heat wave

Cooler temps expected in area

August weather still may be a bit warmer than usual, experts say.

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By Tristan Navera, Staff Writer 11:10 PM Friday, August 5, 2011

Relief may be in sight for a heat-stricken Dayton.

AccuWeather, a national meteorology group based in State College Park, Pa., said yesterday the month of August might be cooler than July, though still above normal.

The heat bubble which expanded north from the southern Plains has contracted again, the organization said in a press release, and the northern parts of the country will see overall cooler temperatures compared to July.

“I think the days of having long stretches of 90 degree weather are over,” said Henry Margusity, senior meteorologist for AccuWeather. “The pattern has changes over the last two weeks. We’re going to see cooler masses from Canada and shutting down the heat eastward.”

Margusity said temperatures for August will remain in the mid- to upper 80s, with more precipitation. “The heat blossomed up from Texas in late July to create that high heat,” Margusity said, “Now it’s deflating back to where it started.”

AccuWeather forecasts that the temperatures for much of the United States will average normal or slightly above normal for the rest of the month, to end August slightly above normal. These temperatures, though, are still expected to be lower than the final weeks of last month, when a large bubble of hot air drove temperatures up throughout the Midwest.

“It’s going to feel colder than it really is because people have become acclimated to the stretches of extreme heat,” Margusity said, adding that a few days in the upper 70s and lower 90s can still be expected.

Rich Wirdzek, a meteorologist for WHIO-TV, said temperatures will cool off in the next five days with highs in the mid- to upper 80s and lows in the mid- to upper 60s. A cold front will come through the area Wednesday, with scattered showers and storms possible, he said. “We’re losing sunlight,” he said of August weather. “We get heat waves, but they’re not as dramatic as they are in July. ... We’re heading into the fall.”

In Dayton, 19 days in July saw temperatures above 90 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

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