For the first time since October 2017, the area experienced above normal precipitation. To make the situation even better, temperatures were slightly below normal. The last time this combination was experienced here was a year ago, August 2017. August is only the third month this year with below normal temperatures, the other two being February and April.

he average daily high for August was 86.2, 2.7 degrees below normal. The average overnight low was 67.7, 2.1 degrees above normal. This gave us a monthly mean temperature of 77.0 degrees, three tenths of a degree below normal. The highest temperature for August was 97 degrees on the 5th. The coolest temperature for the month was the morning low of 57 on the 28th. The hottest August on record was in 2000 when we had a monthly mean temperature of 85. The coldest August on record was in 1981 when we had a chilly mean temperature of 71.5. That should have been a harbinger of things to come when the morning of September 19, 1981 the growing season came to a very premature halt with a morning low of 31! There was one temperature record set in August. The overnight low of 76 on the 27th broke the record high low temperature for that date. The previous record was 75 set in 1956 and also reached in 1977 and 2014.

After good rains in late July early August started off dry. But beginning in mid August we started to receive very timely rainfalls. The timing of these rains couldn’t have been better. While the corn crop was damaged beyond help by then, the grain sorghum and soybean crops were at a very critical growth stage and the rains kept hopes high for a good fall crop harvest. Normal August rainfall is 3.96 inches. Milford Lake received 5.03 and Junction City received 5.11 inches. Even with these good August rains the area is still below normal. Normal through the end of August is 24.68 inches. Milford Lake has received January through August rainfall of 15.63 inches and Junction City 17.91 inches. The wettest August on record was in 2013 when 10.33 inches saturated the region. The driest August was in 1971 when no measurable precipitation fell.

September is a month of change. Fall officially starts on the evening of September 22nd. Temperatures start dropping with daytime highs going from 87 on the 1st to 75 on the 30th. Overnight lows slide from 63 at the start of the month to 49 by the end of the month. While being a rare occurrence, frost isn’t out of the question. However, the average first frost of fall doesn’t occur until October 19th but can be as late as early November! Rainfall also continues to decline as we head into our drier winter months. Average daily rainfall for September is 3.28 inches.