August was a record breaker

My goodness, August really brought the rain. SO, how much rain you ask? What we received exceeded all of the past six years for August.

Our combined past six years for August brought a total of 1.29 inches. Now, let’s compare the totals for August 2014 – my home weather station received 1.55 inches, and the Grand Coulee Dam weather site got 1.76 inches. The mean for August is 0.41 inches, with an all-time 1.75 inches in 1941.

Do you see a new record? I certainly did, and the National Weather Service office in Spokane confirmed it too. One side note: the Grand Coulee Dam weather site is not considered an “official” weather site by the National Weather Service. Maybe it’s time our community establish an official weather site for our region!

We had just one day that exceeded the 100°F mark, and it was on Aug. 5. We had 13 days that exceeded the 90°F mark. The mean temperature for August is 71.9°F, and for 2014 we had a mean of 74.1°F. The all-time low was in 1951 at 38°F. Our low for the month of August was 53.5°F.

We all recall the recent major dust storms, or “haboobs,” we had here in the Coulee. One approached from the southwest and the last one came in from the southeast. I thought I would give some background on the name haboob. The name is derived from an Arabic word habb, meaning “wind.” The name got its genesis from the fierce dust storms of the Sahara Desert. It has been used officially by weather personnel around the world for over 60 years. There are many official weather words that are derived from other languages and cultures. I’ll save that for another column. Haboobs occur around the planet where dry landscapes are found, like ours. The Southwest United States is a common place for occurrences. During the Dust Bowl era, these massive dust storms were very common, though the word haboob wasn’t used then.

Haboobs are created by severe thunderstorms and the down drafts that exist within those storms. When the cool air is forced down and pushed forward by the front of a fast traveling thunderstorm cell, all the dust and debris is dragged along and eventually dropped. Winds can exceed 60 mph, stirring up dust and sand and create a blowing wall that can be as high as 10,000 feet. Haboobs usually last up to about 30 minutes.

The September night sky provided viewing of five planets. Mars and Saturn were visible as soon as nightfall occured. They were seen in the Southwest sky. Venus and Jupiter both rise before the sun in the Eastern sky. But the most exciting night sky event occured on Sept. 8 and 9 when the Super Harvest Moon was visible. The full moon was on the ninth.