Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
It’s hard to believe the longest day of the year has already come and gone on the Gogebic Range, as Friday marked the summer solstice.
At 1:04 a.m. Friday, the summer solstice arrived, marking the astronomical start of summer.
Now area residents are seeking some extended sunshine, like the bright skies of Monday, to dry up last week’s rainfall.
The Farmers Almanac predicts an “oppressively hot” July for the Midwest and other areas of the country, but not as bad as in the last two years.
The 197-year-old publication also predicts normal amounts of precipitation through the summer months.
Farmers Almanac editor Peter Geiger said as August opens, the heat is expected to peak, with conditions turning wetter a few months in.
Showers are expected to dampen Labor Day festivities in most regions, with only the West Coast to be dry for that weekend.
Rainy weather will retain its hold through early September, as summer turns to fall, the magazine predicts.
The Farmers Almanac bases its long-range weather forecasts on a secret mathematical and astronomical formula that figures in sunspot activity, tidal action, the position of the planet in relation to the sun, as well as a number of other factors.
Geiger said the magazine is accurate between 80 and 85 percent of the time.
The first blast of summer heat arrived Sunday in Ironwood, as the thermometer hit 82. Monday was even warmer, with readings in the high 80s.
Ironwood’s short-range forecast shows some more heat early in the week, with today’s high predicted at 81 and Wednesday at 77.
There’s a 50 percent chance of rain Wednesday and 40 percent chance both Thursday and Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
Next weekend promises to be a dandy, with a Saturday high of 68 and Sunday reaching 73, with no chance of rain either day.
June’s rain total has reached 4.46 inches, extending a wet 2013.
Average precipitation for June in Ironwood is 3.66 inches. The record June rainfall for the past 110 years was 11.32 inches in 1939, according to the NWS.