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Unusual
Summer and Winter Temperatures Rule 2010 Weather is always a popular topic of conversation over a cup of coffee and most of the time its just a way to segue into the next topic of the day. The weather of 2010, however, proved to be a year of extreme weather, especially in the winter and summer months. Farmers' Electric Cooperative has kept daily weather records since 1960, recording the daily high and low temperatures. The weather records for 2010 indicate a colder than normal winter and a hotter than normal summer, which obviously had an adverse impact on power bills for FEC members. FEC uses the weather information in a variety of ways. A formula using the high and low temperatures each day is used to calculate Heating Degree Days and Cooling Degree Days, which gives specific monthly trends. Heating Degree Days and Cooling Degree Days are determined by taking the low temperature and the high temperature of each day, adding the two temperatures and dividing the total of the numbers by two to determine the average temperature of the day. If the average number is below 65, then the average temperature recorded is considered a Heating Degree Day. If the number is above 65 then it is considered a Cooling Degree Day. For example, if the overnight low was 44 degrees and the day time high was 68 degrees the average temperature for this day was 56degrees, or 9 heating degree days (44+68=112divided by 2 = 56). How extreme was the weather in 2010? January was the coldest first month of the year since 1985. February was the fourth coldest second month of the year in the last 50 years. June and July were the second hottest six and seventh months since 1960 and August was the fourth hottest August in the last 50 years. Here the the heating/cooling degree days recorded for 2010 and the 11-year average for each month:
There were a few mild days in December, including a recorded temperature over 60 degrees in the last week of the month; however, there were a number of bitterly cold days that resulted in a colder than average month overall. How crazy was the year weather wise? A tornado dropped down between the Sampsel and Spring Hill area in the first week of December. The next morning an inch of snow fell. Missouri weather...go figure. 2010 Weather
(A Year of Extremes) "We have recorded daily temperatures since January, 1960, and according to our data, the month of June 2010 was the warmest we have had in the Chillicothe area since 1971," said Steve Shoot, Manager of Member Services for Farmers' Electric Cooperative. "The above average temperatures and high levels of humidity forced many people to turn on their air-conditioning system earlier than usual." June and July were both the second hottest June and July since 1960, and August was the fifth hottest month in the last 50 years. The summer of 1980 remains by far the hottest summer over the last 50 years, followed by the summers of 2010, 1983, 2007, and 1975. Shoot said January of this year was the coldest in the area since 1985, and February 2010 was the fourth coldest February in the last 50 years. "You combine the abnormally cold temperatures last winter and the much warmer than average temperatures so far this summer, with the unusually wet weather patterns we have had in the area this spring and early summer, and 2010 is shaping up to be quite unique," Shoot said. According to Shoot, the warm summer months had an impact on monthly utility bills, similar to those recorded last winter. While the bills were not as high as last January and February, many people were surprised at their June bills when compared to last year, Shoot said. "Last year, with the exception of about a 10-day period in June, was an exceptionally mild spring and summer," reminded Shoot. "At this time, it appears that 2010 is going to be a year of extremes." FEC's weather records show the following as the warmest months of June for the last 50 years.
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