Northern Minnesota's Coldest Temperature So Early in Season

Image (click to enlarge): Median date of first freezing temperature, from Midwestern Regional Climate Center, via National Weather Service

The low temperature of 19° this morning at International Falls, Minnesota was the coldest ever reported so early in the season and an all-time record low for September. The National Weather Service reports:

The low temperature at 7:06 am this morning at International Falls was 19 degrees. This breaks the record low for a September 15th, 24 degrees, set in 1964. This is the coldest temperature reported for so early in the season. This also marks the first time in station history that a temperature in the teens has been recorded in the month of September.

The low temperature at Embarrass also reached 19°. The low of 36° at Minneapolis tied the record for the date from 1964 and 2007. The 29° at Eau Claire broke the record of 30° from 2007. Other record lows included:

Rochester MN          31 
Prairie Du Chein WI   27
Viroqua WI            31  

The record lows follow a near-record streak of 80° days at Duluth ending Monday:

Today, September 12th, marks the 5th consecutive day of an 80 degree temperature at Duluth. Only two other stretches have been as long or longer than this in the month of September. Six consecutive days above 80 is the record set in 1906, September 5-10. The other 5 day string was in 1948 from September 1-5.

Dallas Breaks Annual 100° Day Record; Houston and Austin Extend Records

Image (click to enlarge): Number of 100° temperature days at Houston and elsewhere in southeastern Texas

5 PM CDT Update: The preliminary high temperature at Dallas was 107°, smashing the old daily record by 7°.

Also breaking a record by a wide margin was Houston, where the 102° high crushed the 99-year-old record of 98° from 1912. This year has now had both the earliest (June 5) and latest 102° temperatures in a calendar year at Houston. This is the 45th day of 100° temperatures at Houston, breaking the old record of 32 by almost 2 weeks.

The Austin high of 105° broke another long-standing record, exceeding the 100° in 1918. It was the 7th 100° day at Austin this month and the 84th this year, extending the record more than 2 weeks beyond the old record of 69. The record was broken on August 24.

Original post:
The Dallas temperature reached 101° at 1 pm CDT today, breaking the record for yearly number of days with 100° temperatures. The old record was 69 in 1980. This also breaks the old record high temperature for the date of 100° set in 1965. If the forecast high of 106° is reached, it will break the record by 6°.

This is also the 86th day of 100° or higher at Waco, exceeding the 1980 record of 63 days by over 3 weeks.

Lee's Leftovers Loosen Soggy Stranglehold on Mid Atlantic; Record Rain Relinquishes Reign

Image (click to enlarge): Mid Atlantic precipitation for 7 days ending 8 am EDT, Sept. 9, 2011, from National Weather Service

After drenching the Mid Atlantic region for most of the week, the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee have finally let up their relentlessly rainy reign. Although some flash flood warnings and watches as well as river flood warnings remain in effect, the heaviest rainfall has ended, leaving behind some record-breaking accumulations. Double-digit storm totals have been recorded across at least 10 states from Louisiana to New York. The highest amount appears to be 20.96" at a cooperative station near Colonial Beach, VA, but a plume of very heavy rainfall extended northward through the Susquehanna River watershed of Pennsylvania and New York.

In the immediate Washington/Baltimore area, official storm total rainfall reports include:

Washington National  6.47 
Washington Dulles    6.44
Ft. Belvoir         13.48 
Baltimore BWI        8.11
Baltimore Downtown   6.90 
Andrews AFB          9.06 
Patuxent River       2.13  

Selected reports of 10" or more as of 2 pm today from the National Weather Service include:

...ALABAMA...
FYFFE 6.3 NNE                       12.94                      
MOBILE 10.2 WSW                     12.93                      
ALBERTVILLE 4.8 WNW                 12.44                      
TILLMANS CORNER 4.3 WNW             11.74                      
GRAND BAY 0.6 NW                    11.32                      
ORANGE BEACH 3.0 ENE                10.50                      
FOLEY 2.0 SSW                       10.39       

  ...FLORIDA...
MILTON 1.4 NNE                      10.03       

...GEORGIA...
LA FAYETTE 2.9 NE                   11.01                      
RINGGOLD 5 W                        10.21 

...LOUISIANA...
HOLDEN                              15.43                      
N.O. CAROLLTON                      14.32                      
MAUREPAS                            13.63                      
PONCHATOULA 4 SE                    13.22                      
CONVENT 2 S                         13.04                      
WESTWEGO 1.8 NE                     13.03                      
RESERVE 0.5 SSE                     12.89                      
GRAY 0.5 ENE                        12.15                      
NEW ORLEANS/MOISANT                 11.00     

...MARYLAND...
WALDORF 3.6 SSE                     13.63                      
CROFTON 1.5 NNE                     11.85                      
ELLICOTT CITY 1.7 N                 11.36                      
CLARKSBURG                          10.60         

...MISSISSIPPI...
WAVELAND 1.1 NW                     14.11                      
FLORENCE 0.9 E                      13.45                      
SAUCIER 6.4 ESE                     11.75                      
GULFPORT 2.0 NE                     11.71                      
LONG BEACH 0.7 S                    11.59                      
PASS CHRISTIAN 5.0 N                11.31                      
RICHLAND 0.3 WSW                    11.25                      
PHILADELPHIA 5.4 E                  11.18                      
JACKSON WFO                         11.15                      
GULFPORT-BILOXI                     11.14                      
PASCAGOULA                          10.96     

...NEW YORK...
APALACHIN 3.0 SE                    11.83                      
ENDICOTT 5.2 SSE                    11.46                      
TIOGA TERRACE                       10.64                      
BINGHAMTON/BROOME                   10.09      

...PENNSYLVANIA...
ELIZABETHTOWN 1.1 NNE               15.58                      
PINE GROVE                          14.70                      
PAXTONIA 1.7 E                      13.95                      
HARRISBURG AIRPORT                  13.30                      
MUIR AAF/INDIANTOWN                 12.58                      
WILLIAMSPORT                        10.20          

...TENNESSEE...
CLEVELAND 3 ESE                     12.22                      
CHARLESTON                          11.50                      
CHATTANOOGA-LOVELL FIELD (ASOS)     10.28        

...VIRGINIA...
COLONIAL BEACH 1.2 SSE              20.96                      
WOODBRIDGE 0.5 SSW                  16.20                      
LORTON 1.2 NE                       15.09                      
FORT BELVOIR/DAVISON AFB            13.77                      
RESTON 2 N                          11.45                      
CHANTILLY 2 ESE                     10.18      

All-Time Daily Rainfall Record at Binghamton: Second in 2 Years

Image (click to enlarge): Binghamton region 24-hour precipitation ending 8 am EDT, Sept. 8, from National Weather Service

6 PM Update: As of 5 pm, an additional 1.41" of rain has fallen at Binghamton today, bringing the monthly total to 10.08" and the yearly total to 51.27". After slightly more than a week, this month's total is now the second highest all-time amount, behind the 11.45" in June 2006.

Original post:
After setting an all-time daily precipitation record just last September, Binghamton, New York has smashed that record by a wide margin with 7.49" yesterday (Sept. 7). Since the previous record was set in 2006, the 3 highest daily rainfall amounts at Binghamton have now occurred within the last 5 years. Climate records began in 1951 at the current airport location, but climate data in the city extend back to 1890. The record rainfall for any 24-hour period at the previous location was 4.55" in Sept. 1924.

The year-to-date total rainfall is also a new all-time annual record.

The National Weather Service report:

A RECORD RAINFALL OF 7.49 INCHES WAS SET AT THE BINGHAMTON REGIONAL
AIRPORT YESTERDAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD FOR SEPTEMBER 7TH OF
0.80 INCHES SET IN 1996.

THIS CALENDAR DAY RAINFALL ALSO SHATTERS THE RECORD FOR ANY DAY.
THE OLD RECORD WAS 4.24 INCHES ON SEPTEMBER 30TH IN 2010.

PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR NOW TOTALS 49.86 INCHES AS OF MIDNIGHT.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD FOR ANY YEAR OF 49.78 INCHES SET IN 2006.
NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR REST OF THE YEAR IS CLOSE TO 10 INCHES SO
THIS SHOULD BREAK THE RECORD BY MANY INCHES.  

Record River Flooding Forecast for Susquehanna Valley in PA, NY

Sept. 8, 4 PM Update: Added storm rainfall map.

Sept. 8, 2 PM Update: As of 2 pm, the river stage of 25.6 ft at Binghamton is above the old record. The current forecast crest is 26.2 ft.

Vestal is at 35.3 ft, which is over 1 foot above the old record, and the forecast crest is 36.9 ft.

The new forecast crest of 40.7 feet at Wilkes Barre is just 0.2 ft below the all-time record from storm Agnes in 1972.

Original post:
The record daily rainfall at Harrisburg on Wednesday was part of extremely heavy precipitation throughout the Susquehanna River watershed. As of midnight, the river depth of 16.4 ft. at Harrisburg was just below the flood stage of 17 feet. The crest of 26.2 feet predicted for Saturday would be the 4th highest on record at Harrisburg.

Upstream, the forecast 38.5 feet at Wilkes Barre would be the 2nd highest on record. At Vestal, New York, the current 30.5 feet is well above major flood stage, and the forecast of 34 feet would be an all-time record. The current 20.5 feet at Binghamton is also at major flood stage, and the forecast 26 feet early Thursday afternoon would beat the all time record of 25 feet on June 28, 2006.

Images (click to enlarge):
- Pennsylvania storm rainfall total, Sept. 4-8, 2011, from National Weather Service
- Observed and forecast river stages at Harrisburg, Wilkes Barre, Vestal, and Binghamton, from National Weather Service

Record Daily Rainfall for September at Harrisburg

Sept. 8, 2 PM Update: The final Harrisburg daily rainfall total for Sept. 7 is 7.71". The 2-day total is 9.73". The storm total since Sunday evening is 13.30" as of 9 am today.

Sept. 8, 1 AM Update: Heavy rain has continued through midnight at Harrisburg, with 2.08" just in the hour ending at 1 am EDT (midnight standard time). That puts the daily total at the 2nd highest of all time.

Original post:
Downpours from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee have been producing record rainfall amounts in the Mid Atlantic area. The National Weather Service reports that the 5.05" of precipitation as of 5 pm today at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has already smashed the old daily record of 1.18" set in 1998. Unofficially, this is also an all-time daily record for September, beating the 4.59" on Sept. 26, 1975. The top two all-time daily rainfall records at Harrisburg were set on June 21 and 22, 1972 from the remnants of Hurricane Agnes. Today's amount is now the 3rd highest all-time amount.

The 2-day total on Sept. 25-26, 1975 was 8.87". Together with the 2.02" yesterday, the current 2-day total is 7.07". Climate records began at Harrisburg in 1888.

The previous top 10 daily rainfall amounts at Harrisburg:

22-Jun 1972 9.13
21-Jun 1972 5.81
31-May 1889 4.66
23-Aug 1933 4.66
26-Sep 1975 4.59
14-Sep 1973 4.34
21-Aug 1915 4.30
25-Sep 1975 4.28
10-Sep 1907 4.17
23-Jul 1969 4.00 

Image (click to enlarge): Mid Atlantic radar image September 7, 2011, from Accuweather

Lee Rainfall Breaks Every All-Time Record from 24 Hours to a Week at Jackson MS

Image (click to enlarge): Storm total rainfall in the Jackson, Mississippi region ending 7 am CDT, Sept. 6, 2011, from National Weather Service

The torrential rains from Tropical Storm Lee have broken precipitation records for every interval from 24 hours to one week at Jackson, Mississippi. Jackson climate records date back to 1896. The National Weather Service reports:

THE FOLLOWING JACKSON PRECIPITATION RECORDS WERE BROKEN DURING THIS 
RAINFALL EVENT...

*ALL TIME 24 HOUR RAINFALL RECORD (10.68" FROM 9/4 9 AM - 9/5 9 AM)
  PREVIOUS RECORD: 8.50" FROM 4/6/2003 11 AM - 4/7/2003 11 AM

*ALL TIME 2-DAY RAINFALL RECORD (10.82")
  PREVIOUS RECORD: 8.54" ON APRIL 11-12 1979

*ALL TIME 3-DAY RAINFALL RECORD (11.15")
  PREVIOUS RECORD: 9.81" ON APRIL 11-13 1980

*ALL TIME 4-DAY RAINFALL RECORD (11.15")
  PREVIOUS RECORD: 9.82" ON APRIL 11-14 1980

*ALL TIME 5-DAY RAINFALL RECORD (11.15")
  PREVIOUS RECORD: 9.82" ON APRIL 11-15 1980

*ALL TIME 6-DAY RAINFALL RECORD (11.15")
  PREVIOUS RECORD: 10.45" ON APRIL 8-13 1980

*ALL TIME 7-DAY RAINFALL RECORD (11.15")
  PREVIOUS RECORD: 10.55" ON APRIL 7-13 1980

*SEPTEMBER 4TH DAILY RAINFALL (5.12")
  PREVIOUS RECORD: 2.37" IN 1949

*SEPTEMBER 5TH DAILY RAINFALL (5.70")
  PREVIOUS RECORD: 1.48" IN 1906