By Russell Russ

On average, July is Norfolk’s warmest month of the year. July of 2020 was both the warmest July and the warmest of any month on record for Norfolk. This July might technically end up being the warmest month of 2021, but it sure did not feel like it. The month started out cool and rainy and the rain did not stop for the rest of the month. Norfolk’s weather for its Independence Day weekend was about as nice as its Memorial Day weekend—not particularly nice. The high temperature of 58 degrees on July 3 matched the high temperature recorded last Christmas. Neither date typically hits 58 degrees, at least not in Norfolk. The big storyline for July’s weather this year was not temperature; it was rainfall. 

July’s high temperature of 86 was observed on July 7 and the low of 48 was observed on July 31. The average monthly mean temperature of 67.6 degrees was 0.7 degrees below normal—not a high ranking for cool months of July, but the first month in 2021 to register a below average monthly temperature. The warmest July was last year with 73.1 degrees and the coolest was in 1962 with 63.9 degrees. This July’s persistent cloudy and rainy weather definitely had an effect on its temperatures.

The total precipitation recorded for the month was 13.05 inches, a whopping 8.72 inches above normal. Norfolk’s average July total is 4.33 inches. Rainfall was observed during the first 15 days of the month, a dreary start. At month’s end, 22 of the month’s 31 days had observed rainfall during part or all of them. Perhaps fortunately, there were no direct-hit huge storm events like a hurricane or tropical storm. The rainfall was just persistent and often reached two to four inches over a few-day span several times during the month. As a result, there were no major local flooding issues. There were, however, some issues caused by the excessive and persistent rainfall. With no dry-out period, streams and rivers stayed fairly full and the ground remained saturated for most of the month. 

On the plus side, the running yearly precipitation deficit of 5.02 inches after June was transformed into a surplus of 3.70 inches after July. There should be no talk of drought conditions around Norfolk, or the Northeast for that matter, for quite a while. Perhaps all the “we need rain” comments from earlier in the year came back to haunt us during July. Through July, the total precipitation for 2021 of 33.45 inches was 3.70 inches above normal. The average yearly total precipitation for Norfolk is 52.53 inches. Total precipitation includes rain, snow and sleet.

An early look at August’s weather through mid-month showed a continuation of July’s mostly cloudy conditions. Norfolk fortunately saw a bit of a dry-out period during August’s first two weeks. There were a few days with typical hot and humid summer weather, but all in all, temperatures and rainfall were running about average for the first half of the month. Looking ahead, some tropical storms and hurricanes were brewing in the Atlantic, as usually occurs in August. The later half of the month could get interesting weather-wise.

Weather observations are recorded by the Great Mountain Forest at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2SW.