What is it with September?

The heavy rainfall event this week had me wondering, what is it about September that brings flooding rainfall to southcentral Kansas. It was almost one year ago to the date that record rainfall occurred in Wichita and surrounding areas. I'm posting graphics from the National Weather Service of the rainfall reports from last year and from this latest event (the one on the left is from 2009). You'll clearly be able to see that last year's event affected many people, whereas this year, it seemed to be a little more isolated. Last years big rain was driven by the remnants of a tropical system that collided with a stationary front. This year, it was a system that was much smaller. Even if you didn't have 8 inches of rain, most would agree, drier weather would be a good thing for us in Kansas as farmers get ready to plant the 2010 wheat crop. And, it is impossible to do that when water is standing in the field.

On another note, the Kansas State Fair is underway in Hutch. I mentioned in my last entry, my days will be Monday and Friday (the last Friday of the fair) and I'll most likely be up there until 7 or 7:30 in the evening. Come by and watch us do weather from the fair and yes, Millie will be with me. Pets aren't normally allowed on the fairgrounds, but they have made a special exception for us to have Millie there. Hope to see you there and hopefully, it won't rain.