September was another busy month with the return of high school football, festivals, parades, birthdays and the month of activities ended with my class reunion where it was talking about the good old days and having a really great meal.
The weather cooperated for the most part but the last Fort Hill game we sat in the rain for nearly the entire game and I guess my take on that was I can handle the rain, but not the cold. Carol and I even took a break and went to the Paw Paw festival in nearby Paw Paw, West Virginia, on a beautiful Saturday and learned a ton of information on that elusive fruit. We had a chance to taste a Paw Paw and it wasn’t bad. A hint of mango and banana and it was a little squishy, but otherwise it was pretty good. I brought one home and placed it on my back porch and nothing bothered it, but a couple of days later something had eaten the whole thing and left the seeds neatly stacked on my bench.
The first 17 days of September were warm and dry with no rain hitting my rain gauge until the morning of the 18th when a paltry .10 inches was measured and, from that point on, it rained nine out of the last 13 days making life miserable at times. The biggest rain came on the last day of September when 1.67 inches fell on the Queen City. A steady, soaking rain, the remnants of Hurricane Helene, helped the drought situation.
The total rainfall for September was 2.17 inches compared to an average of 3.55 inches so we came up short by 1.38 inches. The maximum temperature for September was a hot 88 degrees and the minimum temperature was a refreshing 43 degrees. The average maximum temperature was 77 degrees and the average minimum temperature was 55.9 degrees.
Here’s the temperature profile for September. Twelve days were in the 80s, 14 days remained in the 70s, and just four days failed to climb out of the 60s. Precipitation for the first nine months averaged 30.77 inches and we received 30.12 inches, placing us in the minus column by .65 inches.
The Climate Prediction Center forecasts that both temperature and precipitation could be above, below or about average for October. The 90-day outlook for October, November and December indicates temperatures to be above average while precipitation could be above, below or about average for the next 90 days.
Hurricane season erupted toward the end of September with numerous storms being tracked with the majority of those not being a huge threat to anyone. A disturbance quickly formed near the Yucatan Peninsula, slid into the Gulf of Mexico, was named Helene and her sites were set on the Big Bend area of Florida before moving into Georgia and the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, parts of South Carolina and Virginia.
The remnants of Helene dropped huge amounts of rain in the mountains of western North Carolina creating scenes of absolute horror for the folks around Ashville. The media has used every possible word in the dictionary to describe the situation which is dire to say the least. There’s not a lot we can do for the people in the region, but pray for them and if you can send cash donations to help in the recovery, please do so.
As of this writing, it’s estimated the cost to repair, rebuild and recover could reach a trillion dollars. The National Hurricane Center is watching a couple areas, particularly a system that possibly could work its way into the Gulf of Mexico over the next several days.
Marylanders are very familiar with flash flooding, river flooding and all the dangers involved. Here’s a reminder of flood terms that you need to be aware of.
Flood Watch: A Flood Watch is issued when conditions are favorable for a specific weather hazard to occur. A Flood Watch is issued when conditions are favorable for flooding. It does not mean flooding, but it is possible.
Flood Advisory: A Flood Advisory is issued when a specific weather event that is forecast to occur may become a nuisance. A Flood Advisory is issued when flooding is not expected to be bad enough to issue a warning. However, it may cause significant inconvenience, and if caution is not exercised, it could lead to situations that may threaten life and/or property.
Flood Warning: A Flood Warning is issued when the hazardous weather event is imminent or already happening. A Flood Warning is issued when flooding is imminent or occurring.
Flash Flood Warning: A Flash Flood Warning is issued when a flash flood is imminent or occurring. If you are in a flood prone area, move immediately to high ground. A flash flood is a sudden violent flood that can take from minutes to hours to develop. It is even possible to experience a flash flood in area not receiving rain.
We all remember the flood of 1985 and the year we had two floods in 1996. The most important thing to remember in a flooding situation is that if you are told to evacuate, please get to high ground. Your life may depend on it!
Enjoy fall and all the excitement that comes with it.