Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Weather Wetter In July

July was wetter than normal, according to local weatherman John Teeter.

He said the normal rainfall total for Nevada County in July is 4.25 inches. However, 9.70 inches of moisture fell from the heavens during the seventh month of 1996. This put July up 5.45 inches for the month.

In spite of the wetter month, the area is still below normal for the year. The average total for this time of year is 32.47 inches, while the region has only received 27.46 inches, making it 5.01 inches below normal.

Davis Benton, the weatherman in the Cale area, said July rainfall in his neck of the woods reached 9.10 inches for the month.

For June and July, Benton said, the total is 17.46 inches as compared to 14.25 inches for the first five months of the year.

Teeter said rain fell 12 days during July, with the largest single day total 2.68 inches on July 27. The month was the fourth wettest on record.

The record for rain in July for Nevada County was in 1971 when 12.06 inches fell. Other years with higher rain totals in July were: 1906 with 10.26 inches; and 1979 when 11.27 inches of the wet stuff fell.

On the other hand, the driest July on record for the county was in 1993, when only 0.22 inches of rain hit the ground.

The highest temperature for the month reached 96 degrees on July 3 and 7. The mercury dipped down to 64 on July 11.

The average temperature for July, Teeter said, was 80.5 degrees, 1.2 degrees below the average of 81.7 degrees.

While surrounding areas had watches and warnings posted, Teeter said Nevada County only had one watch for the month, three less than normal.

Looking at August, the normal amount of rainfall for the month should be 3.65 inches, with an average temperature of 81.2 degrees.