2022 is officially the wettest August on record in Reno, with 1.72 inches falling at the airport.
The majority of the rain fell the first week of August thanks to a monsoonal push of moisture moving in. In fact 1.22 inches fell on August 3rd, and .24 inches fell the next day. Reno saw at least a trace of rain eleven times this past month, five of those being .01 inches or more making it measurable. 1965 is now the second wettest August on record with 1.65 inches falling in the bucket.
We saw only one 100 degree day in August, and that was on the 31st. The high on August 5th was only 79 degrees. We our still in a severe drought, with not a ton of improvement in the Truckee Meadows. That puts us one stage away from being an extreme drought and two stages away from being an exceptional drought.
Thunderstorms are tricky because they are scattered and not widespread. In order for the rain to count for the climate books it has to fall right in the bucket.
The position of the jet stream is key to whether it rains or if we stay dry. The ridge was situated over the four corners for much of the month of August, allowing moisture to get drawn into northern Nevada. The flow around high pressure is clockwise, and flow around low pressure is counter clockwise. Now, the ridge is set up along the west coast with the center of it is almost right overtop of Reno. This blocks any moisture from coming in here and allows temperatures to soar. August was a fairly typical month temperature wise, but we saw thirteen 100 degree days in July. Add the one 100 degree day we saw in August and September so far, and we’re only several days away from tying the record for most 100 degree days in a year set back in 2021. The total to beat is 22, and we’ve reached 100 degrees fifteen times so far this year.
The seven day forecast calls for several more days in the triple digits. It will be warmer than normal at night as well. The ice cream forecast calls for three ice cream treats through Saturday, but goes up to four on Sunday and Monday. Have a good weekend and stay cool.
