Weather Eye: Cool weather continues into the dog days

Not too much is new in the weather department locally, as we should remain in a status quo pattern with morning clouds, afternoon sunshine and somewhat warmer weather, at least Tuesday, July 24 and Wednesday, July 25, with highs 80-85.

After that, highs will be rather pleasant in the 75-80 degrees range.

So much for a hot summer, eh? Really, no complaints here, as I like it on the cool and pleasant side of things. We still have a way to go for our first official 90-degree day. Last year, we had to wait until Saturday, Aug. 20 before we hit that mark.

Cool canines

We are in the midst of the dog days of summer, but I think most of our household canines are quite happy with our weather at present.

The dog days are usually described as being the warmest period of summer. In ancient Rome, it was from Tuesday, July 24 through Friday, Aug. 24. Astronomically, it would be Tuesday, July 3 through Saturday, Aug. 11 now, when sunrise aligns with the rising of Sirius, the Dog Star.

Regardless, we are into the driest part of our year and usually the warmest. Our average high for this date is 82 degrees or so, far above the cool high of just 70 degrees Sunday, July 22. The average is, of course, taken over a long period of records that includes all the extremes, hot and cold.

Early in the morning of Monday, July 23, the overnight low dipped well into the 40s for most of Clark County, chilly for July. If you looked carefully, especially in the rural areas, you could see your breath.

I had to chuckle Monday, July 23, when I read the report from the National Climatic Data Center that said June was the Earth’s fourth-warmest of record. The warmth certainly didn’t make it to the Pacific Northwest, where many cities had their coldest ever.

Enjoy your week!

Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at Weather Systems.