Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Much Needed Rain Doesn't Fall

To absolutely no one's surprise, 1999 ended with a rainfall deficit, not only for December, but the entire year.

According to local weatherman John W. Teeter, the area received 3.49 inches of rain in the 12th month of the year, but the norm is 4.60 inches. The end result is a deficit of 1.11 inches.

For the year, he said, the area saw 47.60 inches, while the normal annual amount is 50.49 inches. This means there was a shortfall of 2.69 inches for 1999.

Davis Benton, Cale's meteorologist, said 3.86 inches of rain fell in the southern part of Nevada County.

This brings the total there to 41.94 inches, or about 17 inches below normal.

Benton said during the summer and fall months (June through November), less than 10 inches of rain fell. This resulted in the driest period for southern Nevada County in the last 20 years.

Teeter said there were only two weather watches or warnings posted during December, instead of the usual five.

"The unusual weather feature of December, 1999," he said, "was the long dry spell late in the month.

"No rain fell the last 18 days of December."

This amount is unusual, he added, but not a record for the region.

The record "dry spell" occurred in 1930, when it didn't rain a drop from June 26 until Sept. 30.

Most dry spells, Teeter said, have a duration of 10 days or less.

The average daily temperature in December was 45.3 degrees, almost exactly the norm, which is 45.2 degree.

The highest the mercury climbed during the month was 76 on Dec. 4, while the lowest the temperature dropped was 22 on Dec. 22 and 23.

For January, he said, the normal rainfall amount is 4.51 inches, while the average daily temperature is 43.4 degrees.