Warm and Wet

By Russell Russ

September weather in Norfolk this year was mostly cloudy and humid for much of the month. Temperatures and rainfall were both well above normal. September is prime hurricane season, and the Carolinas were hit with a devastating rainstorm when Hurricane Florence made landfall Sept. 14. Remnants of Florence did produce 2.61 inches of rain here Sept. 17 to 18, a decent amount, but there was no widespread damage or flooding as in the Carolinas. Our prolonged summer persevered through the month. Only in the last weeks when the foliage finally began to turn did we realize that autumn was in fact on the way.

September’s high temperature of 88 degrees was observed on Sept. 6, and the low of 41 degrees was observed on Sept. 30. The average mean temperature was 62.4 degrees, which is 3.5 degrees above normal. During the first week of the month there were several days with record-setting or near record-setting high temperatures. The Sept. 5 high of 85 degrees tied the 1983 record, and the Sept. 6 high of 88 degrees just beat the 1943 record of 87 degrees.

This September was tied with 2010 as the seventh warmest September over the last 87 years. The warmest September was in 2015 with an average temperature of 64.7 degrees, and the coolest was in 1963 with an average of 53.6 degrees. For the year, there have been six months above normal for monthly temperatures, with September the fifth month in a row. We will have to see how the last quarter of the year plays out, but 2018 could be in the running for a high ranking among warmest years on record for Norfolk.

The month’s rainfall total was 8.77 inches, which is 4.12 inches above normal. It was Norfolk’s fourth month in a row with above normal rainfall. In fact, six of the nine months this year have been above normal for precipitation. It was the ninth wettest September over the last 87 years. The wettest September was in 1938 with 13.40 inches (thanks to the hurricane of ’38). The driest was in 2014 with just 1.16 inches.

Through September this year, the total yearly precipitation was 49.08 inches. This is 9.95 inches above normal. Through September, we are only 3.44 inches away from Norfolk’s average total precipitation for the entire year. By comparison, at this point last year we were 5.53 inches below normal and two years ago we were 11.04 inches below normal. No talk of precipitation deficits around here this year, that is for sure.

October’s weather was warm and wet through Oct. 11, a continuation of the pattern of summer and early fall. After that, cooler temperatures began to take over. Changing leaf colors and several days with frost after mid-month shocked everyone into realizing that summer is finally over. Historically, frost is common around Norfolk in September, but for the last few years it has not appeared (for the most part) until October. As is typical, October was our transition month. In recent years the colder weather seems to have been somewhat delayed, but there is no holding back Mother Nature. Winter is on the way.

Weather observations are recorded by the Great Mountain Forest at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2SW.