A Refreshing Change in the Weather

Cooler and drier air spread south over most of the eastern half of the nation this week in the wake of two cold fronts. The first cold front pushed through the northeast quarter of the country last weekend before stalling out. The weather did turn a bit cooler and less humid behind this, but the the real push of cooler and drier air came behind a second cold front that swept across the eastern half of the country Tuesday and Wednesday.  Low temperatures this morning were in the 50s and 60s across much of the area, and own around 70°F in the northern Gulf States.

Minimum temperatures as of 7:00 a.m. CDT July 25.
Credit: Unisys

 Dew points today were in the 50s from the Mississippi River eastward, a refreshing change from the muggy 70s that plagued the Midwest and East last week.

Surface dew point temperature at 10:00 a.m. CDT July 25.

There were some record lows and record low maximum temperatures across the upper Midwest from this cool air mass. Record low maximum temperatures in the Gulf Coast States were largely due to clouds and rain.

Credit: hamweather.com

Last week there was a lot of hype in the media about the heat and humidity. It was hot and humid and uncomfortable, but this period of muggy weather was not that unusual for July, and fortunately it was relatively short-lived. There were a few record and near record high temperatures last week in the eastern U.S.  There were many more record high minimum temperatures last week than record high maximum temperatures as a result of the very humid air.

Credit: hamweather.com