The latest monthly summary shows that while temperatures in the region were mostly cooler than normal, the lack of precipitation was quite noticeable in most of the region. I was surprised by how cool it was in some places, particularly because there was not a lot of rain and associated clouds to keep the temperatures below normal, but more air moved into the region from the north than often happens in September. Rainfall amounts were very low in many parts of the region. I don’t think the precipitation departure map really shows how bad it was, so I am showing the percent of normal rain in the map below. The majority of the region received less than 50% of normal rainfall, and there were some large areas that received less than 5% of the normal rain, including a large part of south central Georgia. Since September is often one of the drier months, that was especially distressing for farmers who were trying to finish their crops. No wonder the drought expanded so much this month!
