First half of July sees low minimums but warm highs

Now that we're into the second half of July, let's look at how the month so far compares to other years.

Both Sydney and Jyväskylä have seen some fairly warm weather relative to their respective season. Daytime temperatures have been quite high, but it's interesting to see that overnight lows have been a bit lower than the past couple of years.

The graph below shows the progressive average minimum for July in Jyväskylä from 2009 up until July 16 2014. While most of the past 6 Julys have held an average minimum above 10C, 2014 has mostly hovered just under the mark. Up until yesterday there had been only 8 days with a minimum above 10C, the equal lowest number, with 2009, in the past 6 years.

Progressive average minimum for July at Jyväskylä Airport for the period 2009-2014

July 2014 started off with a couple of cooler days for Jyväskylä, but since then there has only been 1 day with a maximum below 20C. The average maximum now stands as the second highest of the 6 year period after 16 days of the month. The record summer of 2010 is unlikely to be surpassed, but based on current forecasts, 2014 has a good shot of being within the top few warmest Julys on record.

Progressive average maximum for July at Jyväskylä Airport for the period 2009-2014



In Sydney the average minimum is also quite low. After 17 days of July 2014 it is clearly the lowest of the past 6 Julys. So far only 2 days of the month have had a minimum above 10C, the lowest of the past 6 years up to the same date
.

Progressive average minimum for July at Sydney Airport for the period 2009-2014 plus the long term average

Despite the lower minimums, Sydney has still managed to maintain the second highest average maximum since 2009. After 17 days, only 1 day has failed to go above 15C. This is the equal lowest for the same point of Julys since 2009. 2009, 2010 and 2011 had all had 4 days entirely below 15C by July 17.

Progressive average maximum for July at Sydney Airport for the period 2009-2014 plus the long term average

Like Jyväskylä, Sydney is unlikely to beat the July record, this time from 2013. Currently at 18.5C, it could become the second warmest on record by beating the 18.7C recorded in the Julys of 1946, 1975 and 2005. Current forecasts don't support that happening though. The next 4 days have predicted tops at 18C or lower.