NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

 

SEPTEMBER 2014

 

1^st-6^th…Substantial precipitation fell in many areas along and east of a line from the southern Rockies into the upper Midwest. Rain was especially heavy on the east-central Plains, including eastern Kansas, where totals in excess of 4 inches were common. Heavy showers also peppered several other areas, including the northern Plains and the Southeast. In the latter region, rainfall locally in excess of 2 inches aided drought-stressed pastures and immature summer crops. Beneficial showers also fell on the southern Plains.

Numerous rounds of showers and thunderstorms crossed the Midwest, South, and East. Toward week’s end, rain developed on the southern Plains. Daily-record totals topped

2 inches in several locations, including Columbia, MO (4.50 inches on September 1); Topeka, KS (2.71 inches on September 3); Traverse City, MI (2.69 inches on September

5); and Columbus, GA (2.48 inches on September 3). St. Cloud, MN, also netted a daily record total (2.94 inches) on September 3, with most (2.70 inches) of the rain falling in just an hour. On the southern High Plains, record-setting totals for September 5 reached 1.07 inches in Clayton, NM, and 0.77 inch in Dalhart, TX.

 

7^th-13…Locally heavy showers preceded a blast of cool air across the Plains, South, and Midwest. Rainfall was especially heavy, totaling 4 inches or more, in portions of the Carolinas and environs, as well as the southwestern Plains. Midwestern rainfall provided beneficial moisture for late developing corn and soybeans.

Farther west, moisture related to the monsoon circulation and the remnants of eastern Pacific Hurricane Norbert contributed to heavy showers in the Four Corners States and the southern Great Basin. The rain led to locally severe flash flooding in several areas.

Early in the week, locally torrential showers developed over the Southwest as former Hurricane Norbert decayed over the eastern Pacific Ocean. Phoenix, AZ, experienced its wettest day on record on September 8, when 3.30 inches fell. The previous calendar-day record in Phoenix had been 2.91 inches on September 4, 1939. Elsewhere, daily-record amounts for September 8 included 1.84 inches in Tucson, AZ, and 0.11 inch in Long Beach, CA. The heavy showers lingered into September 9, when Yuma, AZ, netted

a daily-record rainfall of 1.44 inches. Farther east, early week showers also soaked portions of the southern Atlantic States. On September 8-9, totals approaching 10 inches were reported in a 24-hour period in parts of southeastern Virginia. Norfolk, VA, received 4.77 inches on September 8-9. Southeastern daily record totals included 3.54 inches (on September 7) in Daytona Beach, FL, and 3.21 inches (on September 8) in Florence, SC. Florence’s September 7-8 total climbed to 5.57 inches. Meanwhile, heavy rain also developed across the Midwest in conjunction with the approach of a strong cold front. Totals reached or exceeded 3 inches, setting daily records, in several locations, including Quincy, IL (3.51 inches on September 10); Omaha, NE (3.43 inches on September 9); Toledo, OH (3.39 inches on September 10); Fort Wayne, IN (3.24 inches on September 10); and Des Moines, IA (3.00 inches on September 9). By September 11, heavy rain shifted into the interior Southeast, where daily-record totals reached 4.45 inches in Memphis, TN, and 3.07 inches in Lexington, KY. Meanwhile, rain changed to snow in portions of the north-central U.S. East Rapid City, SD, reported its earliest measurable snowfall on September 11, when 1.6 inches fell (previously, 0.7 inch on September 13, 1970). In Nebraska, North Platte received its earliest trace of snow on September 11 (previously, September 12, 1989). Toward week’s end, heavy rain shifted across the Deep South. College Station, TX (4.26 inches), and Roswell, NM (1.33 inches), netted record-setting totals for September 12. Elsewhere in Texas, daily-record amounts for September 13 reached 3.39 inches in Harlingen and 3.12 inches in McAllen.

 

14^th-20^th…Heavy rain, locally 4 inches or more, fell from southeastern Arizona to coastal Texas due to the interaction between the remnants of eastern Pacific Hurricane Odile and a cold front. The rain provided significant drought relief but also triggered flash flooding and fostered concerns with respect to the quality of openboll cotton and other maturing summer crops. Locally heavy showers also extended eastward along the Gulf Coast into the lower Southeast, boosting topsoil moisture but causing some minor harvest disruptions.

Locally heavy showers dotted the Deep South early in the week. For example, Hattiesburg, MS, netted a daily-record rainfall of 3.87 inches on September 16. Heavy rain soaked the Ozark Plateau and environs a day later, when Springfield, MO, collected a daily-record amount (3.23 inches) for September 17. However, most of the week’s rainfall highlights were confined to Texas and the Southwest, primarily during the second half of the week. Douglas, AZ, received 3.13 inches of rain from September 16-18, including consecutive daily-record totals (1.27 and 1.63 inches, respectively, on the 17th and 18th). El Paso, TX, measured 3.02 inches from September 15-18, aided by a daily record amount (1.86 inches) on the 17th. In Texas, Austin’s Camp Mabry experienced its seventh-wettest September day—3.66 inches on September 18—on the way to a weekly rainfall of 4.37 inches. The 3.66-inch total also represented Austin’s wettest September day since September 7, 2010, when 7.04 inches fell. Closer to the Texas Gulf Coast, rainfall from September 16-20 included 5.40 inches in Sugar Land and 5.19 inches in League City. Elsewhere, late-week showers spread northward along the southern Atlantic Coast and developed across the Great Basin and Midwest. Daily-record totals included 1.61 inches (on September 19) in Columbia, SC, and 0.45 inch (on September 20) in Tonopah, NV.  

 

21^st-27…Wet conditions were observed across southern Texas and along the Atlantic Seaboard. Rainfall was especially heavy in parts of Florida, with more than 4 inches noted across the central peninsula. Elsewhere, late-season warmth preceded a period of widespread showers and cooler weather across the West. Some rain was reported in

nearly all areas of the West except southern California, with totals of 1 to 2 inches or more reported in portions of northern California, Pacific Northwest, Intermountain West, and southern Rockies.

Heavy showers arrived in the Pacific Northwest on September 23, when daily-record totals included 1.98 inches in Astoria, OR, and 1.30 inches in Hoquiam, WA. Later in northern California, Eureka’s 2.59-inch total on the 24th represented its wettest September day on record (previously, 2.44 inches on September 11, 1895). Daily-record totals on September 24 reached 2.75 inches in Crescent City, CA, and 2.02 inches in Medford, OR. Consecutive daily-record totals (0.78 and 2.45 inches, respectively) were noted on September 24-25 in

Redding, CA. On September 26, Astoria, OR, netted another daily-record total (2.01 inches), boosting its weekly sum to 4.39 inches. Late in the week, heavy showers spread farther inland across the West. As a result, record-setting totals for September 27 reached 1.36 inches in Phoenix, AZ; 1.25 inches in Salt Lake City, UT; 0.98 inch in Lewistown, MT; and 0.82 inch in Winnemucca, NV. Farther east, late-week rain also soaked southern Texas, where record-setting amounts for September 27 included 3.39 inches in Harlingen and 2.27 inches in McAllen. Earlier in the week, substantial rainfall had also affected portions of the Atlantic Coast States. On September 24, daily-record totals climbed to 6.41 inches in Daytona Beach, FL, and 3.18 inches in Raleigh-Durham, NC. A monthly rainfall record was established in Daytona Beach—17.72 inches through the 27th—surpassing its September 2004 standard of 16.46 inches. Farther north, Georgetown, DE, netted a daily-record total (2.11 inches) on September 25. Parts of the southern High Plains also received mid-week downpours, with Lubbock, TX, receiving a daily-record total (2.72 inches) on September 24.

 

28^th-30^th…Daily record amounts for September 28 reached 1.37 inches in Lander, WY; 0.88 inch in Idaho Falls, ID; and 0.81 inch in Grand Junction, CO. By September 29, East Rapid City, SD—with 2.58 inches—experienced its second-wettest September day behind only 2.76 inches on September 16, 1913. Elsewhere on the 29th, daily-record amounts climbed to 2.95 inches in Scottsbluff, NE, and 1.01 inches in Denver, CO. Lincoln, NE, measured a daily-record total (3.30 inches) for September 30, while the 2-day rainfall climbed to 3.80 inches in East Rapid City.

 

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.jimmunleywx.com