"When summer opens, I see how fast it matures, and fear it will be short; but after the heats of July and August, I am reconciled, like one who has had his swing, to the cool of autumn."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
July Weather Summary
July is peak summer season for most of the United States, and this year was no exception. High pressure dominated big parts of the Lower 48 for long stretches, driving prolonged heat and humidity along with it, while afternoon thunderstorms remained a consistent fixture in the Southeast and Gulf Coast. Drought conditions expanded in some western regions even as tropical moisture brought heavy rain to others, a reminder that "summer weather" rarely means the same thing across a country so large.
The month's high came in at 121°F in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
On the other end of things, La Pine, Oregon recorded a low of 23°F.
Data Look Back: July Heat Covers Network Maps
Early July brought a brutal heat wave to the eastern half of the country, with temperatures running 10 to 20 degrees above normal. At the peak, 38% of all Tempest weather stations in the US were under a heat advisory or excessive heat warning. New York City hit 100°F for the first time since 2012, with a heat index of 106°F, and Washington, DC saw back-to-back days in the 103 to 104°F range heading into the holiday weekend.
Real-time station data like this can power accurate, hyperlocal heat advisories, giving people a head start on planning around the worst of it instead of relying on regional forecasts alone.
This Month in Weather History
This year marks 50 years since one of Colorado's deadliest natural disasters. On the night of July 31, 1976, a slow-moving thunderstorm stalled over Big Thompson Canyon between Estes Park and Loveland and dropped as much as a foot of rain in just a few hours. With nowhere to go in the narrow canyon, the water rose into a wall that swept away homes, vehicles, and campgrounds in its path. The flood killed 144 people, making it one of the deadliest flash floods in U.S. history.
In the aftermath, gaps in radar coverage and real-time reporting left forecasters with very little warning time, a shortfall that pushed major upgrades to flash flood warning systems still in use today.
Photo and details from the National Weather Service. An interactive map of photos is also available via the National Weather Service.
Tempest in the Elements
This month our Tempest in the Elements comes all the way from the Netherlands! Thank you Wilfred R. for sharing! Want your setup or project to be featured? Send us a photo of your Tempest setup (or include it in your review), your creative weather project, or other unique ways you’re using your station - or use the hashtag #tempestwx.
Other Weather News
WRF 26 Deployed Across Tempest Lifestyle Apps
Earlier this month, we unveiled one of our flagship forecasting models in the Tempest Lifestyle Apps under a new name: WRF 26. It's the same high-resolution model that's powered forecasts in our apps for years, now rolling out more broadly across iKitesurf, iWindsurf, WindAlert, SailFlow, and FishWeather. Read the full story and what it means for your forecasts. Read More >>>
Remaining Hurricane Season Outlook from WeatherFlow-Tempest
WeatherFlow-Tempest meteorologist Shea Gibson breaks down why 2026 is shaping up as a below-average Atlantic hurricane season. NOAA/NHC and Colorado State University both point to a quieter year, driven by the developing El Niño, which shifts storm activity toward the eastern Pacific while suppressing Atlantic development. But even a quiet season only takes one landfalling storm to matter. Read the full breakdown for the details behind the forecast. Read More >>>
Historically Strong El Niño Shaping Up
NOAA and Berkeley Earth forecasters say the El Niño developing in the tropical Pacific is on track to become one of the strongest on record, potentially reshaping heat, drought, and precipitation patterns worldwide into 2027. Read more on what's driving the forecast and what it could mean for the year ahead. Read More >>>
What to Plant in a Late Summer Garden
Are you wanting to keep your garden looking full as summer slowly begins to wind down? A few heat-tolerant perennials and grasses planted now, like coneflower, sedum, and ornamental grasses, can carry color into your yard and garden well into autumn. Check out the full list and planting tips. Read More >>>
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