July 2011 Climate Data and MWN Forecast Accuracy

An extremely hot June continued into July with the June-July period averaging 84.9 degrees - tied with 1980 as the warmest June-July on record in Memphis and was just 0.2 degrees warmer than the same period in 2010. Despite the very hot temperatures, only one record was set - the maximum record low was tied on July 12 at 82 degrees.  Precipitation was below average for the month.

Memphis International Airport, Memphis, TN

The average July temperature was 86.0 degrees, which was 3.5 degrees above normal. The average high temperature was 94.9 degrees and the average low was 77.2. The coolest temperature of the month was 72 degrees on the 1st and the highest temperature was 99 degrees on the 11th, 12th, and 31st.

Precipitation for the month of July totaled 2.95", which was 1.27" below average. There were 9 days with measurable rainfall; 3 of those measured more than one-half inch.  The greatest 24-hour total was 0.82" on the 24th-25th. The peak wind gust was 51 mph in a thunderstorm on the 3rd with an average wind speed for the month of 5.6 mph. Click here for a daily statistical recap for Memphis International Airport.

Cirrus Weather Solutions, Bartlett, TN

The average temperature for July at Cirrus Weather Solutions in north Bartlett was 83.8 degrees with a maximum of 100.4 degrees on the 11th and 12th and a minimum of 64.5 degrees on the 1st.  July precipitation ended below normal with a total of 3.07". A co-located manual gauge used for the CoCoRaHS program measured 3.13". The peak wind gust was 20 mph on the 21st. Average relative humidity was a high 72%. Click here for a daily recap on MemphisWeather.net.

MWN Forecast Accuracy

For the month of July, the average temperature error in all MWN temperature forecasts was 1.63 degrees, lower than all compared computer models and our most accurate month since August 2010. Nearly 80% of the MWN temperature forecasts for the month were within 2 degrees of the actual temperature. MWN's forecasts extend out five periods (or 2.5 days). For dewpoint accuracy, the MWN forecast beat all data sources, averaging 1.65 degrees error and falling within 2 degrees of the actual dewpoint 82% of the time. Historical accuracy statistics can be found here.

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