Summit County Citizens Voice

September is the third-driest month of the year in Summit County

August brought surplus rain to Breckenridge, a slight deficit in Dillon, totaling nearly average for the year to-date.

SUMMIT COUNTY — August brought a precipitation surplus to Breckenridge, with 3.07 inches of rain, about 35 percent above the average. The monthly rainfall also brought the seasonal total to within .01 inches of average for the year to date, with just one month left in the hydrological year.

October, May and August were the wet months that helped boost moisture totals in the area, according to Rick Bly, who tallies the daily and monthly stats for the National Weather Service. The 2010 year-to-date total is 18.86 inches, the historic average, based on records going back more than 100 years, is 18.87 inches.

At Dillon, the rain gauge at the Denver Water office told a different story, with the monthly rainfall total of 1.63 inches just a shade below the historic average for the month, 1.77 inches.

September is the third-driest month of the year, averaging 1.47 inches of moisture. That includes 4 inches of snow on average, although there have been many Septembers without any of the white stuff. But it can dump big-time in September. In 1961, the month brought 53 inches of snow.

In 1892, there was no measurable precipitation, and the second-driest September on record was 1979, on Bly’s watch, with .31 inches.

At Dillon, the rainfall also came early in the month, with 1.31 inches falling before Aug. 14, then another burst of nearly a quarter inch of rain on Aug. 29 — the monsoon’s last gasp.

The average daily high for the month was 73.2, .8 degrees warmer than the historic average (72.5 degrees). The average daily low was 38 degrees, a full 2 degrees warmer than the historic average. It dipped below freezing only once (Aug. 13), but came close several other times, dipping into the low 30s on Aug 14 and 17, then several more times during the end of the month.

The first day of the August was the warmest, at 80 degrees. The last day of the month was the coldest, as far as high temperature, reaching only 65 degrees. Only four days didn’t crack the 70 degree mark.

Average September temperatures dip dramatically, even below June levels. The average daily high is 66.2 degrees and the average daily low is well below freezing, at 28.7 degrees, a sign of shorter days and clear, dry nights. Record low temperatures in September can dip into the low teens or single-digits any night of the months — in fact, the National Weather Service has issued a frost warning for low-lying areas in the Yampa Valley.

Filed under: climate and weather, Summit County Colorado, Summit County snow and weather Tagged: | August weather statistics, Breckenridge Colorado, National Weather Service, Precipitation (meteorology), snow, Summit, Summit County August precipitation, Summit County Colorado, Summit County News, Summit County September snow, Summit County snow and weather