, Weather Service meteorologist intern.
Alder said precipitation was just a little below normal - 89 percent of the normal amount for July. As of Aug. 1, 10 months of the 1989-90 weather year had passed with the total precipitation being 9.86 inches, or 73 percent of the normal 13.50 inches.
Data received at the Weather Service show that the Great Salt Lake keeps evaporating because of the dry weather. Most people realize that a similar situation exists when they water their lawn.
As of Aug. 1 the lake level had dropped more than 14 inches from the peak (4,204.70 feet above sea level) on May 1.
While precipitation amounts were generally disappointing for July, some areas (such as weather stations in Milford and Manti) received more than twice their normal amounts of rainfall for July.
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(Additional information)
Weathering heights (and lows)
July 1990
July 1990 30-yr. avg. Record
Temperature
High 102(31st) 93.2 107 (26th,'60)
Low 55 (27th) 61.8 40 (1st,'68)
Mean 78.9 77.5 --
Precipitation
Total .64 in. .72 in. Wet, 2.57 in., '82
Dry, trace,'63,
Most in 24 hrs. .50 in.(24th) -- 2.28 in.(13th,'62)
Days
over .01 in. 4 4 17('36)
Skies
Clear 17 days 17 days 25 days ('78)
Partly cloudy 8 days 10 days 19 days ('60)
Cloudy 6 days 4 days 10 days ('87)
Wind
Peak gust 51 mph -- 74 mph
(2nd) (18th,'81)
Thunderstorms
Days 4 7 14 ('85)
Daily records set
July 1, Record high minimum of 77, previously 73 in 1981.
July 1, High maximum of 101 tied, also in 1950.
July 2, Record high maximum of 101, previously 100 in 1961.
July 26, Tied for record low maximum of 80, also in in 1986.
July 31, Tied for record high maximum of 102, also in 1989.
Data from Salt Lake Airport Weather Observation