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Thursday, July 24, 2014

Still Wet in Bettles

On Monday I noted that Bettles had seen measurable rainfall on 13 of the past 14 days, and including today's heavy rain showers this is now up to 17 of the past 18 days.  Rain has fallen on the past 14 days in a row, which is close to record territory; the warm-season record for consecutive days of measurable precipitation is 16 days (ending September 8, 2012).  The most remarkable aspect of the pattern may be the frequency with which the rain has been relatively heavy; 17 days since June 1st have seen rainfall of at least 0.25 inches, compared to a record of 11 days in the period June 1 - July 23, 1984.

The chart below shows the daily precipitation and high and low temperatures since May 1 in Bettles; it hasn't been much of a summer.  The lack of warm nights is quite notable: only 5 days have had daily minima above 50 °F, which is just about a record low pace through this date.

It goes without saying that all of this is an extraordinary turn-around from last summer's heat and dryness. Posted by Richard James at 5:33 PM Upper Chena River Valley, March 2009