Taking a deep dive into July, our warmest month of the year

July is underway! This month stands for all things American, our freedoms, the easy breezy days of summer, cookouts, swimming and just maximizing outdoor time.

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It's the best month of the year, at least for summer warmth, per the stats. This month offers up more triple-digit heat than any other month: 
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 If you recall we last reached that mark when we hit a high of 101

degrees last summer. Although that happened August 23rd. The year prior we hit 100 on the first day of summer, which was June 21st. That feat was pretty remarkable to have back to back summers with temps hitting the 100s. Especially considering the Milwaukee area generally only finds heat to that mark once every nine years. Prior to that, another standout summer delivered three days in the 100s and it was July of 2012. In fact, you may recall when that heat was delivered because it happened over the 4th of July holiday! 

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 The roof was open that day at what was then Miller Park. It wasn't a pleasant day to take in a ball game to say the least, I was there! Shockingly, there's another July that pulled an even bigger century mark stunt. And that year was 1936. Not only did it feature even more 100s, four of them, to be exact. But it was four days straight of blistering heat! Check it out: 
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 What goes up must come down though, right?! That July didn't even end in the top 25 for warmest highs overall. 

As you can see from the first graphic, our average highs hold steady at 81-82 degrees during the month and lows hold up in the low to mid 60s. Per the averages it is our warmest month of the year. You can expect four days on average this month to reach the 90s. That said, so far our forecast isn't highlighting any days in the 90s over the next week. Weather for the 4th of July will likely be above normal in the mid 80s, then the rest of the stretch actually fares slightly below average. Further down the pike the overall weather pattern likely features more heat. Outlooks from the climate prediction center show above normal probabilities for above normal temperatures by July 10th. 

The month is just getting started with plenty of time to bask in the dog days of summer!

I'm meteorologist Rebecca Schuld

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