Temps Heading Towards Par For The Course

Uggh! Yesterday was day 8 of 95 degree or hotter highs in Chattanooga. And we'll have at least one more, and possibly two before these temps tone down a bit.
Today's picture is of the Chattanooga Golf And Country Club. It's the oldest course on it's original site in Tennessee, having opened in 1896. Back then the U.S. Signal Service was just a year into keeping official weather records. And late yesterday the National Climatic Data Center released a report about this scorching July we just went through. According to NCDC, January through July 2006 is now the hottest first seven months across the United States since 1895. The average temperature for the U.S. in July 2006 was 77.2 degrees. Just .3 degrees short of the record 77.5 degrees set in 1936.
But for golfers at CGCC, this past July wasn't the worst heat to play in. That title goes to July of 1993 when the average temperature in Chattanooga was 85.2 degrees. July 2006 was actually tied with 1925 and 1995 as the 24th warmest July on record.
So let's tee it up and see what's ahead.

Today: Steamy again with highs around 95. 30% for a few afternoon storms.

Tonight: Storms fade, partly cloudy overnight. Lows: 74

Wednesday: Partly cloudy with a 30% chance for a few storms. High: 94

Thursday and Friday: Partly cloudy with 40% scattered storms. Highs both days 90 to 91.

Saturday: Partly cloudy with a 30% chance for an afternoon storm. High: 89

So we have two more very steamy days to go before temperatures get back closer to par for the course. Average highs drop to 89 for the first time on August 11th.

You know, when I took this picture I thought I would have a hard time weaving it into a blog post. Turns out I have more of what my brother J.P. says is the Benson "gift", than what I thought.