It was another month headlined with natural disasters as hurricane season carried on and fires continued to burn acres upon acres.
Colorado, California, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho all had large fires ongoing at some point in September. The atmospheric set-up spread the smoke from these fires thousands of miles east as well.
During September, the 2020 hurricane season was already record setting for named storms. To put that in perspective, the official hurricane season goes until Nov. 30, but based on climatology the peak season is usually from mid-August through October. We will have to see what the remainder of the hurricane season has in store.
While tropical storms and hurricanes dropped heavy rain in some areas during September, others were left dry. This did allow some to gain progress for harvest but meant continued drought concerns in several areas of the central Plains.
Some record highs were also noted toward the middle of the month in parts of Texas. Another notable record was unseasonably warm overnight lows as well. Houston’s Hobby Airport had a low of 80 degrees Fahrenheit on Sept. 16. According to records, this was the 37th day for 2020 of overnight lows at 80 degrees or warmer which breaks the previous record of 22 days at that location set in 2017.
For October, expect warmth to persist with above seasonal temperatures forecast for the month for most of the United States. Temperatures are actually supposed to stay that way for the next three months.
Unfortunately, precipitation will likely fall short of seasonal averages from Nebraska into Texas through October.
Looking further out, moisture will likely stay below average the next few months for most of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
This lack of precipitation will only add more stress to drought-stricken areas.
As expected, La Niña conditions have developed as reflected in specific oceanic and atmospheric conditions. These conditions are forecast to remain into winter.
I’m always keeping an eye to the sky (and the weather patterns), so watch for next month’s update.
Editor’s note: Regina Bird grew up on a farm near Belleville, Kansas. The views from the farm helped spur her interest in weather. Following high school, she went on to get a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from the University of Kansas. She currently works as a meteorologist for NTV and KFXL in central Nebraska. Follow her on Twitter: @ReginaBirdWX.
