Tuesday, January 12, 2010

2009 Year In Review

Monthly Summaries

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Temperature


Maximum Temperature:  97° on 6/17, 6/19, 6/21, and 6/22

Minimum Temperature:  -4° on 1/15

Coldest Month:  January | 27.0° mean temp

Warmest Month:  June | 77.4° mean temp


Coldest than average month:  October | -5.2° mean temp departure

Warmest than avg month:  November | +7.6° mean temp departure

Looking at the above yearly temperature graph, I made an interesting realization.  It seems, this year at least, that there is much more temperature variability in the winter and spring months (sorry there's no X axis labels...couldn't figure that one out).  The temps really flatten out in the middle of the year, from late spring to early fall. 

Precipitation

Average Yearly Precipitation:  41.22"
2009 Precipitation Total:  58.22"
2009 Precipitation Deviation:  +17.00"



What a year for precipitation.  2008 and 2009 was the wettest two-year period for the area, as noted by state climatologist Anthony Lupo.  We had 10 months that exceeded the monthly precipitation average.  On the flip side, we were very lacking in the snow department.  Only 8.8" fell in the entire year!  14.5" below average.  It was not a fun start to the year...just cold and dry.  December gave us the only month with above-average snowfall.




For two years in a row, we haven't had any droughts to speak of, which is not common in this area.  Usually, we will experience a bad drought at least once a year.  I'm afraid of what may come next year.

I was excited for this last graphic.  The "Days With Precipitation" graph tells you what kinds of rain/precipitation events we experience here in Fulton. 




Total Days with Measurable Precipitation:   127  (34.8% of year)

Total Days with Precipitation (T or more):  158 (43.3% of year)

I'm excited to be able to compare this with each year as we will inevitably have a drier year this year.

Other Data

Days with thunder (from March to December):  45

Stormiest Month:  June (11 days)...also the warmest month

Windiest Month (no data Jan/Feb):  March and April

I'm working on a graphic depicting each wind event we had here at the station.  So check back for that later.  I'm sure I have forgotten to add something, so some updates may be necessary. 

7 comments:

Josh Herman said...

WxWatcher, this is fantastic! Nice work on the yearly summary. You've given me a bench mark to work towards. I'll get my yearly summary together and we can compare worlds.

Right off the top, I know you get 3x more t-storms than me. :)

WxWatcher said...

:o) I was hoping you would. I think it would be revealing to compare yearly data. I'd love to get a blogger from the deep south to join in, too.

Sorry no pictures from the Jan. 6-7 snow storm. I can't for the life of me find my USB cord for the camera!

Anonymous said...

This is awesome! How long did it take you?

I'll be able to do the same things this year! ;)

WxWatcher said...

Awesome, Chris! I look forward to comparing our three reports this time next year.

It didn't take that long to compile all the data. I had been creating Excel spreadsheets and graphs throughout the year, so when the end of the year came, it was just a matter of transferring the data to the blog. It takes some time to get the spreadsheets going, but once it's in place the process is quite smooth.

Josh Herman said...

WxWatcher, you can go to your local computer store and get a SD card reader that is USB for less than $20. :)

WxWatcher said...

Great, thanks for the info. I must get one. I'd really like to put more weather pics on my posts this year.

BTW...how do you post videos on here?

Josh Herman said...

WxWatcher, there is an option to post videos on the Edit Post page. You have to conform to the allowed formats though.

Getting back to analyzing our data. The graphs look similar in form. The cool July and warm Nov really stands out for both of us. Also, the amount of days you had above 80 is considerably more often than me. Our max/min temps for the year basically came on the same days. Which makes sense as our region shares most extreme weather conditions. As far as precip, it's evident you are in a river basin of mass proportions. Your average annual precip out does mine by almost 10" and this past year almost 30" more precip fell in your backyard than mine. What I find critical in contribution to our extreme precip deviation is the amount of days you had an inch or more of precip. 15 to 2.

FUN. And I've already pointed out earlier in this comment section that you out thunderstormed me 3 to 1. :)

Great report!