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Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Happy New (Water) Year!

Happy New Year! And no, I'm not off my rocker and I'm not talking about the government's fiscal year, though that also starts today.

I'm talking about the Water Year! Many of you are scratching your heads right now thinking "what is he talking about?" With many thanks to Nolan Doesken at Colorado State University (he of CoCoRaHS fame), here is his explanation...

The water year is the best approximation of the consecutive 12 months thatn span the "water storage/water usage" hydrological cycle. The water year cycle is particularly obvious in the Rocky Mountains and western U.S. where snow begins to accumulate at high elevations in October and doesn’t melt until the next spring and summer.

Another way to think of the "Water Year" is the resting/replenishing season followed by the growing, harvesting and water-consuming season. As October begins, the summer growing season comes to an end. With the coming of colder weather, evapotranspiration shuts down. In the mountains and the northern states, snows begin to fall. For much of the country and especially the northern states, the months of October through March are months where precipitation from the sky exceeds evaporation from the ground. This means that soil moisture and ground water can recharge. Runoff that reaches the rivers and streams may increase (except in cold areas where the water remains frozen). Then, when next spring comes the temperatures rise again, plants come back to life, snow melts, rivers surge. Then evapotranspiration increases as plants begin to grow. By the summer months, evapotranspiration will once again exceed precipitation for most of the country. This means that soils dry out, river flow may decrease, and little or no water recharges aquifers. Drought becomes especially problematic when precipitation falls short of expectations during the spring and summer months. By next September, crops will be harvested, temperatures will again cool, and yet another water year will come to an end.

So there you go! Happy New (Water) Year!

1 comment:

  1. SEPTEMBER 2008`s RAINFALL TOTAL WAS 1.11 “ WHICH IS 2.65 “ BELOW NORMAL !

    WETTEST DAY WAS THE 4 th WITH 0.54 “

    BEMIS HAD 24 DRY ( 0.00 “ ) DAY`S IN SEPT . 2008 !

    THE WETTEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD IS 15.79 “ IN 2002 !

    IN 2002 THE WETTEST DAY WAS THE 26 th WITH 10.50 “

    THE DRIEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD IS 0.06 “ IN 1956 !

    IN 1956 THE WETTEST DAY WAS THE 1 st & 19 th WITH 0.03 “ EACH ! THERE WERE 28 DRY ( 0.00 “ ) DAY`S IN 1956 !

    SEPTEMBER 2008 IS THE 10 th DRIEST ON RECORD IN BEMIS , TN .

    SEPTEMBER 2008`s AVERAGE TEMP WAS 73.4* WHICH IS 1.2 * ABOVE NORMAL !

    THE AVERAGE LO WAS 62.4 *

    THE AVERAGE HI WAS 84.4 *

    THE HOTTEST HI WAS 95* ON THE 13 th !

    THE LOWEST HI WAS 71 * ON THE 15 th !

    THE WARMEST LO WAS 75 * ON THE 2 nd !

    THE COLDEST LO WAS 51 * ON THE 26 th & 29 th !

    THE HOTTEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD IS 77.9 * IN 1998 !

    THE COLDEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD IS 67.0 * IN 1974 !

    NORMAL AVERAGE TEMP FOR SEPTEMBER IS 72.2 *

    This is from my site. www.williamebrantley.wordpress.com - I hope it is handy on your site. Thank`s memphis weather.net.

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