MEMPHIS, Tenn. — If you look at a calendar you would obviously see we are in the last 2 weeks of July. As it turns out, this is traditionally the hottest time of the year here in Memphis and the Mid-South. July 21st through July 25th is the period where temperatures peak for the year before starting to trend cooler going into the Fall months.
Memphis could record 7 days straight in the 80s wrapping up by the end of the weekend. Looking at data, this only has a 7% chance of happening this time of the year. This is actually the rarest time of the year to see this stretch of weather.
Talking about the rarity, let's talk about the setup and why things have trended cooler this week. At the surface, a stalled front has been parked across the Southeast. This has increased moisture and led to plenty of clouds and thunderstorms the last few days including here in Memphis. A cooler air mass has been sitting behind this front in the Great Lakes region keeping any heat very far away.
This looks to change eventually going into the end of this weekend and into the beginning of next month. Temperatures should return to near-normal numbers. Low to mid 90s will be likely going through the first week of August and our more widespread rain will likely be replaced with popup storms as high pressure builds to the west. This thankfully, should keep any extreme heat away from the Mid-South for the time being.