Today’s low dew point of 38.6 degrees is the lowest summer reading since June of 2006, when the dew point dropped to 38.4. With a temperature of 82 degrees, the relative humidity at 5:30 PM was an almost desert-like 21%, which is unusual in Georgia during the months of June, July and August.

An upper level low pressure system centered over Quebec is bringing cooler air to the northeast–for example, it’s only 59 in Pittsburgh as I write this, and 63 in Cleveland. In Morgantown, West Virginia it’s 60. The colder Canadian air comes south to the west of the low. While North Georgia isn’t cooling down to that extent (although low 80s are a welcome change from the 90s we saw recently), as the air warms up as it travels further south, it becomes drier, dropping humidities, and therefore the dew point.

The dry air also brings 30 degree temperature swings. This morning’s low was 57, while this afternoon’s high was 86–almost a 30 degree difference. The long summer daylight warms the air, but the lack of water vapor means as the sun goes down, more heat is radiated into the atmosphere. Today’s low dew points mean it’s likely to be even cooler tomorrow morning.

Of course, this can’t last. We’ll have two more nights of open window weather with lows in the 50s, but by Friday, the low moves out, and we’ll be more influenced by gulf moisture from the south. Showers and thunderstorms potentially return by Saturday, and things remain unsettled into the early part of next week.

With high temperatures in the 90s for the past eight days (and counting), and no significant rainfall in about three weeks, it’s understandable that drought conditions in North Georgia are worsening. The Gwinnett Daily Post’s banner headline this morning said, “Official: Drought getting worse.”

And, indeed the latest drought monitor for Georgia shows an area of extreme drought in the northeast corner of the state enlarging to the west, including portions of Gwinnett county, and virtually all of the Lake Lanier drainage basin. As of Tuesday, 8.9% of Georgia was in extreme drought, compared to 2.3% last week. 61% of the state is classified as being in a moderate drought. However, as the comparison below shows, we’re still better off than we were at this time last year. On June 12, 2007, 47% of Georgia was in extreme drought and 96.1% was in at least a moderate drought.

The upper level high pressure system that brought the excessive heat and kept rainfall away has moved off the Georgia coast. This has allowed thundershowers to develop, which we’ve seen for the last few nights. Until last evening, they managed to avoid Gwinnett, however around midnight, .57 inches of rain fell at my house—the first significant rain I’ve recorded since May 23rd. The hit or miss nature of these storms is evident in the rainfall totals for yesterday. Atlanta received only .03 inches, Athens only .05 inches and Cartersville .08. However Gainesville recorded .54 inches, Charlie Brown airport .59, and Peachtree DeKalb appeared to have led the metro in rain with .74 inches of precipitation.

Nature responded appropriately, and the view from my window is much greener than it was at this time yesterday. However, the dry soil will quickly absorb all the water. Fortunately, more storms are predicted through the weekend. What we really need is some of the water that has inundated the rivers in Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, which has caused hundred-year-old records to fall.

The June heat wave continued to set records today throughout the east coast. Here are some of the new records:

Atlanta: 98 degrees, with the old record of 97 set in 1995. In addition, this morning’s low temperature of 76 was warmer than the previous high minimum temperature for June 9th of 75 degrees.
Athens: 102 degrees, besting the previous record of 99, set in 1926.
Columbus: 97 ties the record set back in 1986
Macon: 100 ties the previous record from 1954.

Other locations in Georgia, including Augusta, Gainesville, Albany and Savannah also saw highs in the upper 90s, but failed to break any records. Here at my unofficial weather station, I recorded 97 degrees around 2:30 PM. Additional records from around the eastern seaboard:

Raleigh, North Carolina - 99 degrees breaks previous record of 98 set in 1999
Richmond, Virginia - Tied record high of 98 set in 1999.
Atlantic City NJ - 98 degrees beats previous record of 96 set in 1984
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Tied record high of 95 set in 1999
Hartford, Connecticut - Tied record high of 96 set in 1984
Providence, Rhode Island - 97 degrees tops previous record 95 set in 1984
New York LaGuardia Airport high temperature of 99 tops previous record of 95 from 1984
Newark, New Jersey ties old record of 99 set in 1933

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Today’s temperatures, averaging more then ten degrees above normal, broke records across Georgia and the eastern seaboard, as the heat wave we’re in continues. Here are some temperatures from around the area, along with the record temperature for June 8th:

Athens - High 101 Old Record 96
Columbus - High 97 Old Record 96
Macon - High 98 Ties Old Record
Savannah - High 97 Record 100
Augusta - High 100 Record 103
Atlanta - 95 Record 96
Gainesville - 95 Record 97
Charlotte, NC - 99 Ties Old Record
Asheville, NC - 93 Old Record 91
Raleigh, NC - 101 Old Record 100
Wilmington, NC - 98 Old Record 96
Greenville, SC - 100 Ties Old Record
Richmond, VA - 100 Old Record 99
Burlington VT - 91 Ties Old Record

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The temperature here in Lawrenceville topped 90 degrees for the first time in 2008 today, with a maximum of 91.4 degrees at 2PM.  In Atlanta, today’s high was only 89.  But in any case, they’ll have another chance tomorrow and indeed for the next week or so, as we are under the influence of an upper level high pressure system that will keep the warmer than normal temperatures around, and probably keep the rain away as well.

All in all, temperatures are running about 6 degrees above normal for early June.  And, this is about the usual time we see 90 degrees — last year we topped 90 on June 6th, in 2006 on May 24th, and in 2005 on June 14th.

Longtime blog reader Morgan Kemp reminds us of the ongoing drought by posting some comments by Georgia climatologist David Stooksbury made at this time last year, when the drought’s effects were really setting in. Actually, we’re doing a bit better this year through May.  While most of Georgia had less than normal rainfall for the month, Atlanta is only 4 inches short of normal for the year, and Athens has had 6.4 inches less than what would be expected.  Through the end of May, Atlanta recorded 18.65 inches of precipitation for 2008, compared to 11.73 inches for the same period in 2007.

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