National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

For many locations in south central Nebraska and north central Kansas, October 2008 will go down in the climatological history books as the wettest October on record. Here are some of the highlights:  

  • Minden received 11.64" of precipitation. The previous record was 7.34" in 1897.
  • Kearney and Hastings both broke October precipitation records.

  • Grand Island experienced the 2nd wettest October on record.

  • There were no less than nine locations in south central Nebraska and north central Kansas which measured over 7" of precipitation for the month.

  • Aurora received 7.18" of rain. This is two years in a row Aurora measured over 7"  of rain in October. Last year, a record 8.62" of rain was measured.  In fact, three of wettest Octobers on record have occurred in the last seven years at Aurora.

  • The station located 4 miles north of St. Paul received 6.72" of rain, which was a new record. The old record of 5.46" was set just last year.

In several cases, 2008 surpassed records dating back to 1897. Many, though not all, October precipitation records were set in 1897, 1946 or 2002.  The following table provides a list of preliminary October 2008 precipitation data as compared to the all-time records. The data is considered preliminary until being quality controlled by the National Climatic Data Center. Though not "official" data yet, the data does provide an early look at just how October 2008 shaped up precipitation-wise.
 

City 2008 Precipitation 2008 Rank

Record October Precipitation
(through 2007)

Year Records Began
Minden, NE 11.64" 1st 7.34" in 1897 1893
Kearney, NE 9.36" 1st 6.30" in 1946 1894
Smith Center, KS 8.53" 1st 5.54" in 1959 1910
Clay Center 8.52" 1st 5.47" in 2002 1971
Franklin, NE 8.42" 1st 5.42" in 2002 1990
Holdrege 8.25" 1st 6.81 in 1946 1894
Beaver City, NE 7.62" Tied 1st 7.62" in 1946 1893
York, NE 7.31" 1st 6.02" in 1928 1893
6 NNW Oxford, NE 7.27" 1st 4.22" in 1997 1993
Aurora, NE 7.18" 2nd 8.62" in 2007 1902
Alton, KS 7.05" 1st 4.26" in 1986 1902
4 N St. Paul, NE 6.86" 1st 5.46" in 2007 1895
Wilsonville, NE 6.81" 1st 6.74" in 1941 1894
Fullerton, NE 6.72" 1st 5.19" in 1968 1901
Mankato, KS 6.62" 2nd 6.79" in 1959 1958
Osceola, NE 6.61" 1st 5.63" in 1968 1895
Plainville, KS 6.41" 1st 4.26" in 1969 1904
Hebron, NE 6.31" 3rd 6.94" in 2002 1893
Cawker City, KS 6.23" 1st 5.90" in 1941 1913
Hastings, NE 6.16" 1st 5.82" in 1897 1894
Loup City, NE 6.09" 1st 5.76" in 1897 1894
Greeley, NE 6.00" 2nd 6.87" in 1904 1895
Beloit, KS 5.99" 1st 5.52" in 1897 1893
Grand Island, NE 5.99" 2nd 6.10" in 1897 1895
Farimont, NE 5.88" 4th 5.97" in 1986 1894
Ord, NE 5.82" 1st 4.64" in 1984 1977
Superior, NE 5.64" 1st 5.72" in 2002 1893
Ionia, KS 5.49" 2nd 5.87" in 1959 1948
Arcadia, NE 5.34" 2nd 6.46" in 1946 1900

 

 For more climate related information, check out the following websites: