More heat wave statistics

The legendary Bobby Boyd has been typing away this morning at his latest dissertation on the Heat Wave of 2007:

...HEAT WAVE CONTINUES WITH RECORD TEMPERATURES...

THIS HEAT RIVALS THE HOT AND DRY TIMES WE EXPERIENCED BACK IN 1952 AND 1954.

TODAY WILL LIKELY BE THE 5TH CONSECUTIVE DAY OF 100 DEGREES OR MORE IN NASHVILLE. THE TEMPERATURE YESTERDAY HIT 104 DEGREES IN NASHVILLE BREAKING THE RECORD FOR AUGUST 15TH OF 102 DEGREES SET BACK IN 1954. EIGHT OUT OF THE LAST NINE DAYS IN NASHVILLE HAVE BEEN 100 DEGREES AND ABOVE. WE HAD 6 CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF TRIPLE DIGITS IN JUNE 1988. THE MOST CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF 100 DEGREES AND ABOVE IS 8 IN JUNE 1952.

WE'VE HAD 8 DAYS OF 100 DEGREES AND ABOVE IN NASHVILLE THIS MONTH. THIS IS THE MOST EVER, IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST.

SMYRNA COOPERATIVE SITE HAD 107 DEGREES YESTERDAY AFTERNOON FOR THE HOTTEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED ACROSS MIDDLE TENNESSEE YESTERDAY. LEWISBURG, FAIRVIEW, LOBELVILLE AND WAVERLY COOPERATIVE SITES REPORTED 106 DEGREES YESTERDAY, WHILE WHITE HOUSE MEASURED 105 DEGREES ALONG WITH FIVE OTHER LOCATIONS.

IT WAS NOT QUITE AS HOT ON THE PLATEAU, HOWEVER CROSSVILLE EXPERIMENTAL STATION REPORTED 99 DEGREES, SHY OF THE RECORD SET BACK IN 1925 AT 103 DEGREES. CROSSVILLE AIRPORT HIT 97 DEGREES. JAMESTOWN REPORTED 97 DEGREES, WHILE ALLARDT HAD 94 DEGREES.

THERE'S BEEN 11 CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES AT OR ABOVE THE 100 DEGREE MARK AT THE SMYRNA COOPERATIVE SITE, WITH A RUN OF 10 CONSECUTIVE DAYS AT THE KINGSTON SPRINGS COOPERATIVE SITE.

AUGUST 2007 IN NASHVILLE IS AVERAGING OVER 8 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL, AND NEARLY 4 DEGREES HOTTER THAN THE HOTTEST AUGUST CURRENTLY IN THE RECORD BOOKS. NASHVILLE HAD ITS HOTTEST AUGUST TWELVE YEARS AGO, IN 1995.

TODAY WILL BE THE 12TH DAY WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 99 DEGREES OR MORE IN NASHVILLE. THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED IN THE RECORD BOOKS. PREVIOUSLY THE RECORD WAS 8 SET BACK IN JUNE 1952.

TODAY WILL BE THE 15TH DAY IN A ROW IN WHICH THE TEMPERATURE HAS REACHED 95 DEGREES AND ABOVE IN NASHVILLE. THIS IS THE LONGEST STRETCH SINCE JULY 1980. THE LONGEST STRETCH ON RECORD OF CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF 95 DEGREES AND ABOVE, IS 19 DAYS BACK IN JUNE 1952.

TODAY WILL ALSO BE THE 22ND CONSECUTIVE DAY OF 90 DEGREES AND ABOVE IN NASHVILLE. THIS IS THE MOST SINCE 23 CONSECUTIVE DAYS BACK IN AUGUST 1995. THE MOST EVER IS 31 DAYS BACK IN JUNE OF 1952 AND AGAIN IN JUNE OF 1954.

RAINFALL IN NASHVILLE SO FAR THIS MONTH HAS TOTALED 0.03 INCHES. THE DRIEST AUGUST EVER, WAS BACK IN 1929 WHEN ONLY 0.51 INCHES FELL.

SINCE THE FIRST OF JUNE, NASHVILLE HAS RECORDED ONLY 3.87 INCHES OF RAINFALL. THE DRIEST JUNE THROUGH AUGUST ON RECORD, WAS IN 1954, WHEN 4.74 INCHES OF RAIN FELL. RAINFALL SINCE JANUARY 1ST HAS TOTALED 17.34 INCHES, WHICH IS 13.60 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.

WE ARE CURRENTLY CLASSIFIED AS HAVING AN EXTREME TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT CONDITIONS. THE LATEST 6-10 DAY PROGNOSIS FROM CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER CONTINUE TO INDICATE ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WITH BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION.

DURING THE HEAT WAVE, SOME PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE KEPT IN MIND. STAY INSIDE TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, PREFERABLY IN AN AIR CONDITIONED SPACE. IF YOU MUST BE OUTSIDE, DRINK FLUIDS FREQUENTLY, WEAR LIGHT COLORED CLOTHING WITH A HAT, AND STAY IN THE SHADE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

IT WILL LIKELY TAKE A TROPICAL SYSTEM TO BREAK DOWN THE CURRENT PATTERN THAT HAS CAUSED THE EXTENSIVE HEAT WAVE AND DROUGHT CONDITIONS.

WEATHER RECORDS IN NASHVILLE DATE BACK TO NOVEMBER 1ST 1870, WHEN THE ARMY SIGNAL CORPS BEGAN TAKING WEATHER OBSERVATIONS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA OF NASHVILLE.