July was an up and down month. We started the month with temperatures 100 or higher through July 4th. A front brought it's own fireworks on the night of July 4th with numerous thunderstorms. We cooled down some on the 5th through 7th with high temperatures in the 80s and 90s. Lows at night dipped into the 60s. The coolest reading of the month was 64 set on July the 6th.
The heat kicked back in with 105 or higher from July 8th-16th. That's eight consecutive days with temperatures at or above 105!
The second half of the month brought about a different story. The jet stream, which is typically located across the northern half of the country, shot southward. This brought about several cool fronts and waves of storms at times. Most days saw highs in the 80s and 90s with lows back down in the 60s and 70s. The coolest day was on the 27th when our highs didn't get out of the 70s here in Wichita Falls.
We also saw some decent rainfall amounts for the month of July, with measurable rain on 4, 20, 21,27, 28, and 30th. Rainfall totals 2.93, that's above 1.53 above average.
Here are the average temperatures for the month...

Avg. High - 97.3 (which is -0.1 degree below average)
Avg. Low - 71.5 (which is -0.9 degree below average)

When you take the average high and low, add them together and divide by 2, this gives us an average temperature of 84.4, which is -0.4 degrees below where we should be)

Looking ahead to August...
Historically, the early part of August is the hottest time of the year and this year it will live up to it's reputation.
The heat pump will control our weather on and off through the second week in the month. This means temperatures at or above 100 on most days. There's little sign of any significant rain in the forecast through the 15th. This is good news for the Persiede meteor shower that takes place on the 12th.

Check back for more updates later this month on the August heat and updates on the devastating drought across south Texas.