August started on a Saturday with a rain along front which cleared by later in the day. This was followed by a great Sunday. But heat and humidity swelled into the area on Monday the 3rd with dew points and temperatures jumping about 16-18 in a day!
We returned to the pattern of stalled fronts to the north and east firing clusters of storms affecting portions of the Ozarks. A front did manage to keep temperatures in check around the 5th/6th. The heat returned again on the weekend with middle 90's but with a great breeze!
Another front provided rain and cooler temperatures on Monday 10th. Heavy rains fell on this day including a record 2.58" at the SGF NWS. Widespread 2-3" totals occurred in portions Greene, Polk and St. Clair Counties with isolated 4" totals. A very quiet period followed for the rest of the week and into the weekend of the 15/16th. It was a great viewing for the Perseid Meteor shower! Lots of attention on what tropical disburbances in the eastern Atlantic will do including incipent "Bill" and a forgotten "Claudette". The weekend of the 15/16th contained a fair amount of afternoon cloudiness and some rain showers especially west and north of Springfield.
Another front visited on Monday the 17th with some heavy rain totals. But the main front of this week arrived early Thursday. Out ahead of it on Wednesday evening, a tornado watch was posted; a rarity for August. A bowing segment in southeasternKansass turned into a large squall line which blew through the Ozarks. Tornado warnings were hoisted for portions of Dade, Laclede, Newton, McDonald and Barry counties. An EF1 tornado occurred north of Roby in Texas County. Numerous reports of 50-60 mph winds and some light damage. An active storm traveled from Newton and McDonald and into Barry around the midnight hour with several reports of wall clouds and funnels.
A period of much below normal weather set into the area again the following the storms including a fantastic weekend the 22/23 with cool and dry air dominating. In fact, the rest of the month featured below normal temperatures.
The record for Springfield indicates only six ninety-degree high temperatures for August compared to eight days where the high was below eighty. The low dipped into the fifties or lower a total of seven times. The coolest air culmenated with one final high pressure system which produced a tied record low of 48 on the morning of the 31st.
Not counting duplicate averages, this August ranks right around the 10th coolest on record!
Ted Keller
Senior Meteorologist
KOLR/KSFX-TV
Storm chasing and more at:
Ceaseless Wind
Dense fog is expected to develop tonight where the sky clears. The greatest chance for clearing will be along and to the west of highways 65. Fog will begin forming anytime after 10 pm and become thick by morning. If you are doing any late night or early morning traveling, be prepared to slow down and turn off your brights due to low visibility. Fog forms when the air temperature cools and equals the dew point temperature. 
An upper level low tracking across central Missouri this afternoon will continue to drift northeastward with time. As it departs, we'll see a spread in weather conditions across the Ozarks on Sunday afternoon. It will be drier and sunnier across western Missouri and Arkansas than compared to the eastern half. Just like this afternoon, showers and storms will pop up on Sunday afternoon but mainly to the east of I-44. Severe weather is not expected, through locally heavy rain is possible with the strongest of storms.
On Labor day the low will be further away than it will be on Sunday, which means less of a chance for showers and storms during the afternoon and evening hours. Slight chances remain possible from Rolla to West Plains to Mtn. Home and points eastward, otherwise it should be dry to enjoy the day off with friends and family. Temperatures will approach seasonal norms, with highs in the lower to middle 80s.
Canadian high pressure sends the coolest air of the summer our way tonight and early tomorrow morning. It will be cold enough for an early frost across parts of the Great Lakes region. We will not get that cold, but cold enough to break a few records.
Enough moisture may be present that Springfield just misses getting down to record cold levels tonight. It will be a close call for records to be reached in Rolla and West Plains. Joplin stands the best chance of beating the old record low of 55 degrees. Record or not, it's going to be cold tonight and you definitely won't need air conditioning on! Open up your windows and save a little money. :)
A disturbance that's currently located across the Pacific northwest will slip southward and remain stagnant across the central Plains from Wednesday through Saturday. The Ozarks will experience a split in weather conditions from west to east. The best chance for rain and cloud cover will be from highway 65 and points westward and the driest and sunniest conditions will be across the eastern Ozarks. Temperatures are forecast to remain below normal through next weekend.
Canadian high pressure is building southward and will make it feel like fall over the next few days. Most places will experience lows in the 50s on Sunday morning. The further north/northeast you live, the cooler it will be.
The coldest air since June 5th, arrives on Monday morning. Many locations will likely break old record lows. You'll definitely want to turn off the air conditioner and perhaps turn on the heat. Sounds crazy, huh?
