Meteorological Fall 2017 Climate Summary (September 1 – November 30): Temperatures averaged above normal for this 3 month period. The warmest month, in regard to departure from normal, was October. However, all 3 months finished above normal at all 3 of our official climate stations.
The fall season was abnormally dry for much of the region. Seasonal rainfall deficits were upwards of 4 to 8 inches over most of southeast Missouri. Cape Girardeau, MO recorded their 4th driest Fall on record, only recording 50% of their normal rainfall. The dry conditions were present in southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, and the Jackson Purchase area of western Kentucky as well, but deficits in most of these areas weren’t as extreme as further to the west. The exception to the dry weather was across much of the Pennyrile region of western Kentucky. This was largely due to tropical rainfall associated with the remnants of Hurricane Harvey on the 1st of September and the remnants of Hurricane Nate in early October. The remnants of Hurricane Irma also affected the region in mid September, but rainfall totals were lower with this tropical system. The highest reported seasonal total was at the Kentucky Mesonet Station in Muhlenberg County north of Greenville which observed 20.80”! On the other side of the forecast area, many locations in the Ozark Foothills of southeast Missouri received less than 4 inches of rain, including Poplar Bluff, where the airport only recorded 3.97” for the entire season! This lead to the development of moderate to severe drought by the end of November.
The graphic below is an interpolated rainfall map using actual observations. Please note that there are likely discrepancies in between observations, since the values are estimated based on nearest reports.
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| Fall 2017 Review: Precipitation and Temperature Maps (CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE) |
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| Climate Maps are from the Northeast Regional Climate Center |
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