MONTHLY WEATHER DATA AND OBS - WESTMONT 1.1W PA JUNE 2012 OBSERVER NATE MULLINS Special Observations: F=fog, T=thunder, H=hail, S=sleet, G=glaze, DW=damaging winds Observation time for this station is midnight (Eastern US). Temperature, °F Precipitation, In. Liquid Solid 7am 24-hour At Rain Snow/ Snow Date Max Min Obs Equiv Ice Depth Special Obs. 1 67 52 52 .42 T,DW 2 64 49 55 3 69 53 54 .47 T 4 62 51 51 .01 5 59 48 49 .13 6 70 46 56 T F 7 73 47 53 .01 T 8 75 49 65 9 82 53 70 10 86 57 69 11 77 59 65 .08 12 77 64 64 .82 F,T 13 74 53 58 F 14 77 49 60 15 77 56 59 16 77 52 60 17 79 54 65 T 18 77 60 65 .47 F 19 84 63 75 F 20 89 64 72 21 87 65 72 22 78 66 66 23 80 56 64 24 79 55 66 T 25 72 54 54 .07 T 26 72 49 61 27 80 54 65 28 89 60 82 29 93+ 65+ 65 .32 F,T 30 82 60 73 T AVG/SUM 76.9 55.4 62.8 2.80 0.0 - EXT 93 46 82/49 0.82 - - Date 29 6 28/5 12 - - *=Also occurred on earlier dates +=The free-floating 24-hour low temp from 9pm the 28th-29th was an all-time station record high 78. The high temp of 93 (and heat index of 104) on the 29th is a June station record. Miscellaneous Stats Mean Monthly Temperature: 66.2°F (-0.5°F) Year precipitation to date: 23.49" (-0.59") Season snowfall to date: 65.1" (final total for 2011-2012 cold/snow season) Number of days with: Fog 6 Thunder 6 Damaging Winds 1 DETAILED OBSERVATION NOTES COOL START TO JUNE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM - NEARBY TORNADO 1: Cloudy and cool with steady temperatures in the 60s and gusty S winds. A line of severe thunder- storms whipped through just before 6pm with 45 mph wind gusts that caused scattered damage in and around Johnstown and brief downpours .42" rain fell. The most severe storms were to the west and north. An EF-1 tornado was confirmed in Ligonier, about 12 miles west of here. The storm moved NE and produced another possible tornado on US 422 near the Cambria/Indiana Co. line then caused major wind damage in Northern Cambria, where a trained spotter measured wind gusts to 58 mph. 2: Partly cloudy, breezy and cool with a high struggling to 64. 3: Partly cloudy overnight and through mid-afternoon again a bit cool and breezy. A couple of gusty thunderstorms with brief downpours around 4 and 6 pm and a couple late evening showers .47" rain. 4: A brief light shower overnight. Variably cloudy with light N winds and another brief light shower early this evening, not measurable. Still cool high only 62. 5: Continued mostly cloudy & cool with light NE winds. A couple of afternoon showers .13" fell. High only reached 59. 6: Fog formed overnight with variably cloudy skies and cool temps. A mostly sunny, pleasant afternoon with a high of 70 and light NE winds again. 7: Fair & cool again overnight low 47. Variably cloudy with moderate NW breezes, some late afternoon rumbles of thunder but just one brief light shower. Another fairly cool evening. 8: Cool overnight, partly cloudy & pleasant with light w winds. 9: Sunny & warm all day with virtually no clouds, low humidity & light W winds. 10: Sunny & very warm but with low humidity. Some light W breezes and a few passing clouds. 11: Partly cloudy early becoming mostly cloudy with increasing humidity and light SE winds. Light rain showers late this evening after sunset. 12: Occasional rain showers overnight, becoming heavy around mid-morning, ending by noon. Variable PM clouds and very humid with a shower around 3:30pm. Strong thunderstorm just north of here 6:30 to 7:30 pm with ominous skies but little wind and NO rain. Light fog late evening. Total rain 0.82". FAIR WEATHER - BRIEF SUMMER BLAST - VERY DRY 13: Foggy and cooler overnight with clearing skies overhead. Sunny, cooler and much less humid. 14: Mostly sunny with passing clouds and strong S breezes at times, again low humidity. 15: Again sunny with seasonable temps and winds from the south. 4th of last 5 days with a high of 77. 16: Partly cloudy with moderate breezes from the south again. Also, yet again, a high of 77, for the 5th of the past 6 days. Today is the 30th anniversary of the twister that hit our backyard in Morgantown, WV and got me into weather. 17: Partly cloudy AM, becoming mostly cloudy by late afternoon. Seasonably warm & slightly more humid with again moderate breezes at times from the south. Some sprinkles late this evening. 18: Brief shower shortly after midnight, then a heavy rain shower between 4-5 am .45" fell. Some fog. Variably to mostly cloudy with light SW winds, very humid. Another heavy rain shower skirted just south & east around 6pm with only .02" falling here. High was 77 for the 6th of the last 8 days. 19: Early fog then mostly sunny, very warm and humid high 84 F with light W winds. Very mild evening. 20: Mostly sunny & hot high 89 F, peak heat index 95 F. Very light W winds. 21: Mostly sunny & hot high 87, heat index 93. Again very light W winds. A warm, humid evening with an isolated storm near the turnpike south of us producing continuous lightning but again no rain. 22: Mild overnight low 68 with increasing clouds. Mostly cloudy and cooler with temperatures steady in the 70s all afternoon. Another front passed through with, once again, no rain. 23: Cooler overnight low 56 and a nice partly to mostly sunny day high reached 80 but low humidity. 24: Partly sunny with seasonable temps and modest humidity. Again, no rain developed as forecast. 25: A couple of brief showers with thunder shortly before daybreak, only .07" rain. Partly cloudy, gusty NNW winds, cooler temps and lower humidity. 26: A relatively cool night & day with moderate N breezes and partly cloudy skies. ANOTHER HEAT WAVE 27: Warmer high 80 F with mostly sunny skies, light N breezes & low humidity. 28: Partly cloudy and very warm high 89 F, light SW breezes, low humidity. Continued breezy through the evening and VERY warm, still 82 @ midnight which is my highest obs temp on record! 29: Continued breezy and VERY WARM overnight with temperatures in the low-mid 80s most of the night and only dropping to 78, which is the WARMEST night on record at this station! Very hot high 93 with a peak heat index of 104 set a June record for this station. A destructive line of thunder- storms passed narrowly to our south over Somerset Co. We only had lightning & brief heavy rain. 30: Mostly cloudy through early afternoon with a few sprinkles, then becoming mostly sunny/clear and not as hot or humid as predicted. A calm, clear, mild evening. MONTHLY SUMMARY June began and ended with violent weather in the region - with a lot of nothing in between. Locally, we dodged a couple of major severe thunderstorm bullets. On Friday evening the 1st, an EF-1 tornado hit Ligonier, just on the other (west) side of Laurel Ridge. The storm moved northeast and produced heavy wind damage in extreme NW Cambria Co. near Northern Cambria. Locally, the same squall line that produced the Ligonier Tornado moved through Johnstown, downing a few trees and power lines, but this was minor compared to damage in other locations. A second tornado touched down to our southeast in rural Bedford County, as the squall line marched eastward. While both tornadoes, particularly the one in Ligonier, caused extensive tree and structural damage, there were no reports of injuries. The local weather pattern was very quiet, especially after the 12th. While 7 of the first 12 days had measurable rainfall, only 3 days after the 12th (an 18-day stretch) had any rain. Precipitation was woefully below normal, with only 2.80" total rainfall, only about 58% of the June normal of 4.86". There were many cool, fair nights in the upper 40s and 50s, which led to slightly below normal temps for only the 3rd of the past 15 months. More typical summer heat and humidity arrived right on cue for the official start of summer on the 20th. The 19th-21st were all very warm and humid. This heat wave was very brief, as most of the 4th week again had cool nights and pleasant, low humidity days. The peaceful, quiet weather came to an abrupt end on Friday the 29th. First, record high temperatures occurred nearly everywhere in the region, with some stations reporting their highest June temperature in recorded history. An overnight low of 78 on the 28th-29th was recorded, and a record high of 93 F (with a heat index of 104) was also logged. It was the hottest June temperature since the station opened in August, 2004. The historic heat wave was immediately followed by a historic severe weather outbreak that originated near Chicago and ravaged a huge area that included northern IN, nearly all of OH, WV, MD, Washington DC, north/central VA, DE, southern NJ & extreme southern PA, just south of Johnstown. This serial derecho had straight-line winds comparable to an EF-1 tornado or a Category 1 hurricane. There were 14 deaths, and destruction so severe and widespread that many compared it to Hurricane Irene last August. The widespread loss of power during a raging heat wave added insult to injury. Like the 1st, we barely escaped the mayhem. The northernmost cell passed through town with only lightning & brief heavy rain.