Winter in August

2007-08-19 10:43:14.000 – Brian Clark,  Observer

A wintry wakeup

I was relatively sure that it was August 19th when I woke up this morning at 4 a.m., however a quick glance out the window made me second guess myself. I thought perhaps I overslept by a couple months.

Although it didn’t get as cold last night as we had originally thought, it still got cold. In fact, we recorded a low of 29 degrees Fahrenheit this morning, tying the daily record low for August 19th. The last time that temperature was recorded on this particular day was 1958. We were actually only about a half a degree away from breaking this record. Also, yesterday we reached a low of 30 degrees, a mere half a degree away from tying the record low for August 18th.

Winds also got fairly high for summertime yesterday. We recorded a peak wind gust of 94 mph, which happens to be the highest wind gust we have recorded all summer. Wind chills at the time of that wind gust would have been in the single digits.

Although temperatures will warm in a relative sense today, eventually reaching the upper 30’s late, wind chills will continue to be in the teens and lower 20’s. This is certainly something to be aware of if you plan on hiking over the next 36 hours. Make sure that if you do make the decision to come above tree line, that you are well prepared with adequate clothing and supplies for the conditions.

Brian Clark,  Observer