Some record setting warmth during another warm and dry month
By Russell Russ
Here are the weather highlights from September as recorded at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2SW, by the Great Mountain Forest Corporation. Norfolk 2SW has recorded weather observations since January 1, 1932.
The high temperature this month was 87 degrees which was observed on September 8. The month’s low temperature of 37 degrees was observed on September 17. The average temperature this month was 62.5 degrees which was 4.2 degrees above normal. This was the fourth warmest September in the last 75 years. There were three record setting warm days this month. The 86 degrees on September 7 (was 85 degrees in 1945), 85 degrees on September 26 (was 80 degrees in 1970) and 80 degrees on September 27 (was 76 in 1933) were all record setting warm days according to our 75 years of record keeping.
It was a dry month, but not really record setting for us. The total precipitation recorded for the month was 2.88 inches which was 1.77 inches below normal. Interestingly, 2.47 inches of the month’s total rainfall occurred in a 24 hour time span between September 10 and 11. Norfolk’s total precipitation for 2007 through September is now 32.97 inches. Comparing this to the last 75 years we are now 6.12 inches below an average year.
Norfolk received some much needed rain on September 10 and 11. On September 10 from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm the weather station at Great Mountain Forest recorded 1.30 inches of rain. On September 11 there was 0.30 inches recorded between 8:00 am and 11:30 am. Then, between 1:15 pm and 2:00 pm more waves of heavy rain hit Norfolk dumping an additional 0.82 inches. After the rains finally stopped the total two day rain total was 2.47 inches, more than half of our normal monthly rainfall amount for September. As it turned out the total precipitation for the entire month was just 2.88 inches, the 14th driest month on record. Had it not been for this two day rain event we just may have recorded the driest month in all our 75 years of weather observing.
The only day when a thunderstorm was observed at the station was September 8 when two separate storms hit Norfolk during the late afternoon and early evening. Not much rain fell during either one. There were light frosts in certain low lying valleys during the early morning hours of September 17, 18 and 19.
If you like beautiful late summer weather with pleasant temperatures and clear skies this was the month for you. In fact, twenty-six out of thirty days this month were like that. Five of those days some people would say were just too warm. Is it possible to complain that there are too many nice days? You could almost hear it.
