NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

 

SEPTEMBER 2015

 

1-5^t: Showers provided some limited drought relief in the Northwest, where record-setting totals for August 30 reached 0.44 inch in Salem, OR, and 0.40 inch in Seattle, WA.

Toward week’s end, showers expanded across the interior Northwest, resulting in record-setting totals for September 4 in Idaho locations such as Stanley (0.84 inch) and Challis

(0.47 inch). Other Western rainfall records for September 4 included 0.27 inch in Winslow, AZ, and 0.19 inch in Alturas, CA. Meanwhile, heavy, late-August showers soaked the southern Atlantic States, producing daily-record amounts for August 31 in Charleston, SC (6.43 inches), and Orlando, FL (3.59 inches). Farther north, heavy showers briefly affected the Great Lakes region, including Michigan, where record-setting totals for September 3 climbed to 1.47 inches in Traverse City and 1.32 inches in Houghton Lake. At week’s end, heavy rain spread across the northern Plains, where daily-record amounts for September 5 included 1.78 inches in Williston, ND, and 1.11 inches in Cut Bank, MT. From September 3-5, Cut Bank’s rainfall totaled 2.18 inches.

 

6-12: Rain fell, especially during the early to mid-week period, across parts of the southern and eastern Plains. In fact, the showery weather pattern covered most of the eastern half of

the U.S. Rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches were common along and near the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts, as well as portions of the southeastern Plains, mid-South, and western Corn Belt.

Early in the week, heavy showers swept across the Great Lakes region. In Wisconsin, record-setting totals for September 6 reached 3.35 inches in Marshfield and 2.76 inches in Wausau. Green Bay, WI, netted 3.98 inches of rain from September 6-8, including a daily record total (2.50 inches) on the last day of the wet spell. Early-week rain also affected the Pacific Northwest, where daily-record amounts in Washington for September 6 included 0.57 inch in Bellingham and 0.38 inch in Wenatchee. Showers also dotted the Desert Southwest, where Yuma, AZ, measured a record-setting sum (0.91 inch) for September 8. In southern California, record-breaking amounts for September 9 reached 0.23 inch in Santa Ana and 0.02 inch in Long Beach.

Farther east, mid- to late-week rainfall led to daily-record totals in many locations. On September 9, Dallas-Ft. Worth registered a daily-record total of 2.00 inches. The following day, totals for September 10 topped the 4-inch mark in Philadelphia, PA (4.76 inches); Topeka, KS (4.38 inches); and Kansas City, MO (4.28 inches). Harrisburg, PA, attained daily-record totals (4.37 and 1.98 inches, respectively) on September 10 and 12. Other record-setting amounts for September 12 included 1.91 inches at Wallops Island, VA, and 1.85 inches in Buffalo, NY>

 

13-19:  Locally heavy showers soaked Florida’s peninsula and the immediate southern Atlantic Coast. Significant rain also fell although briefly n parts of the Midwest.  Locally heavy showers dotted the West, with the most significant rain falling in southern California and the northern Intermountain region. California’s rain, heaviest along and near the coast, fell mostly on September 15 in conjunction with tropical moisture associated with former Hurricane Linda.

Early in the week, locally heavy showers dotted the West. On September 13, Cedar City, UT, netted a daily-record total of 0.59 inch. The following day, September 14, devastating flash floods in southern Utah left 12 people dead and one missing in the community of Hildale and killed seven hikers in Zion National Park. By September 15, the focus for heavy rainfall shifted to southern California, where Los Angeles International Airport

(LAX) experienced its wettest September day on record. LAX received 1.80 inches, surpassing the record of 1.66 inches set on September 30, 1983. Downtown Los Angeles collected 2.39 inches on September 15, representing its wettest day since March 30, 2011, when 2.42 inches fell. It was also Los Angeles’ second wettest September day on record, trailing only the tropical-storm fueled, 3.96-inch total of September 25, 1939. Farther south, San Diego, CA, measured 1.21 inches on September 15—its second wettest

September day behind 1.23 inches on September 30, 1921.

Outside of California, daily-record amounts for September 15 reached 0.88 inch in Eureka, NV; 0.54 inch in Stanley, ID; and 0.53 inch in Butte, MT. Eureka tallied another daily record total (0.58 inch) on September 16. Salt Lake City, UT, reported 1.74 inches from September 14-16, aided by a daily-record total (0.93 inch) on the last day of the wet spell. Later, heavy rain shifted into the Midwest, where Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, logged a daily record rainfall (2.37 inches) for September 17. The following day, Midwestern daily-record amounts for September 18 reached 2.55 inches in Des Moines, IA, and 2.41 inches in

Chicago, IL.

 

20-26: The interaction between remnant moisture associated with Tropical Depression Sixteen-E and a cold front resulted in a band of locally heavy rain across the nation’s mid-section and parts of the Southwest. Some of the heaviest rain, locally 4 inches or more, fell in the middle Missouri Valley.

Rain associated with the remnants of T.D. Sixteen-E reached the Southwest on September 21. In southeastern Arizona, September 21-22 rainfall totaled 2.00 inches in Nogales and

1.54 inches in Safford. Safford also reported a thunderstorm-related wind gust to 43 mph on September 22, while Tucson, AZ, clocked a gust to 49 mph. At mid-week, heavy rain erupted across the westernmost Corn Belt and environs. In Nebraska, record-setting totals for September 23 reached 5.74 inches in Omaha and 3.58 inches in Valentine. In addition, Omaha experienced its wettest day since August 7, 1999, when 6.46 inches fell; wettest

September day since September 9, 1965, when 6.24 inches fell; and fourth wettest day on record. Rain lingered across the upper Midwest into September 24, when Sioux Falls,

SD, netted a daily-record total of 1.51 inches. Meanwhile, rain began to increase in coverage and intensity across the Southeast. On September 24, Columbia, SC, reported a daily record sum of 2.84 inches. The following day in North Carolina, record-setting totals for September 25 included 3.75 inches on Cape Hatteras and 2.11 inches in Greensboro. Danville, VA, also collected a daily record amount (3.23 inches) on September 25.

 

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