Chuck Otte [email protected]
County Extension Agent, Retired
August was wonderfully “average”. Temperatures were within a few tenths of a degree of average. Precipitation was within a few hundredths of an inch of average. “Average” months don’t happen all that often, but August was “average”
.The average daily high for August was 87.6, 0.4 of a degree below normal. The average overnight low was 68.5, 2.2 degrees above normal. This resulted in a monthly average temperature of 78.1, nine tenths of a degree above normal. The highest temperature for the month was 103 degrees on August 25th and the only daily high during the month of 100 or above. The lowest temperature for the month was 59 degrees on the morning of August 9th. The overnight low of 77 on the 29th tied the record high low temperature for that date. The record was originally set in 1955.
With the month essentially being average we were a long way from record setting temperatures. The warmest August in record was in 2000 with a monthly mean temperature of 85 degrees. The coldest August on record goes back to that chilly year of 1981 with a monthly mean temperature of 71.5. 1981 was also the year we had our first frost on September 17th, nearly a full month earlier than normal!
Average August rainfall is 4.55 inches. August 2024 brought us 4.52 inches of rain which is about as close to “normal” as you can get. The rains were fairly evenly distributed throughout the month much to the pleasure of farmers and gardeners. The driest August was in 1971 when no rainfall was received over the entire month. The wettest August was in 2013 when 10.33 inches of rain deluged portions of the county.
Meteorological fall starts September 1st, while astronomical fall begins on September 22nd. With the earth tilting away from the sun and hours of daylight declining quickly, temperatures start to decline as well. The average daily high on September 1 is 85 and by the 30th it has dropped to 75. Overnight lows begin the month at 64 and end the month at 51. While long term first average frost is mid-October, September frosts can happen, but only twice in the past 75 years! Rainfall also starts to decline in September as we begin the move into our drier time of the year. Average September rainfall is 2.85 inches. While some residents may already be dreaming of a white Christmas, first snowfall is a long ways off yet and the area can still see temperatures in the 90s and 100s during any given September!