It's been a cold July here and also below normal temperatures for several months.

The average temperature this month was 64 degrees, which was 4.5 degrees below average for the month of July, said Jim Tarasenko, research specialist with the North Central Research Extension Center south of Minot.

This is also the eighth straight month of below normal temperatures for Minot, Tarasenko said.

"There were only seven other July averages on record that were lower than this July. The record low monthly average temperature for a July is 59.7 degrees," he said.

Tarasenko said the only day this summer which has been 90 degrees or above was on July 24. "It was 90 degrees for a high temperature on that day," he said.

"Also, this was the eighth coolest July since we started record keeping," Tarasenko said.

Tarasenko records the high and low temperatures daily at the research center and then averages them for monthly totals. He has information on the recorded average temperatures for the past 104 years and now is getting information for the 105th year.

"July was the eighth coolest July in 105 years of record keeping," he said.

The recordings at the research center coincide with The Old Farmers's Almanac which has been making weather forecasts for many years for its annual publication. The 2009 almanac said this would be a cooler and rainier summer in the north in the high plains. It predicts September and October will be warmer and drier than normal.

This weekend's weather for Minot is expected to be a little warmer.

Today's forecast, according to the National Weather Service, calls for mostly sunny, with a high near 76 and Sunday with a high near 83. There will be some wind, with gusts as high as 24 mph both days.