John McGinley, Nederland. This month continued the bone-dry, warm conditions we have seen all summer. Rainfall totals were abysmal with only 37 percent of normal rain being realized. It was
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John McGinley, Nederland. This month continued the bone-dry, warm conditions we have seen all summer. Rainfall totals were abysmal with only 37 percent of normal rain being realized. It was warm as well, with the mean temperature a full six degrees above normal. This places September 2018 in the top 4 percent of all warm ninth months. Excessive warmth continues a trend we have seen all year: we are running 3.5 degrees above normal for the year. Rain occurred on 7 days with a couple of those days having thunderstorms. Otherwise nothing much of note occurred. Not even the winds misbehaved.
Precipitation: Total was 0.68 inches, well below the normal of 1.79 inches. The big day was 0.24 inches on the 5th. Even though a typical September has 3 inches of snow we didn’t see a flake. Some dusting was evident on the higher peaks however.
Temperature: Average for the month was 72.3F with an average low of 44.1F. These combined to make the month 6.4 degrees above normal, our seventh straight month so defined. The averages were closer to August means than September. High for the month was 83F on the 14th with the lowest high of 52F on the 28th. Cold fronts brought some freezing temperatures to the area, with lows of 29F on the 26th and 28th.
Winds: Amazing! No windy days (40+mph) this month.
Other features: The monsoon was a no-show and the storm track stayed far to the north, accounting for our dry and warm weather.
Outlook for October: Normally, conditions cool down significantly in October. Our average high is 54 degrees with an average low of 29F. We typically get 1.23 inches of precipitation with 10 inches of snow. The outlook from our climate prediction center indicates a big change in our upper level flow pattern. Deep cooler air will move in over the western US, bringing wetter and cooler conditions by the second week. We may even see some snow. Prior to that, a couple of tropical storms in the eastern Pacific will drive some moisture into the state and increase shower and thunderstorm activity. All in all, much more favorable conditions to mitigate our tinder dry and warm situation.
