NBC Action Communities

McLouth KS 1.06" over night, 0.35 yesterday morning, 2 day total 1.41"

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Thanks for the total!

Jeremy

Happy Fourth of July everybody!  In Liberty we got 1.75" from last night & .23" from yesterday morning for a total of 1.98".  The natural fireworks last night were spectacular!  

2.0 inches in Higginsville just over night

2.5 total, 0.83 of that from yesterday morning.  we were without power for 2 1/2 hours from 4 AM.   Shawnee Msn Parkway and 435 in Shawnee

SW Lawrence checking in...
.46" for the first round and .92" for the overnight portion, puts my corner of the universe at 1.38" for the 2 days.

All of which was very much appreciated, just wish these darn things weren't in the wee hours of the AM so I could stay awake and enjoy them.

Three miles north of Spring Hill in south Johnson County we got 1.4" in the last two days. Now we won't have to water before we weed!

Tina

jeremy: at 119th & state line, the 2 day total was 1.21"

1.5 "    KCK - Parallel and College

2.0 "  2 Day total Parallel and College

2.25" overnight @ I-70 & Phelps in Independence, 2.75" total for Friday & Saturday

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Great to see all the totals rolling in!

Jeremy

I don't know how much rain we got in Mission last night (the overhangs on our apartment complex are too long for a rain gauge =( ) but we were woken up a couple times during the night by LOUD claps of lightning. Had to think for a minute whether it was lightning or firecrackers. =)

Two-day total in western Shawnee - 2.8"

.98 here in NW Ray County.  My garden drank it up!  Sure the firefighters are happy with the rain we received.  Happy Birthday America and God bless her troops!

What bums me out is the forecast you all had yesterday for today showed full sunshine an 86. Today is cloudy all day an 81??? What happened????

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Which forecast?  When I came in this morning Gary had 81 for today with showers ending and some sun.  Not too bad in my opinion.

Jeremy

NW Lawrence received 0.26" for the first round and 1.21" for the overnight storms, bringing the two day total to 1.47".

Good morning Jeremy!  Sure hope you get to see some fireworks yourself tonight.

On south side of Liberty, .5" yesterday and 1.75" overnight for total of 2.25".  

That was some of the most vivid cloud to ground lightning I have seen in a while.  The storm that developed and grew over the Northland really had its act together coming through here around 11pm.  The encore about 1am threw in the heavy downpours for "fun" I guess?!  What a night.

At least there shouldn't be any grass fires tonight from fireworks!!!

Everone be safe and have a happy 4th celebration tonight!
Jeff

Maybe this cloud cover will keep roofs from drying out so we don't see any roof fires either. We have a real out-of-control pyromaniac teenager down the street.

Tina

A ridiculous 4.17 inches was measured officially at Columbia Regional Airport. Columbia's average for the ENTIRE month of July is 3.51 inches.

I woke up at about 5:15 am to the sounds of torrential rain and very loud thunder. Quite a storm!

JEREMY>>> Welcome back hope you enjoyed the hard earned time off!! We had 2.6'' in eastern Independence 291 and Truman area. The lightning was spectacular last night!!

Jeremy please do not touch the thermostat. The last time you played with it we had 100 to 110 temps. Have a happy 4th and everyone take care and be safe!!

In Liberty, my rain gauge came in just under 2" from last night's rain.

.62 total from La Cygne.

.50 on Friday and .12 today, mainly from this morning's rain shower.

OK so when does that wind/breeze from the North kick in.  

1.99" near 169 Hwy & Englewood Rd. in the northland.

Chicagoexpat, I read what you said about fireworks in the last blog. I've never seen any cops really enforce that law no matter where I've lived. In fact I remember kids shooting them off right near a police station and no did anything. There's too much of it going on and they're not up to chasing it all down. Same thing on New Years but to a much lesser degree. One year some people who felt it was their right to shoot them off and said nobody should get to spoil their fun, set some off that burned down part of a neighbor's garage. The next year they were right back at it.

My rain gauge said 2.1 for the last two days near Johnson Drive and Roe.

Whirlygirl, I know what you mean about the cops not enforcing firewarks laws. But since the laws are already on the books, think of how much revenue they could rake in if they got serious about issuing citations. Every year, same old thing, no matter where you live -- television stations caution about the dangers of fireworks, they show dummies getting thier heads blown off, and they tell you how illegal fireworks are. Then no one pays attention because they're so easy to get across the state line. In Chicago, we had them coming in from Indiana AND Wisconsin. One year, our next door neighbor bragged to me he had smuggled a case of them home from his Mexican vacations. Geeze, what a marooooooon. Lucky for him, that was before 9-11.

Sorry to veer off topic.

ExPat - I can visualize you running outside with socks up to your knees shaking your fist high in the air chasing kids up and down the street.

LOL

Good grief, this upcoming heat "spell"/"wave" toward the second half of the week into the weekend is gonna ..well..um, be unpleasant.

We will have 850 mb temps warmer than the surface today.

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I better not call it a heat wave this time;)

Jeremy

1.44" last night in northern Blue Springs

Great, the weather is rainny and cool when I'm gone then when I come back it gets hot and muggy again. Why me?

Yesterday .61 inches today .37 inches for a total of .98 inches In Stilwell at 194th And Metcalf.

Jeremy - don't feel bad..there really is not an agreed upon definition of heat wave, regardless of what some feel.

Here is some reference...

http://tinyurl.com/nonftc

Where's the sunshine? Although the clouds help keep the house cooler, it looks so blah outside. Cold front hasn't blown through down south yet. Still uggy out. Clothes on the line are taken some time to dry. A nice north breeze would be very welcome.

Jeremy and Scott....
Gary's definition of a "heat wave" does not agree with mine, and maybe many others. The week of June 21-27 was just plain miserable. KCI may not have had 3 plus days of 95 & above, but it still made for a very hot week.
I will call it a heat wave if it stays above 93 for more than 3 days, and not cooling down that much at night.

And, Jeremy, when you are in charge, as in when Gary was gone, I think you should be able to call it as YOU see it.

HAPPY 4th of JULY everyone !! :):)

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Except for the fact that it wasn't a heat wave.  It was a rather hot and humid week.  Seriously, we just shouldn't call every hot spell a "heat wave".   

Gary

Scott said: "ExPat - I can visualize you running outside with socks up to your knees shaking your fist high in the air chasing kids up and down the street"

Noooooooooooooo -- that ain't me!  My mom kind of did that with hunters who used to spotlight deer on her property, and she didn't back down even when they pointed their rifles at her -- but I'm not like that, believe me.

The last time I was out running around in my PJs and robe was yesterday morning before the rain started. I couldn't find my cell phone, thought it must have fallen out of my pocket when I was working wayyyy out near the back of the property. I walked all over the field, calling my cell # from the cordless house phone, and the neighbors must have been cracking up.

I finally found the phone in the sofa cushions in the basement. Duh.

55th and Raytown Road - 3.65" since 8:00 AM Friday

Happy Independence Day. We caught the Blooms & Booms fireworks at Powell Gardens last night. Around midnight, the fireworks started again as the first storm cell rolled through. Our after midnight total was 2.36" for a storm total of 2.38" here in Emma, MO.

Walt Snyder

Heat wave definitions should differ from area to area simply due to average climate. In just a basic example, Phoenix Arizona would have a continuous 4 month heat wave by Kansas City definitions. I hope most of you did not need that explanation.

Adding humidity into considering a heatwave does make sense simply because it is considered to be hotter by the population with more humidity. Sure, it might hit 95 for 3 days in a row, but 25% humidity and 70% humidity would make a world of difference in how hot the public thinks it is.

Now, heatwaves should be somewhat rare, not common. In terms of actual air temperature, we often hit 95 for 3 days in a row many times in one year. Hitting 100 for 3 days in a row doesn't happen as often, but is slightly rare. Personally, if I were to give the Kansas City guidelines for a heatwave based solely upon actual air temperature, I would set it at 98 for 3 days in a row.

If heat indecies were the factor in deciding a heatwave, that would be a different story, simply because 98 degree heat indecies are very common. I need to think of this more, but in Kansas City, 110 degree heat indecies are hit quite a bit of times, but rarely 3 days in a row. Thus stated, if I were to base a heatwave on heat indecies, I would most likely say 110 degree heat indecies for 3 days in a row. This could mean actual air temperatures could be in the 100s for many days, and we not have a heatwave.

With those criteria for a heat wave, most of the summers of the dust bowl wouldn't even have a single heat wave, simply because the air was so dry, thus heat indecies would be much lower the actual air temperature.

You can add criterion after criterion to the actual definition of a heat wave. I could simply go on and on about this, especially without anything to do tonight!

Definition of heat wave.

To n2mountains it is anytime two days, in a row it is over 85 degrees. By Septmeber things begin to calm down, so BRING ON SEPTEMBER, and then we can get excited about a new LRC in the making and of course that delightful 4 letter word!

SNOW   SNOW   SNOW, please let this be the year for the ridge in the right spot!!!!

I HATE the heat HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm with you Mountains, Bring on Winter!!!!!!!!!!!

My thoughts exactly N2mountains! I'm not exactly looking forward to July and August weather, but get excited when football weather begins!

Xeno - good points.  I think you illustrate how difficult it is to determine what a heat wave, spell, or period is.  I am of the same thinking that a heatwave is not common.  By that, it should not be easily attained.  I do think the humidity plays into things and might consider the heat index as a qualifier.

This area typically does not see dry heat of any extended period.  Because of our location geographically, we will generally have at least a 55 degree dewpoint.  While this is dry air to us in the summer, it is far short of the 20-30 degree dewpoints or less found in the desert southwest.

Based on this - HI is probably the best measure.  I think your threshold is pretty close.  I might have it mirror that of the NWS for a single heat warning level at 115 degrees HI.  Also to be factored in is the night time HI as part of the criteria.  

If we had dry air in place, like most desert environments, night time cooling would be rapid and pronounced.  100 degree days could yield 50-60 degree daily lows.

So, all in all..this is would I would suggest...

115 degree HI with over 75 degree HI lows for a period of 5 days or more.  Anything less seems more like a heat spell than anything.  Heat waves are normally brought on by large upper air conditions and persistent summertime conditions.  Only then does it seem to be a heat wave, and not just a ridge forming between to lows that passes after a few days.

Intriguing topic.  On a side note...in hanging out at the river today, I was a bit curious at times if the "no rain" for today would hold on.  Many a low level cloud based under some cumulus nimbus..but alas, it stayed dry where I was.  

It was cool however to observe a bit of mist form over the city as we came home.  Since the surface front did not scour the moisture, in the northernly winds cooling the city, it did bring some light mist about.

Pretty cool.  Mist isn't that common around here this time of year.

If you have a heat index of 115 in the afternoon, it is almost certain there will be temperatures above 75 simply because with heat indecies that high, you will likely have dewpoints of 75+, except in some very rare cases.

In the basics of a heatwave, we need a mixture of extreme heat and a long period of time. Thus stated, I think that your 5 day heat wave criteria are good.

Now, I could also say that if there was to be criteria for only 3 days, the heat indecies would need to be even higher since heatwaves are a product of both heat and time. Maybe 120+ HI, and overnight HI of 85+. That would be extremely rare.

Maybe it's time I calculate the heatwave formula. ;)