Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
A soggy summer across the Gogebic Range has turned into days of sunshine.
After several days of oppressive heat, lower temperatures, into the high 70s, are predicted through Sunday, with no rain. That spells ideal weather for this weekend’s Iron County Fair at Saxon, Wis.
The high for the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. Wednesday in Ironwood topped out at 84 degrees. The 110-year high for July 29 is 95 in 2006, according to the National Weather Service office in Marquette.
Farmers have welcomed the dry-out over the past two weeks in the height of haying season, while summer visitors are cooling off at area beaches during the hot spell.
Rainfall for July in Ironwood continues at 2.8 inches, as precipitation that was predicted for Tuesday night amounted to only sprinkles across the Gogebic Range.
Normal monthly precipitation on July 29 in Ironwood is 3.86 inches. The 110-year record is a whopping 15.45 inches recorded in 1909, according to the Marquette NWS office.
While the second half of the month has been hot, the overall average July temperature of 66.2 degrees isn’t much above the long-term norm of 65.8.
Wildfire danger exists
An elevated fire danger alert in the Upper Peninsula was issued Wednesday because wind combined with the recent drying conditions. Caution was especially important in the sandy areas that tend to lose moisture more rapidly than forested areas.
The NWS said low humidity, combined with gusting west to southwest winds of 25 to 35 mph, produced the elevated wildfire conditions Wednesday in both the western and central U.P.
Rainfall in the past two to three weeks across much of the U.P. has been well below average, further elevating fire danger, the NWS noted.
Burning restrictions were in effect for all of the U.P.