There are still 3 days left until the end of August but the damage is already done. The extreme heat and dry conditions over the past 4 weeks have contributed to drought conditions developing and after looking at the numbers, it’s not hard to see why.
So far August of 2010 has been the 3rd driest and 15th hottest on record at one of the Fayetteville observing sites that dates back to 1892. In other words, August 2010 ranks within the top 8% of the hottest and driest years over the past 118 years.
In Fort Smith, August 2010 to date has been the 49th driest out of the past 128 years on record. Even more shocking is that this August has been the 3rd hottest ever recorded. The only time the average August temperature was hotter was during the dust bowl in 1934 and in 1936. Records began in Fort Smith in 1882. We will have a more detailed breakdown of the official August and summer stats later this week when the official data comes into the weather center.
Ross Ellet
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