It’s nearly the end of July. Normally by this time of the year in west-central Arkansas, vegetation is starting to brown from the summer heat and lower rainfall. No so, this year. This year it is very lush and green.
I first visited this part of Arkansas in another July 41 years ago when I drove down from my in-laws up in northwest Arkansas for a job interview.
That summer was brutal for Arkansas and much of the rest of the country. Little Rock had 20 consecutive days of 100° or higher. Beedeville got up to 112° and Alicia hit 113°. Little Rock hit 108° on the 13th, 14th, and 16th – I think we must’ve driven through there on our way from Pensacola to Pea Ridge on one of those days in in our Dodge Colt that didn’t have air conditioning. Everything was drying up. It was the driest and hottest summer in Little Rock since the weather station was established in 1879. Normal rainfall between June 21 and September 22 is 9.5 inches, but that year, it was only 9.5 inches.
Rainfall this year has been above normal. Over three days last week, we had 3.5 inches after a couple of dry weeks. Karen hasn’t needed to water the garden as much as some years.
It’s been a little over 3 years since we had over 100°F days. The current trend is towards more normal temperatures, which means it’s heating up. We’ve got a heat advisory today.
Hopefully, though the hotter days won’t last long.
After all, September is just a little over a month away.
