Temperature records toppled like dominos in many parts of Georgia during this year's unusually hot (and also dry) September - and the National Weather Services is out with a detailed report, a Climate Summary, on just how hot and dry it was.
The report notes that the majority of locations experienced temperatures around 6 to 9 degrees warmer than normal and rainfall that was 2 to 4 inches below normal.
Athens recorded the sixth-warmest September on record, Atlanta the second-warmest, Columbus the third-warmest, and Macon the fourth-warmest. In addition, Macon also tied the record for the driest September on record.
Triple-digit highs were recorded in some places including Columbus, Macon, Cartersville, Peachtree City, and Rome. Gainesville never reached that plateau. The warmest it got at the city’s Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport was 96, which occurred on three days – the 9th, 12th, and 17th, and it was a record high for all three. Last September, there were only seven days that saw a high of 90 or more in Gainesville.
High temperatures were tied or broken 25 times in the NWS’s four primary “climate” sites in north and central Georgia - Athens (3 days), Atlanta (10), Columbus (2), and Macon (10). Seven times during the month, the low temperatures set records for the “highest minimum” readings on record.
By the end of the month, as AccessWDUN reported last week, drought conditions prevailed throughout the state, with several places, including Gainesville, experiencing “extremely” dry conditions.
So, how do these readings compare with September a year ago?
In Gainesville this year, temperatures of 90 or above were recorded on 18 days, compared to 17 in August, and 12 in July. No 90-degree readings were posted in June.
As for rainfall in Gainesville, September finished with only .57 inches, which occurred on one day, the 13th. The month ended with a rainfall deficit of 4.11 inches for the month. And, it wasn’t much better in September a year ago, when 1.87 inches were recorded at the airport.
During the traditional summer months this year - June, July, and August - there was no measurable rainfall on 19 days in June, 20 in July, and 23 in August. And, again, the same was true on 29 of 30 days in September.
The outlook for October in Georgia?
“All of north and central Georgia has a 40 to 50% chance of above normal temperatures,” the NWS says. “For precipitation, eastern central Georgia has near a 33 to 40% chance of above average precipitation. The rest of the area has near equal chances of above, below, or normal precipitation.” October is typically one of the driest months in the state.
And, what about the drought?
"Based on the U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook for October, drought development is expected to continue to expand and persist across the entire local forecast area," according to the report.
Click here to access the full NWS report.
