By Brad Spakowitz
Correspondent
The heat of July carried over into the start of August, with the first week of the month featuring highs in the 80s.
The first days of the month also brought some scattered showers and spotty storms, some of which turned severe as they flared up just to our south the morning of Aug. 3.
Calumet County was particularly hard hit with downpours and powerful winds downing trees and power lines, damaging a farm building and flipping over a semi.
The next few days were more tranquil and dry, but still warm, providing a perfect Friday evening for Packers Family Night Aug. 5.
The following day (Aug. 6) was very humid and hot, topping out at 89 degrees – the warmest temperature recorded all month – but at least the day was rain free.
Meanwhile, a slow-moving cold front was approaching the area, arriving here after dark with widespread showers and storms, some bringing torrential downpours in a quick hurry: Black Creek (Outagamie Co.) logged 2.95 inches of rain in less than two hours period which flooded and closed streets shortly before midnight.
Moments later, a flood watch was issued for much of the area as more heavy downpours occurred overnight, with the cold front stalling out on top of us.
With the front still nearby the next day (Aug. 7), light rain and drizzle fell throughout much of the day, making for a wet and damp Sunday and an obviously very wet first weekend of August.
But it did not end there, as another round of steadier rain fell that night – this time not as much as the night before, but still some areas picked up another inch.
The following morning (Aug. 8) as people headed back to work, drizzle was still falling, finally ending midday.
When the 3-day rain tallies came in, some reports were astounding: 3.97 inches just north of UWGB, 3.62 inches Black Creek, 3.28 inches De Pere, 2.71 inches Seymour, 2.49 inches Ashwaubenon, 2.10 inches Suamico, 1.99 inches Pulaski, and 1.04 inches in Abrams.
After all that rain, it was little surprise that the dampness created dense fog across the area by the time we awoke the morning of Aug. 9.
Thereafter, we were treated to a few comfortable dry days, but rain returned at the end of the week, making for the second wet weekend in a row.
This time the rain arrived in the predawn hours of Saturday, Aug. 13 along with plenty of thunder awaking many around the crack of dawn.
It was the first of several rounds of steady, heavy rain that day, sometimes accompanied by small hail near Anston and Mill Center.
Another flood watch was issued, and some street flooding occurred in Green Bay just before noon.
The official rainfall total for Green Bay was 1.05 inches, but some areas had much more: 3.50 inches fell in Howard, 3.21 inches in Pulaski, and 2.50 inches in Bellevue.
By now it was mid month, and we had already received the average amount of rain for the entire month.
Fortunately, the second half of the month was less active and much less wet, measuring a little over an inch during the final two weeks, bringing the official monthly rain total to 4.44 inches, 1.05 inches above the 30-year average.
All the month’s rain brought a quick return of hungry mosquitoes, the most many of us had seen all summer.
Otherwise, the final days of the month were breezy and pleasant, with the lower sun angle and longer shadows hinting of the unfolding autumn.
For the record, the monthly average temperature came in at 1.9 degrees above the 30-year norm.