Temperatures across Georgia in September were slightly below normal for most of the state. Precipitation varied more across the region but most areas reported less than normal except along in the far southeast. The precipitation was scarce early in the month but rain was much more plentiful during the last week, resulting in a reduction in drought.
Temperatures across the state were seasonal compared to most areas of the country, which were well above normal. In Atlanta, the monthly average temperature was 73.5 degrees F (0.0 degrees above normal), in Athens 73.3 degrees (0.0 degrees above normal), Columbus 75.5 (1.1 degrees below normal), Macon 74.5 (0.5 below normal), Savannah 77.2 (0.3 above normal), Brunswick 77.6 (0.5 below normal), Alma 76.9 (0.2 below normal), Augusta 75.3 (0.7 above normal), Albany 77.5 (0.2 below normal), Rome 73.1 (1.1 above normal), and Valdosta 77.5 (0.1 degrees above normal).
Two temperature records were broken in September. Macon and Alma set new record lows of 49 F and 54 F, respectively, on September 14, breaking the old records of 51 F and 55 F set in 1996.
The highest monthly total precipitation from National Weather Service reporting stations was 8.84 inches in Brunswick (3.08 inches above normal) and the lowest was in Columbus at 1.92 inches (1.14 inches below normal). Atlanta received 3.93 inches (0.54 below normal), Athens received 3.48 inches (0.46 inches below normal), Macon 2.09 inches (1.50 below normal), Savannah 2.89 inches (1.69 below normal), Augusta 4.05 inches (0.83 above normal), Alma 5.02 inches (1.38 above normal), Albany 3.87 inches (0.43 above normal), Rome 3.03 inches (0.38 below normal), and Valdosta 3.21 inches (1.43 inches below normal).
No rainfall records were set in September.
The highest single-day rainfall from CoCoRaHS stations was 3.41 inches near St. Marys in Camden County on September 17, followed by 3.23 inches near Fayetteville in Fayette County on September 11. The highest monthly total rainfall was 11.19 inches, observed near St. Simons in Glynn County. The St. Marys observer listed above had 9.21 inches in September.
Severe weather was observed on just five days during the month, all due to hail or strong winds.
Dry conditions early in the month increased pest pressure on some crops but allowed harvesting of corn and other crops to make good progress. Increased rain at the end of the month reduced drought levels but caused problems for farmers that wanted to harvest peanuts and other crops. The rain did improve forage conditions for livestock producers.
Rainy conditions at the end of the month also forced the closure of the last day of the TomorrowWorld music festival about 30 miles southwest of Atlanta on September 27. The rain caused problems with festival parking, shuttle services and camping and made it difficult for ticket-holders to get to the venue. The festival was expected to bring in approximately 180,000 visitors paying $145 per ticket for the Sunday event in Chattahoochee Hills. Many attendees on Saturday, by some estimates up to 10,000 people, were stranded after the concert organizers stopped allowing cabs and shuttles into the area due to rain and saturated soils causing many vehicles to get stuck in the mud, forcing people to walk long distances to find other transportation. The third day of the concert was accessible only to about 40,000 people who were already camping onsite.
Extremely high tides at the end of the month coupled with onshore flow from Hurricane Joaquin caused coastal flooding of low-lying areas. Highway 80 from Savannah to Tybee Island was closed due to salt water flooding for a time and many other areas reported nuisance flooding in low-lying areas.
For more information please see the “Climate and Agriculture” blog at https://site.extension.uga.edu/climate/ or visit our new web page at https://www.gaclimate.org. Please feel free to email your weather and climate impacts on agriculture to share on the blog to pknox@uga.edu.
