You may have caught Pete’s blog explaining the cool conditions over the course of the month. He is certainly right. As he stated July will go into the books as the third coolest on record. Our average temperature (highs and lows together) is 65.4°. That makes us cooler than Alaska. The average temperature in Fairbanks, Alaska this month is 66.4°. Below are a few additional statistics that you might find interesting.

Our warmest temperature all month has been 85°, which is very low. The last time we saw a July with a cooler high temperature was in 1992, when the high only reached 82°.

Just by comparison, the average high for the month is 81°. We have had 7 days in the 80s, 20 days in the 70s and 3 days in the 60s. One of the days in the 60s was record setting. On July 17th, the high only reached 65°, a new record cold high temperature.

One thing you probably noticed is that we had no days in the 90s this July. That is somewhat unusual here in Green Bay.  Since 1965, 64% of the years have had a July day with a high in the 90s.

But we haven’t been the only ones experiencing cool temperatures this July. International Falls, MN hasn’t even cracked into the 80s. Marquette, has only 1 day in the 80s and Rhinelander has only three days in the 80s. While places like, Chicago, La Crosse and Minneapolis have seen days in the 80s for about half the month, that is still well below average.

So why have we been so cool? A trough has set up over the eastern United States. With that said, the jet stream has dropped to our south. That means that the warm air stays south, and the cooler Canadian air can sneak into our area. Meanwhile, a ridge has developed across the western US, which has allowed warm and record setting temperatures to filter into the Northwest.

With this in mind, you might be wondering, are we ever going to break out of this pattern? Eventually we will, in fact the models are already starting to point towards a ridge developing across the northern Plains late next week. If it eventually slides closer to the Midwest, we might start seeing above average temperatures again. It is something we haven’t seen in a long time. The last time we saw a month with above average temperatures was February.

Until Next Time,
Meteorologist Andrew Thut

FORECASTING: If you think it has been cool and dry this month, you’re right.  Through July 30th the average temperature in Green Bay is 65.4° which is placing it 3rd inthe Top 5 coolest Julys in recorded weather history…a period of 120 years.  Meteorologist Doug Higgins has a look back at the highs and lows of the month. 

The Top 5 Coolest Julys in Green Bay

We all know how dry it has been by just looking at our brown lawns.  For the month Green Bay is running about a 2 inch deficit.  It will probably go down as the tenth driest July ever. 

FAMILY: We’re expecting an addition to the Petoniak family.  I announced it on the air today that my wife and I are expecting a baby girl to join Jake and Henry.   Rachel’s reaction was, “What are you thinking?” and sometimes I wonder.  Those times are when the boys are wrestling on the couch and both of their glasses are getting bent for the hundreth time while Dad is trying to remain calm and not yell like a raving maniac.  (Because I think the neighbors can hear when the windows are open in the summer)  But I’m really looking forward to having a little girl.  My wife Sarah is thrilled to find out that she won’t be as outnumbered at our house anymore.  She actually has it pretty good though…all the boys are already trained to put the seat down on the toilet.   Henry and Jake came up to the station to visit our new building yesterday with mom.  They were eating a ring pop which changes the color of lips, tongue and teeth.  Rachel felt the urge to get their picture.  It looks like Henry is trying to look at his tongue too.  Can you say, “where’s the toothbrush?” 

Henry & Jake show off multi-colored tongues

Have a great weekend!

The long-running recession has caused big problems with state budgets, forcing legislatures around the country to consider tax hikes and deep spending cuts to keep from running big deficits.

Have any states managed to avoid this sort of budgetary mess – and, if so, how?

That’s one of the questions in this edition of “Ask AP,” a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers’ questions about the news.

If you have your own news-related question that you’d like to see answered by an AP reporter or editor, send it to newsquestions@ap.org, with “Ask AP” in the subject line. And please include your full name and hometown so they can be published with your question.

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When did the income tax get enacted in the United States, and how did our forefathers finance government operations before then? We incurred some rather hefty expenditures as a young nation, such as the building of the White House and the U.S. Capitol, not to mention the Lousinana Purchase of 1803.

Linda Weigel
Aurora, Ill.
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The 16th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1913, granted Congress the power to impose taxes on personal income. Congress enacted an income tax in October of that year. A federal income tax imposed before the amendment had been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1895.

For much of the nation’s history before the income tax, the federal government raised money from import and export taxes, as well as excise taxes on liquor and tobacco.

The government imposed an income tax during the Civil War, but it was repealed after the war. Taxes also were levied on playing cards, feathers, iron, leather and drugs to help pay for the war. They, too, were repealed when the war was over, according to a history of U.S. taxes published by the Treasury Department.

In 1899, the federal government sold bonds and doubled taxes on beer and tobacco to pay for the Spanish-American War. The government even imposed a tax on chewing gum, according to the Treasury history. All the new taxes, however, were repealed after the war.

Stephen Ohlemacher
Associated Press Writer
Washington

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Are there any states that do NOT have major budget problems right now? If so, what are these states doing differently to keep their finances in order?

Richard E. Dimond
Springfield, Ill.
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The nation’s deep recession has caused a plunge in state tax revenues, leaving most to grapple with the most severe budget problems in a generation.

Still, a handful of states have managed to remain relatively solvent. Most are states with small populations that are rich in oil or other tax-generating natural resources, including Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

Arkansas has also managed to avoid the problems plaguing most states, largely through its approach to budgeting. The state’s Revenue Stabilization Act sets up different funding categories based on expected revenues. Category A is the highest priority and typically includes public school funding.

The stabilization act has been credited with helping the state build up a surplus in recent years.

Beth Fouhy
Associated Press Writer
New York

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In the past year’s coverage of hostilities in Iraq I have heard very little about the state of the oil infrastructure. How are current export quantities and income?

Stephan Vertal
Forest Grove, Ore.
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Although Iraq sits on the world’s third-largest oil reserves, with at least 115 billion barrels, the country is producing and exporting far short of its potential due to decades of war, a lack of investment, U.N. sanctions, a brain drain and insurgent attacks.

Its production is around 2.3 to 2.4 million barrels a day. Exports averaged 1.885 million barrels a day in the second quarter of this year, up from about 1.8 million barrels in the first quarter. Revenues in the first half of the year stood at about $16.14 billion.

Iraq hopes to produce an additional 300,000 to 500,000 barrels per day by the end of 2010 through an emergency plan started earlier this year to drill new wells and install production plants in a number of oil fields in southern Iraq. The country plans to produce 4.5 million barrels a day by 2013 and up to 6 million barrels a day by 2015.

The overall fall of oil prices since last year has forced the government to slash spending plans for this year from $79 billion to $58.6 billion. The oil sector represents about 65 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and its revenues account for 95 percent of Iraq’s earnings.

Sinan Salaheddin
Associated Press Writer
Baghdad

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Have questions of your own? Send them to newsquestions@ap.org.

It’s official…3 tornadoes touched down in the state on Monday from the severe weather that pushed through late in the day.  Two were in the far southwestern part of the state in Crawford County and Lafayette counties and one was in Marquette and Green Lake County.  That one was rated an EF-1 with maximum wind speeds of 95 mph. Patrick shows the path and had other details and Andrew showed the damage left behind. 

If you’ve ever wondered how the National Weather Service makes a determination about how fast the winds are in a tornado, we ran a great story on the show this morning.  It shows what a meteorologist looks for in the damage  to figure out how to rate the tornado and if in fact it even was a tornado. The one that went through Marquette and Green Lake County was rated a EF-1 which has wind speeds of 95 mph.

I got a chance to talk to members of the New Holstein High School baseball team this morning on Good Day Wisconsin.  They’re playing in the state tournament this morning and I was impressed with their spirit and character.  Good luck to the Huskies.  Win or lose they’ve had a great season!

FAMILY: Henry my 3-year-old is now going on the potty…finally! I think it’s cute when he says, “I went pee on my potty” at home but not so much when he yells it when we’re out in public.  Yes we’re very proud of the boy.  He even went #2 yesterday. Yippee.  I was afraid Henry would be wearing a diaper when he was 35 which would not be a good look for him.

Have a great day!

Once again I’m needing a vacation from my vacation. I was gone for a glorious four days. Four days of no whining in wine country. California was beautiful, relaxing, delicious. But. the amount of time it took me to plan and get ready for it was crazy. And the time it’s going to take me to unpack and do all the laundry is even crazier. Each one of us had a bag to pack. The girls went to two separate homes while we were away. I have my bag. And my husband has his. I could unpack his bag for him. But I don’t. And I won’t. I do the girls bags and that’s enough. Plus who wants to deal with post vacation funk. You know.. dirty laundry that gets shoved in every corner of the bag.. pretty much “infecting” the clothes you didn’t wear.

Well I need to come clean about one thing. Both girls came home with CLEAN clothes. And.. Clean bodies. How lucky am I. So really no excuses. But if I can’t whine on my blog.. Where can I?

Now for some info you can use if you ever happen to be in the area of Napa.

Vacation Highlights:

Carneros Inn & Spa (Bikes, Bocce & the Boon Fly Cafe.)

Turnbull Winery. (Say hi to C.J. for me.)

Celadon restaurant in Napa (Loved the mussels.)

Horizons Restaurant in Sausalito. (Try the fish tacos!)

Ferry from Sausalito to San Francisco. (great views)

B44 restaurant in San Francisco (Terrific Tapas)

By The Associated Press

In the bank bailout merry-go-round, the government has spent billions helping out financial institutions – and a handful of them have turned around and paid the money back.

So where exactly do the paid-back bucks end up?

Curiosity about returned bailout money inspired one of the questions in this edition of “Ask AP,” a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers’ questions about the news.

If you have your own news-related question that you’d like to see answered by an AP reporter or editor, send it to newsquestions@ap.org, with “Ask AP” in the subject line. And please include your full name and hometown so they can be published with your question.

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A recent AP-Gfk poll sampled 1,006 people to report how the rest of the 300 million Americans felt about political topics, with a sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. How can they come up with reliable numbers with such a small sample?

Woody Woodward
La Grange, Ill.
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Good polls pick the people they interview truly randomly, using the principle of sampling, and include enough people to make the results meaningful.

Believing that sampling works is like trusting that your doctor doesn’t need to test every drop of your blood to figure out what’s going on in your body, or that you don’t need to drink an entire pot of soup to tell if it has enough salt.

For our AP-GfK polls, we randomly select people using telephone numbers, because almost everyone can be reached by phone. We use a computer to randomly generate a list of numbers from landlines and cell phones. If we call a number and find more than one adult shares that phone, we use another random procedure to select only one of them to interview.

Before we start calling we have no idea whom we’ll interview. As much as possible, we make sure that everyone in the population will have a known chance of being interviewed.

When we do this, the laws of statistics tell us that the responses are similar to the answers we’d have gotten if we’d interviewed the entire population, within a certain range. That range is expressed by the margin of sampling error, which you see reported in so many articles about polls.

Those statistical laws have been proved right over many years and in many applications, not just in polling. Those laws also tell us there is a known, small chance we’ll get answers that are outliers – ones that fall outside the expected range – which helps explain why we sometimes see a poll that is out of step with the others.

Once we have gotten answers from our sample, we compare their ages, race and other demographic factors to the overall population. If there are major differences, we adjust the data to make sure our sample resembles the overall population – a process known as “weighting.”

One counterintuitive thing about sampling is that the expected accuracy of a sample has very little to do with the size of the population being studied. Just as a doctor doesn’t need to take more blood from a 250-pound patient than a 110-pound one to test for problems, a survey of 1,000 adults should be as accurate a representation of the population of a small city as it is of an entire nation.

As long as the pollsters follow the rules, samples of just 1,000 people can accurately represent the views of many millions.

Trevor Tompson
AP Polling Director
Washington

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What happens to the bailout money that is being repaid by banks? Does it just go back to the Treasury, or can Congress use it for other purposes?

Marc Dulleck
Sheboygan, Wis.
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Funds repaid from the $700 billion bank rescue program known as TARP are pumped right back into the bailout fund. The cash can then be recycled back out to other wobbly banks.

The Treasury has the power to recycle money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program until late 2010, two years after the bailout fund was created. After that, any money left over would go back into government coffers.

Last month, 10 of the nation’s largest banks – including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley – repaid about $68 billion in bailout money. The Treasury Department has recovered about $2 billion more from earlier repayments by smaller banks. Banks that want to pay back TARP money have to show they are healthy enough to operate without new government guarantees on debt.

Treasury’s decision to reuse the funds has angered critics who say the bailout program was never meant to be a revolving door. Some Republican members of Congress have said the Treasury has overstepped its authority. They say the repaid funds should be used to reduce the national deficit.

Stevenson Jacobs
AP Business Writer
New York

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I see frequent references in military stories to 500-pound or 1,000-pound bombs being dropped on targets. But what’s the significance of a bomb’s weight? After all, there’s a huge difference between 500 pounds of TNT and 500 pounds of plutonium.

Chad Steenerson
Terre Haute, Ind.
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You’re right, telling the weight of a bomb doesn’t tell the whole story – i.e., that its content and how it works are also important pieces of information.

Generally, when a bomb is referred to by weight alone, you can assume it is a conventional weapon. Then, obviously, the bigger it is the bigger the explosion and potential for destruction.

If the bomb is not conventional, it will normally be described with more detail to give an idea of what it will do. That would certainly be the case with an atomic weapon. Another example would be a thermobaric warhead, which ignites an explosive mist that sends a powerful shock wave through the targeted area; its use in caves and tunnels has been said to annihilate everything and everyone inside.

Pauline Jelinek
Associated Press Writer
Washington
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Have questions of your own? Send them to newsquestions@ap.org.

The National Weather Service in Milwaukee has a detailed look at the storms on radar and the storm reports. In fact word from the Milwaukee office is that they will be surveying damage in Dodge, Marquette, Iowa, Columbia and Lafayette counties to see if tornadoes touched down.  Check back tomorrow…I’ll keep you posted here.

Storm Reports in the SW of our viewing area included hail and strong winds

Although the areas that experienced the storms got quite a bit of rain, most of northeast Wisconsin was dry.  Such is the case this summer with the scattered way we’ve been having our rain.  Just this weekend in Green Bay the official total was .69″ of rain but a few miles away in Bellevue only 0.02″ of rain fell. Yesterday it was Marquette, Green Lake, Waushara and Fond du Lac counties that got a lot of rain.

1-2 inches of much-needed rain to the southwest

  Day One: There is little like the tranquility of a canoe trip, and the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota is one of the most beautiful and accessable places on earth.   A million acres of lakes and wilderness to explore.

    I got a chance to take the trip in mid-July, my second one to the Boundary Waters area.  I also took a small camera with me, and did a video blog day by day while I was there- click here for the link for day one!  While the first couple of days were nice weather for paddling and portaging, the last four were where nature decided to take it out on us, with wind, rain and cold the rest of the way.  However, the scenery was still stunning, and with a group of young people (14-18 year-olds) it was fun to see them discover the wilderness for the first time.

Day Two:  Click here for day two of my video blog!

Day two of the journey in the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota was sunny but windy, and portent of things to come. We paddled and portaged about 12 miles, going deeper into wilderness.
We also stopped at a campsite that was on the edge of a set of cliffs to do some cliff jumping for the younger members of our group. Everyone had a great time making the leap, and everyone got down, and back in the canoe, safely!
Wildlife hasn’t been as plentiful as expected, but we’ve had glimpses of eagles and loons, and got some fishing in in the evening, to no avail. I can safely say no fish were injured in the taping of these segments! User error, I’m sure.

Day Three in the Boundary Waters: Click here for my video blog day three!

A windy, and rainy day today, as we pushed south through the Boundary Waters to lake Muckwa, staying on an island campsite for the third night in a row.

The weather has turned a little on us, as we got some more wind, with some rain as well.  We had an interesting view of some loons today, as well as an area that had been decimated by a forest fire within the last year- just gutted between lakes.   Interesting to see how nature cleanses the landscape.

Still no fish, but maybe tomorrow!

Day Four on the Boundary Waters: Click here for my video blog day four!

Another day on the Boundary Waters, and another day of gray weather.  Nonetheless, we made almost 10 miles again, stopping on an island campsite for the night.

Last night a frightening front came through with high winds and severe pressure changes that actually pulled our tent pegs out of the ground and took down part of our dining fly.  You never know what you will find when you head out to the wilderness, so be prepared!  The fish are still eluding us, but we’re hoping to get at least one before we have to pull out.

Day five on the Boundary Waters: Click here for video blog day five!

Day five of my trip to the Boundary waters was, unfortunately, a gray day again.  We haven’t seen the sun since Monday afternoon, so are feeling rather soggy. 

Today we canoed in the worst conditions I have ever experience in my time in a canoe!  The waves were so large, we had to angle into them to make sure we didn’t capsize, and still we weren’t sure we wouldn’t go under.  We probably shouldn’t have been out on the water.  However, we were without a campsite, so had to plow through to get to somewhere we could set up camp.

We also hit the longest portage on our trip: 240 rods.  One rod = 16 feet, with 320 in a mile, so a 2/3 mile high through woods and mud with a 70 pound canoe or pack on your back is a tough one.  We made it, however, and plan to push to the end of our journey tomorrow.

Boundary Waters day six: Here’s the link to the video blog day six!

Day six, and we are off the water, a day earlier than planned, thanks to the weather.   After four wet days, we decided to get out a day early to get warm and dry!  

Our last night we got more rain and wind, and before bed ate all the deserts remaining in the food barrel!  We had pudding, cheesecake, and camp muffins to warm our spirits and our bellies- delicious!

We ended up traveling more than 56 miles on the water and through the portage trails, seeing lots of wildlife, and having a ton of fun.  The experience, which is life changing for some who come out here, will be a lifetime memory for the young people who came with us especially.

Check out my other Boundary Waters information for more tidbits about the million acre wilderness area that gives a once in a lifetime experience.
Check back every day, and I’ll have more updates from the Boundary Waters, one of the most beautiful places on earth!

We didn’t get much rain overnight but there’s still a good chance for showers today.  Looking at the bright side…there will be chances for rain each of the next 6 days with the weather computer models showing Friday’s storm that drops in from the northwest will have the most promise for soaking rain.

StormTrackerX Rain Totals through early Wednesday Morning

Severe Weather is expect in a small section of the country today…parts of Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado.

Storm Prediction Center issued this severe weather outlook for today

 Fried Bologna Sandwiches:  I was laughed at by Rachel and Amy the other day when I mentioned I liked fried bologna sandwiches.  Of course they admitted to never having eaten this culinary treat so I don’t think they can make a true assessment.  Judging by the e-mails I recieved, it turns out there are more of you fried bologna lovers out there.  Jess & Pat write: “Hi Pete,  Just to let you know there are a lot of us secret fried bologna sandwich eaters. We don’t tell everyone about this….due to the laughter you had to endure today. I’m 67 years old and have been enjoying my fried bologna sandwiches all my life. The naysayers don’t know what their missing! ” Donna wrote:  “Just to let you know you are not the only one with good taste! I love fried balogna sandwiches and my favorite candy bar is CHUNKY!  I have been eating them since they were a nickle! I am 58yrs. ..forever watching” …  Now these are people with obvious good taste if you ask me. How about you?  Do you like fried bologna? Maybe we can get Amy to make some on “Living With Amy”

I hope you had a great weekend.  I did a lot of work outside around the house…took out a few overgrown bushes and a couple of small trees too.  Had a bee hover around my head for what seemed like an hour but was just a few minutes.  Tried to get away but had to cover my head with my t-shirt and run into the street before it left.  Gave my wife a laugh.  I got a chance to watch the British Open too.  Did you groan as loud as I did when Tom Watson missed that 8-footer; sooooo close and yet.

We may finally get some relief from the dry conditions and brown grass we have here in NE Wisconsin.  According to the latest drought information, most of the area is “abnormally dry” and the next step would be “moderate drought” …the northwestern part of the state is already experiencing “severe drought” conditions.  Click here for more on Wisconsin drought conditions.  The first chance we have of getting some rain will be tomorrow and into Wednesday.

Rain will be moving in from the west tomorrow night

Temperatures will still be below normal for most of the week but nothing like we had at the end of last week.  Many area cities set records Friday for the lowest maximum temperature of the day.

Record Low Maximums were achieved and tied in many area cities

Have a great day!