NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

SEPTEMBER 2026

Aug. 30-Sep. 5: East of the Rockies, significant rainfall was scarce, except along and near the Gulf Coast and across the northern periphery of a strong ridge of high pressure. Short-lived Tropical Storm Edouard contributed to the rain in the Deep South, mainly across eastern Texas and parts of Louisiana. Meanwhile, Northern precipitation included locally severe thunderstorms, which spanned an area extending from the northern Plains into the northern and middle Atlantic States. However, negligible rain fell beneath the powerful ridge, which slightly shifted during the week but remained a dominant meteorological feature from the central and southern Plains into the Southeast, extending as far north as the southern Corn Belt.

In the Ohio Valley, the wettest August on record wound down in locations such as Charleston, WV (10.92 inches), and Zanesville, OH (10.77 inches). Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Edouard formed late August 31 just south of the Louisiana coastline. Edouard strengthened prior to landfall the next day, with sustained winds near 60 mph upon reaching the Gulf Coast at 2:20 pm CDT near Johnson Bayou, LA, just east of the Texas-Louisiana state line. An official northerly wind gust to 69 mph was clocked in Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX, while several gusts ranging from 60 to 90 mph were reported in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana. Edouard was a tiny storm but an efficient rain producer, with a small area in eastern Texas receiving more than a foot of rain. By the middle of the week, a Western pattern change delivered much-needed precipitation across the Northwest. Record-setting precipitation totals for September 2 included 2.04 inches in Crescent City, CA; 0.80 inch in Medford, OR; and 0.65 inch in Kalispell, MT. September 3 featured daily records of 0.94 inch in North Bend, OR; 0.68 inch in Lewiston, ID; and 0.50 inch in Redding, CA. Meanwhile, thunderstorms arced across the North, resulting in daily-record totals in Massena, NY (3.17 inches on the 2nd); Buffalo, NY (3.04 inches on the 3rd); Pittsburgh, PA (2.19 inches on the 3rd); and Mitchell, SD (3.77 inches on the 5th). On September 5, Alliance, NE, collected a daily record rainfall of 1.52 inches and reported a thunderstorm-related wind gust to 65 mph. One of the week’s most impressive and widespread outbreaks of severe weather occurred on September 3, stretching from North Dakota to the middle Atlantic Coast; official wind gusts included 65 mph in Lansing, MI; 64 mph in Washington, DC; 62 mph in Wheeling, WV; and 57 mph in Fargo, ND, and Toledo, OH. Showers also dotted Florida, where Fort Lauderdale collected a record-setting sum (2.37 inches) for September 4. During the first 5 days of September, Fort Lauderdale received rainfall totaling 4.98 inches. Cool, often stormy weather prevailed across the Alaskan mainland, while somewhat milder, drier conditions covered the state’s southern tier. Nome netted a daily-record rainfall (1.01 inches) on September 3, followed the next day by daily records in McGrath (0.86 inch) and Fairbanks (0.80 inch). During the first 5 days of September, rainfall totaled 1.41 inches in McGrath and 1.11 inches in Fairbanks

Meanwhile in southeastern Alaska, September 1-5 rainfall totaled less than 0.05 inch in Sitka and Yakutat. Elsewhere in southern Alaska, daily-record highs for September 4 included 71°F in Kodiak and 68°F in Cold Bay. Farther south, Hurricane Lowell passed several hundred miles south of the Hawaiian Islands but began to veer northward and slowly weaken during the weekend of September 5-6. Lowell twice achieved Category 5 status—on September 2 and 4—with sustained winds near 160 mph. More details on Lowell’s passage just west of Kauai and Niihau, which occurred on the night of September 7-8, will appear next week. Meanwhile, early-September showers were locally heavy in Hawaii’s windward locations, with Hilo, on the Big Island, receiving 2.44 inches during the first 5 days of September.

6-12: Record-setting rainfall totals for September 6 in California included 1.30 inches in Burbank, 0.70 inches in downtown Los Angeles, and 0.68 inches in Long Beach. A day later in Montana, record-setting precipitation totals for the 7th topped an inch in Kalispell (1.17 inches) and Cut Bank (1.14 inches). Minot, ND, also measured a daily-record sum (1.02 inches) for September 7. Midwestern downpours developed on September 8, when Des Moines, IA (3.77 inches), weathered its wettest September day since 1961, when 4.42 inches fell on the 12th. Other daily-record totals across the Midwest and South included 3.87 inches (on the 10th) in New Orleans, LA; 3.46 inches (on the 11th) in Russellville, AR; 3.11 inches (on the 9th) in Brooksville, FL; 2.71 inches (on the 11th) in Mount Ida, AR; 2.53 inches (on the 12th) in Crossville, TN; 2.35 inches (on the 12th) in Richmond, VA; and 2.07 inches (on the 10th) in Evansville, IN. At week’s end, showery weather returned across the Northwest, where Washington locations such as Yakima (0.81 inch) and Ellensburg (0.31 inch) netted daily-record totals for September 12. Ellensburg achieved another daily-record total (1.00 inch) on September 13. Much of Alaska settled into a mild, showery pattern. On the Arctic Coast, Utqiagvik experienced its third-wettest September day, with a rainfall total of 0.59 inches on the 10th. Utqiagvik’s only wetter September days occurred in 2021 (0.68 on the 16th) and 2003 (0.62 on the 9th). Elsewhere, September 1-12 rainfall totaled 2.47 inches in Fairbanks and 2.03 inches in Nome. In southeastern Alaska, precipitation on September 8-9—totaling 1.74 inches in Ketchikan and 2.84 inches in Sitka—eased previously dry conditions.

Farther south, Hurricane Lowell made its closest approach to Kauai—about 90 miles to the west, while moving northward at nearly 20 mph—late September 7. At that time, sustained winds were estimated near 110 mph. On Kauai, a wind gust to 83 mph was clocked in Lihue on the 7th, during Lowell’s approach, while rainfall totaled 1.85 inches. Parts of Kauai experienced wind damage, flash flooding, and a storm surge. Several 24-hour (September 7-8) rainfall totals ranging from 12 to 18 inches or more were observed on Kauai, with 17.33 inches reported at Kilohana. Islands east of Kauai escaped significant impacts, although wind gusts on the 7th were clocked to 50 mph in Honolulu, Oahu, and 46 mph in Kahului, Maui.

13-19: Moisture continued to wrap clockwise around a stubborn ridge of high pressure parked over the mid-South, leading to significant rainfall from portions of the Four Corners States into the Midwest. Excessive rain, locally 4 inches or more, soaked parts of the Corn Belt, excluding the region’s southern tier.

As the week began, heavy rain soaked portions of the northern Atlantic Coast, where record-setting totals for September 13 included 4.25 inches in Bridgeport, CT, and 3.06 inches in Islip, NY. Early-week rain also fell in parts of the Southwest and Pacific Northwest, leading to daily-record amounts for the 13th in Douglas, AZ (1.09 inches), and Ellensburg, WA (1.00 inch). Meanwhile across the central Plains and the Midwest, measurable rain fell on as many as 4 to 7 days during the week, with daily-record totals exceeding 2 inches on September 15 in Des Moines, IA (2.19 inches), and Wichita, KS (2.01 inches). Record-setting rainfall totals for September 17 were set in Dubuque, IA (2.32 inches), and Fort Wayne, IN (2.01 inches). In the upper Midwest, totals topped the 2-inch mark and set daily records for September 18 in Rochester, MN (2.35 inches); La Crosse, WI (2.20 inches); and Huron, SD (2.03 inches). Another wave of rain on September 19 led to daily record totals in Rockford, IL (2.63 inches), and Holland, MI (2.32 inches). Iowa communities reporting weekly rainfall exceeding 4 inches included Dubuque (7.42 inches), Des Moines (4.39 inches), and Waterloo (4.02 inches). Elsewhere, September 13-19 rainfall also topped the 4-inch mark in Midwestern locations such as La Crosse (5.21 inches) and Rockford (4.24 inches). By September 18, the Wabash River at Linn Grove, IN, set a crest record, topping the July 2003 high-water mark by 0.10 foot. Much later, on September 22, the Wapsipinicon River near DeWitt, IA, crested just 1.22 feet below the July 2014 record crest. Elsewhere, late-week downpours drenched parts of the northern Plains, with wet snow falling at higher elevations of the adjacent Rockies. With 2.93 inches of precipitation on September 18-19, Billings, MT, set a monthly record for 2-day rainfall, previously set with 2.20 inches on September 12 13, 1966. In stark contrast, Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), TX, reported no measurable rain from July 16–September 20, 67 days. DFW’s dry spell ended with rainfall totaling 0.01 inches on September 21.

. Significant precipitation accompanied mostly near- or above-normal temperatures in Alaska, with cool conditions limited to portions of the Arctic Coast. Daily-record rainfall totals were set in several Alaskan locations, including Sitka (1.83 inches on September 19), St. Paul Island (1.25 inches on September 14), Anchorage (1.16 inches on September 15), and Fairbanks (0.46 inches on September 15). Ketchikan also received significant rain on September 19, netting 3.52 inches—not a record for the date. Some of the storminess was accompanied by high winds, as gusts were clocked to 67 mph (on the 15th) in Bethel and 64 mph (on the 14th) on St. Paul Island. Farther south, Hawaii experienced a typically quiet week, although gusty trade winds affected some windward locations. For example, Kahului, Maui, clocked a gust to 49 mph on September 19. On the Big Island, Hilo’s month-to-date rainfall through the 19th climbed to 8.86 inches, 161 percent of normal.

20-26: Significant rain occurred in parts of the country, while other areas remained dry. The most consequential stripe of rain (locally 2 to 4 inches or more) stretched from southern sections of the Rockies and High Plains into the upper Midwest. Rain also dampened parts of the East, as a disturbance initially traversed the region before helping to initiate the development of a sprawling and powerful Atlantic coastal storm. The late-week “nor’easter,” which spun off the middle Atlantic Coast before veering into New Jersey, produced at least 2 to 6 inches of rain from Delaware to southern New England, but also resulted in high winds and tidal flooding, leading to extensive beach erosion. Meanwhile, showers grazed the Pacific Northwest but remained mostly west of the northern Cascades. 

The disturbance that would contribute to the late-week formation of an Atlantic coastal storm produced Midwestern and Eastern showers during the early- to mid-week period. On September 20, daily-record rainfall totals included 1.71 inches in South Bend, IN, and 1.59 inches in Charleston, WV. Other daily-record amounts in West Virginia reached 1.10 inches (on the 21st) in Clarksburg and 2.05 inches (on the 22nd) in Beckley. Charleston, WV, netted another daily-record sum on September 23, when 1.40 inches fell. A separate area of heavy showers extended northeastward from southern sections of the Rockies and High Plains, reaching into western sections of the Corn Belt. September 23 was a particularly wet day, with daily-record totals ranging from 1 to 3 inches in Dalhart, TX (2.66 inches); Dickinson, ND (1.78 inches); Nogales, AZ (1.52 inches); and El Paso, TX (1.21 inches). In New Mexico, September 22-24 rainfall topped the 2-inch mark in Tucumcari (4.19 inches), Roswell (4.00 inches), Clayton (2.32 inches), and Raton (2.15 inches). Nearly three-quarters of Tucumcari’s rain, 3.04 inches, fell on September 23. Significant rain on the Plains persisted through September 24, when daily-record totals included 1.74 inches in Grand Island, NE, and 1.65 inches in Amarillo, TX. Late in the week, showers spread inland across the Pacific Northwest, where Bellingham, WA, collected a daily-record sum (1.18 inches) for September 25. Meanwhile, an intensifying coastal storm delivered heavy rain, high winds, and tidal flooding from the middle Atlantic Coast to southern New England. On Saturday morning, September 26, ocean water in Atlantic City, NJ, rose to its highest level (7.86 feet above mean lower low water, or MLLW, the average height of the lowest daily low tide) since Hurricane Sandy (8.76 feet) on October 29, 2012. Meanwhile, Delaware Bay at Lewes, DE, achieved its seventh-highest ocean level (8.27 feet MLLW); the most recent higher tidal surge (9.26 feet) occurred on January 23, 2016. Peak wind gusts on September 25 in New Jersey included 61 mph at Barnegat Light and 55 mph in Atlantic City.

Farther south, Hurricane Nolo made a late-week run toward the Big Island of Hawaii, moving within 145 miles of South Point on the night of September 25-26, before veering westward. In 48 hours ending early September 27 on the Big Island, rainfall totals topped a foot in locations such as Laupahoehoe (15.58 inches), Saddle Quarry (13.61 inches), and Glenwood (12.96 inches). Peak wind gusts on September 27, not directly related to the hurricane, gusted to 58 mph in Kahului, Maui, and 53 mph in Honolulu, Oahu.

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