MONTHLY WEATHER SUMMARY FOR ROCHESTER...SEPTEMBER 2005
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY 
700 AM EDT SAT OCT 1 2005
 
 ...ANOTHER WARM AND SUNNY MONTH FOR ROCHESTER...
 ...WARMEST JUNE TO SEPTEMBER PERIOD IN 84 YEARS...
 
 THE REMARKABLE SUMMER OF 2005 CONTINUED THROUGH JUST ABOUT ALL OF 
 SEPTEMBER ACROSS WESTERN NEW YORK. SUNSHINE AND CONSISTENT WARMTH 
 WERE THE RULE. RAINFALL WAS INFREQUENT...BUT TWO HEAVY EVENTS 
 BROUGHT TOTALS INTO THE ABOVE AVERAGE RANGE.
 
 THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 65.5 WAS 4.3 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL... 
 ENOUGH TO MAKE SEPTEMBER THE 10TH WARMEST IN THE LAST 100 YEARS.  
 THERE WERE NO RECORDS SET...BUT THE WARMTH WAS AMAZINGLY CONSISTENT. 
 IN FACT...ONLY FOUR DAYS WERE COOLER THAN NORMAL.
 
 RAINFALL TOTALLED 4.98 INCHES...ABOUT AN INCH AND A HALF ABOVE 
 NORMAL. THIS IS A BIT DECEIVING HOWEVER...AS NEARLY ALL THE RAIN 
 FELL IN TWO EVENTS...THE 16TH AND 25-26TH. THE FIRST HALF OF THE 
 MONTH WAS VIRTUALLY RAINLESS.
 
 SUNSHINE WAS PREVALENT DURING THE MONTH...SHINING 73 PERCENT OF THE 
 POSSIBLE AMOUNT. THIS IS WELL OVER THE 58 PERCENT NORMAL AND TIES 
 2002 AS THE MOST IN SEPTEMBER SINCE 1948. 20 DAYS WERE MOSTLY SUNNY 
 WHILE ONLY FOUR WERE MOSTLY CLOUDY. 
 
 THE MONTH BEGAN WITH THE REGION DRYING OUT FROM THE HEAVY RAINS 
 BROUGHT ABOUT BY "KATRINA" ON THE FINAL DAY OF AUGUST...BUT DRY OUT 
 WE DID. THE FIRST TWO WEEKS WERE CONSISTENTLY WARM SUNNY AND DRY. 
 ONLY .04 INCH OF RAIN FELL THROUGH THE 14TH AND THE AREA WAS IN NEED 
 OF MORE MOISTURE. WE GOT A BIT MORE THAN WE BARGAINED FOR HOWEVER AS 
 COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF RAIN FELL IN CONJUNCTION WITH A WARM FRONT ON THE 
 16TH. OVER THREE INCHES FELL IN JUST ABOUT SIX HOURS...RESULTING IN 
 SOME FLOODING. THE 3.08 INCHES ON THE 16TH WAS THE SECOND GREATEST 
 DAILY TOTAL EVER IN SEPTEMBER. ANOTHER PERIOD OF FINE DRY WEATHER 
 ENSUED HOWEVER...UNTIL A COMBINATION OF A WARM FRONT AND "RITA"S 
 REMAINS BROUGHT MORE HEAVY RAINS TO THE REGION ON 25-26TH. 
 
 PERHAPS THE MOST NOTABLE EVENT OF THE MONTH WAS THE POWERFUL COLD 
 FRONT WHICH SWEPT ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE PREDAWN HOURS OF THE 
 29TH. THE FRONT WAS ACCOMPANIED BY BRIEF HEAVY RAINS AND VERY STRONG 
 WINDS...WITH GUSTS OVER 50 MPH. THESE WINDS RESULTED IN SOME TREE 
 AND POWER LINE DAMAGE WITH SEVERAL THOUSAND CUSTOMERS LOSING 
 POWER. THE MONTH ENDED ON A QUIET AND AUTUMNAL NOTE ON THE FINAL DAY.
 
 ASIDE FROM THE STORM ON THE 29TH...WINDS WERE ON THE LIGHT SIDE 
 THROUGH THE MONTH.
 
 ALL IN ALL...ANOTHER SUMMER MONTH...OUR 4TH THIS YEAR!
 
 *** THE JUNE TO SEPTEMBER PERIOD WAS ROCHESTER`S WARMEST IN 84 
 YEARS. ONLY 1854 AND 1921 WERE WARMER. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR 
 THE 4 MONTHS WAS 70.5...SOME 3.8 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. WE HAD 71 
 DAYS REACH THE 80S...NORMAL IS 57. 13 DAYS THE 90S...NORMAL IS 8. 12 
 NIGHTS STAYED IN THE 70S...NORMAL IS 6. AND...90 OF THE 122 DAYS 
 AVERAGED ABOVE NORMAL! ***
 
 
 ROCHESTER`S SEPTEMBER STATISTICS FOLLOW... 
 
 TEMPERATURE DATA
 AVERAGE MAXIMUM............ 75.9
 AVERAGE MINIMUM............ 55.0
 AVERAGE MONTHLY............ 65.5
 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL...... PLUS 4.3
 HIGHEST.................... 86 ON 13TH AND 14TH
 LOWEST..................... 42 ON 30TH
 
 NUMBER OF DAYS 
 MAXIMUM 90 DEGREES OR HIGHER....  0
 MAXIMUM 80 DEGREES OR HIGHER.... 10
 MINIMUM 70 DEGREES OR HIGHER....  0
 MINIMUM 32 DEGREES OR LOWER.....  0
 
 HEATING DEGREE DAYS...BASE 65..   50
 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.......... MINUS 104
 SEASON TOTAL FROM JULY 1.......   53
 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.......... MINUS 143
 
 COOLING DEGREE DAYS...BASE 65..   71
 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.......... PLUS 17
 SEASON TOTAL FROM JANUARY 1.....  785
 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.........  PLUS 213
 
 PRECIPITATION DATA
 TOTAL FOR THE MONTH............ 4.98 INCHES   
 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.......... PLUS 1.53 INCH
 GREATEST IN 24 HOURS........... 3.10 INCHES ON 16-17TH
 TOTAL FOR THE YEAR............. 27.40 INCHES
 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.......... PLUS 1.59 INCHES
 
 NUMBER OF DAYS
 WITH 0.01 INCH PRECIPITATION OR MORE.......  10
 WITH 0.10 INCH PRECIPITATION OR MORE.......  4
 WITH 0.50 INCH PRECIPITATION OR MORE.......  2
 WITH 1.00 INCH PRECIPITATION OR MORE.......  2
 
 BAROMETRIC PRESSURE
 HIGHEST.....30.46 INCHES ON THE 5TH 
 LOWEST......29.41 INCHES ON THE 29TH 
 
 PERCENTAGE OF POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (BUFFALO)..... 73 (272.5 HOURS) 
 
 AVERAGE WIND SPEED...........  7.6 MPH  
 PEAK GUST............. 45 MPH FROM THE W ON THE 29TH.             
 
 &&
 
 MCLAUGHLIN