If you thought July was hot – record-setting hot – you were right.

With an average temperature of 72, Portland saw the second hottest July since the National Weather Service started keeping track in 1941. And with an average low of 62.6 degrees, minimum temperatures set a whole new record high for July, trumping the one set in 1995.

“It was a very, very warm month,” said Jim Mansfield, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray.

Temperatures bounced between the 50s and the 90s last month, at one point swinging 25 degrees in a day. But cloud cover kept low temperatures high and the sun made high temperatures higher. July 18 marked the hottest day of the month – 93 – though it was two degrees shy of a record.

July was wet as well as hot. The National Weather Service’s official tracking station in Portland got 5.65 inches of rain, a couple of inches above average. Half of that rain fell within 24 hours.

But those hot, wet July days may soon seem delightfully mild. At least compared to this first week in August.

Today’s temperatures are supposed to climb into the 90s, with high humidity. Very high humidity.

“It’s going to be muggy,” Mansfield said. “That’s what’s going to make it feel so hot.”

Then more rain.

Copy the Story Link