The Kiss the Pig Contest for 4-H is starting to heat up. Remember to fill my pig jar at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds. We are running out of time. Just think of all the nice weather I have brought you over the past 4 weekends and an outstanding fair week ahead. Well, I really can't take much credit for that. The real reason you should fill my pig jar is for all the great kids of 4-H. Their projects only seem to get better year after year. My goal is to raise the most money for 4-H, not only for this year, but ever. I know it is a tall task, but together we can do it. This also means I will then get to kiss the pig on Thursday night. But, I am not thinking much about that right now and for good reason. The focus is on all the hard-working kids and raising money for scholarships. Thanks so much for all your support!
We have a lot to be thankful for including the weather. The fair week in Tippecanoe County is usually known for its hot and stormy weather. Last year the fair ended on sultry terms. Compare that to today and it felt about 20 degrees cooler. We know how lucky we are. Where is all the hot weather we normally see? Well, head West. Look at the latest National Weather Service data that has come into my office from Great Falls, Montana. It hurts just to read all these scorching numbers! We have had only two days so far in July at 90 degrees or above. Yesterday, Miles City, Montana hit 110 degrees. It was not alone.
Number of Days of 100 degrees or higher:
BOZEMAN... 9...OLD RECORD FOR THE MONTH WAS 4 IN 1960.
CUT BANK... 1...RECORD FOR MONTH IS 2 IN 1936.
GREAT FALLS... 3...RECORD FOR MONTH IS 6 IN 2003.
HAVRE... 4...RECORD FOR MONTH IS 7 IN 1936.
HELENA... 6...OLD RECORD FOR THE MONTH WAS 5 IN 2003.
BOZEMAN HAS EXCEEDED THEIR ALL-TIME HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 103 SET IN AUGUST 1961. THEY HAVE EQUALLED OR EXCEEDED THIS VALUE 5 TIMES THIS MONTH...WITH THE HIGHEST OF 106 ON THE 6TH.
Whenever you see the temperatures rival and surpass values from 1936, you really start to appreciate what folks are going through out West. In 1936 here in Indiana we set our state record high of 116 degrees in our very own Collegeville. It was a year that will always be remembered for hot, scorching weather. Now you can add 2007 to that list, if you live in Montana. I like saying nature likes to keep a balance and if one place on earth is unusually hot, another place has to be much cooler than normal. That would be us! Here at home all of the hot weather is being re-directed to our north due to a cut-off low pressure area you see below.
It has been the summer of cut-off low pressure areas and what they tend to do is actually retrograde or move from the east to the west instead of the more traditional west to east. They can spin around for days. They are usually a weather phenomenon in the Spring or Fall, not the summer. I cannot remember this ever happening here in Indiana in July. In fact about 98% of all low pressure areas move west to east across Indiana, but here is an example of a low pressure moving the total opposite way. The jet stream that usually carries systems from west to east is being detoured around the huge heat wave out in Montana. This allowed the cut-off low to form drift our way. It has higher wind speeds on its northern side which slowly allows its momentum to move it to the west.
Usually it takes a cold front to kick it out of the way and I do not see that happening until late Friday and Saturday. So what this means is we will have no hot spells for our fair week and no big rain. We are in essence "cut-off" from all the extreme weather out west, which is certainly a good thing. I do not think my fair forecast has ever been this tame. I don't want to jinx the forecast, but overall it is looking great! The only tiger in the pattern I could find was in this beautiful picture e-mailed to our weather team. Look for more swallowtail butterflies on tiger lilies. This beautiful scene sums up the great weather we are experiencing.
Courtesy of: Lyn Watson
This nice weather pattern should give me a chance to get out at the Tippecanoe County Fair and collect plenty of money for the 4 H'ers. Thanks in advance for all your help and I look forward to seeing you on the tube and in person! Save me a pork tenderloin.
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