July Almanac

By Clinton S. Powell, Naturalist

July is once again an end and a beginning, at least by our dedication to the calendar year. The end part is the rain year, and for this year, a big rain year.

As I’m writing this on June 7, Julian has recorded 41.48 inches, recorded at the California Department of Forestry site in Julian. Will it rain before July 1? I will put my rain gear away, but not too far away.

I think everyone is aware that we have just completed a calendar year that is one of the wettest recorded. Next month, I will have a complete report of rainfall records from Julian, Palomar Mountain, Warner Springs, Cuyamaca and Mount Laguna.

Can we expect more rain before July? It’s possible: the average rainfall is 0.22 inches for the month of June.

How much rainfall is expected in July? The average rainfall for Julian in July is 0.45 inches. Lake Cuyamaca, which began recording rainfall in 1888, did not record any precipitation in July for 46 years. Considering the rain and temperatures traditionally observed this month, wait until August.

According to the National Weather Service, the average high temperature of July is 84 degrees Fahrenheit. The average rainfall is 0.50 inches. The extreme temperature was 102 degrees in 1961,with a low of 34 degrees in 1948. A temperature of 34 degrees in July definitely puts your garden in a stupor and the gardener in a state of panic.      

August has the highest temperatures and the highest humidity. For you weather fans, the months of August and September are when we have the highest potential for Chubascos. What are Chubascos? This is the traditional, Baja Californian term for a tropical weather system of high humidity and potentially heavy rains.

So, the question is: Will we have rain this month? Yes. No. Maybe. We will know next month.

I’ll agree that this is not much of a positive answer. My experience is ambivalent, and my dog can give me as accurate an answer as the extensive weather data available today. I appreciate the new names of weather conditions such as La Niña or an El Niño, because we are so connected to Mexico. My prediction for summer rains is: La Nada (nothing).

The night sky will always be dazzling, sparkling and amazing. The full moon will be Thursday, July 21. The names for this full moon are endless, but there is no local interpretation from our indigenous people.

The constellations of July are always stunning. Without question, the most significant constellation is Scorpio, the great scorpion is the southern sky.

Scorpio, in my opinion, is basically the only constellation that appears to represent its name. The thorax, or body, is true to shape, but the tail is the defining shape that sets this apart from all other constellations. It dips low in the southern horizon, then very accurately curves up to form the stinger at the end of its tail. The only thing I would add to its description is the head; I see a hammerhead shark clearly defined. I don’t think that would offend the traditional authors of its name, but it would add another aquatic bearing to its anatomy.

In the eastern horizon, I can imagine Cygnus, the huge swan with extremely long wings and a long neck. However, I throw out the Summer Triangle asterism. I’m not impressed by triangles, other than the monocot flower petals of lilies and tulips. And the poor bear called the Big Dipper is nothing more than the upside-down last half of his tail and the toucas in our latitude.

That’s about all for this month. Be happy with the flowing creeks, and growing trees after the Pines and Cedar fires. However, one year of above-normal rainfall is merely a start. This above-normal rainfall must continue for five to seven years to re-establish the groundwater table. And it must continue after that.

The climatic changes, however, are now raising their hot heads and are predicted to climb higher.

I will leave you with this last thought: “My elders said to me that the trees are the teachers of the law. As I grow less ignorant I begin to understand what they mean.”

— Brook Medicine Eagle