September Weather Stats

Some interesting weather stats for September.  If you take away the first 3 days of 100 degree temperatures, the average temperature for the month would have been well over 5 degrees below normal. 

15 days over 100 this year is the most since 1980 when we had 18 days.  2006 and 2007 had 6 days over 100 which are the next closest number of days since 2000.
63 days over 90 is 3 less than 2010's 66 days.
We had 58 days over 90 during June/August which is 6th all-time

We had the 33rd wettest June/Aug period.
2nd wettest April-June   21.14"
4th wettest April-July    24.05
15th wettest April-Aug  25.09

Wet conditions in the spring and early summer lead to some potentially weakened green root systems.  Water replaces oxygen in the soil which reduces the overall health of the plant  A very hot early June with wet root systems and soil temperatures beginning to elevate quicker than normal  begins to slow the growth of the roots.  Storage reserves are reduced in the plants because of higher than normal soil temperatures which signals the roots to begin to utilize energy and not grow any further.  A reduction in storage reserves leads to energy depletion during the worst heat and stress of the summer.  All-time record highs for the summer add more punishment to an all ready weakened green system which in turn leads to some of the damage that we experienced this summer. 

Lack of air movement(fans), no green drainage systems, spring preparations hurt by heavy rainfall and placing the most important tournament of the season in the middle of the most stressful time of the year all contribute to some of the damage that we experienced this season.  No doubt that water management always plays a role in some turf loss.  Not enough at the proper time or sometimes too much at other times.  Once a area begins to dry down, it can take up to two days to get adequate moisture back in an area to calm it down or reduce the damage.     

September Temperature and Rainfall

TEMPERATURES
                                  Observed   Normal    Diff    Last Years
                                     Value        Value                  Value

AVG. MAXIMUM   77.4          80.2        -2.8          81.2


AVG. MINIMUM     58.0          60.6        -2.6          61.4

MEAN                        67.7          70.4        -2.7          71.3


PRECIPITATION      3.18"        3.13"      0.05"          3.7"

5 Days over 90
3 Days over 100