Wet start to August 2009

Already Above Average Precipitation for August

by: Jerilyn Billings & Stephanie Dunten

Rainfall Totals from 7am Saturday August 15th through 7am Thursday August 20th.

August 2009 has been a wet one so far, with 3.81 inches of rain measured at the Mid-Continent Airport through midnight on August 20th. The average monthly rainfall for August at the airport is 2.94 inches. Although we are just under 2/3 rds of the way through with the month we are already 0.87 inches above normal. For more climate information click here.

Some Rainfall Totals (inches) for this period include:

Salina 1.81

Hutchinson 1.13

Wichita Jabara Airport 2.67

Wichita Mid-Continent Airport 3.81

Chanute 4.18

Parsons 5.10

Coffeyville 4.73

Newton 1.81

Some COOP Observer Rainfall Totals (inches)

Albert 1.60	Caldwell 5.56	Downtown Chanute 3.64
Barnard 1.94	Cambridge 3.98	Erie 6.75
Chase 2.26	Conway Springs 2.80	Fredonia 4.71
Ellinwood 1.99	Hesston 2.01	Humboldt 2.19
Lincoln 1.40	Hillsboro 1.30	Independence 5.10
Luray 2.46	Inman 0.34	Iola Water Plant 2.32
McPherson 1.27	Peck 2.40	Madison 3.57
Sylvian Grove 1.73	Wellington 2.94	Mound Valley 5.53
Wilson Lake 1.85	Winfield 4.62	Oswego 4.58
Anthony 4.50	Altamont 4.66	Parsons 5.30
Argonia 2.94	Bartlett 4.25	Sedan 2.78
Arkansas City 3.83	Big Hill Lake 6.52	Thrall 2.33
Beaumont 2.72	Chautauqua 2.02

Normals

Through August 21st, Wichita's Mid-Contienial Airport has reached a total of 3.81 inches of precipitation. This is 1.87 inches above normal, which is 1.94 inches. In Salina, the total amount of precipitation that has fallen through August 21st is 3.60 inches. Normal for this time of year is 2.50 inches of precipitation. This is 1.10 inches above normal. Finally in Chanute, the monthly total through August 21st is 5.02 inches. This is 2.36 inches above normal which for this time of year is 2.66 inches.

Normal for metoeorologist is defined as the average value of a weather variable over any fixed period of years. Looking at the figures below we can see how close and/or how far the area is from normal.

	This is an image from the AHPS page that is displaying the observed amount of precipitation from Aug 1st through August 21. Here you can see that South Central Kansas has had the most amount if precipitation so far this month. There are estimates of up to 6 inches of precipitation.
	This image shows how many inches from normal the area is from August 1st through the 21st. It seems that there are some estimates for South East Kansas that are 5-8 inches above normal in precipitaion. In Central Kansas, it seems that the area is between 0-2 inches above normal, while in some small areas it just at or an inche below normal.
	This images shows the percent of normal precipitation from August 1st through the 21st. It seems that most of the area is in-between 150-300% above normal. Yet, in South East Kansas, some areas are up to 400-600% above normal, while in Central Kansas some areas are only 50- 110 % above normal.