4WARN WEATHER – Last month marked the warmest July on earth in 175 years, but Michigan was actually cooler than average.
For 14 months in a row, the earth’s average monthly temps have been higher than ever before. According to NOAA, the average July global surface temperature was 2.18 degrees F above the 20th Century average of 60.4 degrees F. Africa, Asia, and Europe had their hottest Julys on record, while the U.S. saw its second-warmest July.
So where does Michigan fit into this record breaking global pattern of heat? Before I answer that question, let me take a moment to explain the difference between weather and climate.
Weather describes the short-term atmospheric conditions at a certain place and time, while climate means the average conditions in an area over a long period of time. Think of it this way: Weather can change in a few minutes or hours, climate changes over decades, or even centuries. This is important, because often when we are having a few cooler than normal days, people will respond by doubting the earth is warming. Conversely, when we have a really hot day, some people believe that is an automatic sign of global warming. Those examples are weather on a given day.
What we are talking about is climate and measuring temperatures and other data over very long periods of time.
So while the earth had the warmest July on record, the Detroit area was actually a touch cooler than normal for the month. The average high temperature for July was 82.7 degrees, while the normal temperature is 83.7 degrees. This puts July 2024 as the 71st warmest month on record.
In fact, we only had one day with temps above 90 degrees. That may surprise you, because we had a stretch of very warm days towards the end of the month. But that was because of the humidity, not the temperature. We had temps in the 80s, but because our dew points were in the low 70s, it made it feel like it was well into the 90s for several days. But the actual temperature was below 90.