It seems as if Mother Nature has been playing a nasty trick on us lately.

The heavy showers the Midwest has been experiencing are supposed to occur in April, not July, so the question arises—Are these abnormal rains a fluke, or are weather patterns changing in response to our tainted environment?

Lisa Hull, director for the weather office at NIU, said, “The abnormally high amount of rain we’ve been experiencing is not due to global warming or the greenhouse effect. It’s just something we’re stuck in.”

The weather office, located at 217 Davis Hall, uses data from the National Weather Service and maps to make daily weather forecasts for the area.

From that data, Hull determined that the 9.87 inches of rain we received in June broke the old record of 9 inches.

The data also led Hull to forecast similar weather for the rest of the week.

In its extended 30-day outlook, the National Weather Service forecasted “above median (median is 4.62) precipitation in the … Mississippi Valley”.

Hull said the severe weather we’ve been experiencing lately can be attributed to the mixture of two opposing forces.

This past week’s stormy weather resulted when a high pressure belt over the Gulf of Mexico collided with a low pressure belt in the center of the United States.

“The pattern we’ve been experiencing is usually experienced in the spring … if you’re looking for an overall explanation for this weather, you won’t find one,” she said.

Hull explained that so-called “weather patterns” aren’t changing. They simply vary from time to time. The DeKalb area has been experiencing “highs” or above average totals in categories like rainfall, but sometime during the year DeKalb likely will experience lows and the two extremes will balance out to produce a typical annual average.

The weather office records a detailed weather forecast daily. For an up-to-date weather forecast, the recording can be heard at 753-1623.

“The abnormally high amount of rain we’ve been experiencing is not due to global warming or the greenhouse effect. It’s just something we’re stuck in.”

Lisa Hull, NIU weather office director