Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

September A Wet Month

An overtly wet September put the area above normal for rainfall for the month and year.

According to John Teeter, local meteorologist, the normal amount of rain during September is 4.29 inches. This was no normal September as the skies opened and 7.43 inches of water fell to the earth. This put the area 3.14 inches up during the month.

For the year, he said, the normal amount of rain is 41.41 inches, but with the deluge of September, the total stands at 41.81, of a surplus of 0.40 inches of rain.

Interestingly, it only rained seven days during the month, but those rains were heavy at times. The largest single day total was 3.50 inches on Sept. 13.

However, Teeter said, the month was also warmer than normal. The average temperature for September was 79.9 degrees, five degrees higher than the norm of 74.9.

There were only two days when the mercury climbed above 100. On Sept. 5, the temp rose to 104, and hit 101 the next day.

He said there were a couple of record low highs during the month as well. On Sept. 16, the high was76, and reached 77 on Sept. 17. But, Teeter said, these are records for these days only and not the month.

In Cale, according to weatherman Davis Benton, 9.25 inches of rain fell during the month. Most of this, he said, came from the remnants of tropical storm Frances.

Needless to say, Sept. 1998 was not the driest on record. This distinction goes to Sept. 1948 when 0.08 inches of rain fell. Nor was this the wettest ninth month of a year, as 13.92 inches of rain hit the ground in 1974.

While this September was hot, it was not the hottest on record either. Teeter said this honor goes to Sept. 1980 when there were 16 days of 100-plus heat, with the mercury rising to 108 on Sept. 14, 1980.

In addition, he said, there was only one watch or warning posted, while the norm is three.

The normal amount of rain for October is 4.33 inches, which could be challenged with the wet weather currently underway. Teeter said the average daily temperature is usually 64.5 degrees.