* 1.23 inches is how much rain fell on July 4, 1956 at Unionville, Maryland in only one minute. That was accepted as a world record for such a short period rain. The NWS later tested and examined the automatic rain gauge and the chart and determined that it was correct. A U.S. Geological Survey Stream Gauging Station 10 miles NW of town recorded an all-time record stream flow. Residents said, “It only thundered one time during the storm, but it became so dark that lights had to be turned on.” Telephones went out and fields were badly eroded.
* 12.14 inches is how much rain Corpus Christi has already received this July. Mind you, that is only three days.
* 80 was the temperature late this afternoon at DFW Airport and guess what? It was raining. That is exceptionally cool for July in Dallas. The duty forecaster at NWS/Ft. Worth remarked that, “This air mass would be at home in the Amazon jungle.” Sharp guy.
* 121 was the expected high this afternoon at Hoover Dam and other parts of the Southern Nevada and Arizona desert. It is extremely hot in the Southwest. It is supposed to be that way in July, but not quite this hot. I was amused today to hear a national network news anchor say that it wasn’t so bad, because it was a dry heat. He was right, to a point. It was 113 in Phoenix late this afternoon with a humidity of 5%. That made the heat index 104–9 degrees less than the temperature.
* 115 was the temperature at Bullhead City, Arizona late this afternoon. They are on the banks of the Colorado River and their dew point was 75 giving a heat index of 132. I am almost certain that is an instrument malfunction.
* 110 is the temperature in Las Vegas with the humidity 4% and heat index of 101.
* 71 was the very pleasant temperature at Los Angeles Airport with a cooling 10 mph wind off the Pacific Ocean.
* 1.60 inches is how much rain Mobile received this afternoon, prompting a Flash Flood Warning. That is the second day in a row with heavy rain there. That means they have received 3.01 inches of rain since midday yesterday.
* 74 below zero was the temperature at Vostok, Antarctica. We just gotta’ throw one of those in to cool you off.
* 69 was the 6:00 p.m. temperature today in Boston and it was raining. We always watch the live concert of the Boston Pops on July 4 nights. I hope they don’t have to cancel.
