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October 2009 Climate Summary

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Georgia Climate Summary for October 2009
Prepared by Pam Knox, Assistant State Climatologist

Northern Georgia continued to feel the effects of heavy rainfall, while southeastern Georgia experienced drier than normal conditions during the month of October. Temperatures across the state were seasonal, with several record high and low temperatures experienced during this active weather pattern as warm and cold fronts moved across the state.

Rainfall across most of the northern half of the state was well above normal in October, according to radar estimates.  A few areas scattered along a line from north of Columbus to Rabun Gap received in excess of 10 inches during the month. The southern half of Georgia, particularly the southeastern section,  received below normal rainfall, with the lowest values occurring near Brunswick.  None of the rainfall was from tropical cyclones.

source: www.weather.gov

The highest monthly total from National Weather Service reporting stations was 9.14 inches in Athens (5.67 inches above normal) and the lowest was in Brunswick at 2.15 inches (1.76 below normal). Atlanta received 8.71 inches (5.60 above normal), Macon 6.37 inches (4.00 inches above normal), Columbus 6.39 (4.06 above normal), Augusta 5.10 (1.90 above normal), Savannah 3.41 (0.29 above normal), and Alma 2.71 (0.08 below normal). 

Source: www.weather.gov

Fifty-three CoCoRaHS stations reported 10 inches or more for their monthly rainfall totals in October. The highest single monthly total rainfall from the CoCoRaHS network was 12.38 inches measured near LaGrange in Troup County. Other monthly rainfall totals above 12 inches were reported at Emma, Stockbridge and Manchester.  The highest 24-hour rainfall was 4.50 inches, reported east of Gainesville in Hall County on October 12.

The Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring site at Alpharetta in Fulton County reported 10.84 inches for the month, including 3.84 inches on the 12th and 2.19 inches on October 27.

Because of all the rain, Lake Lanier reached full pool in mid-month for the first time since September 6, 2005.  Lake levels in Lake Allatoona were so high (12 feet above full pool) that boat owners could not reach their watercraft because the marinas were underwater.

The heavy rainfalls have taken a toll on rural county roads.  Madison County officials said they lost seven roads where culverts failed and estimated that it would cost $30,000 to fix the washed-out roads out of a total annual budget of $500,000, in addition to the emergency funds that were used with the heavy March snowstorm. Maintenance is far behind schedule due to the inability to repair roads with day after day of rain.

Daily record maximum rainfalls occurred on several dates in October. At official NWS airport stations, Atlanta broke a daily maximum rainfall with an observation of 2.50 inches and Athens received 3.84 inches on October 12, breaking daily records. Columbus also had daily record rains on the 14th and 27th.  

Temperatures across the state were somewhat variable. In Atlanta, the monthly average temperature was 61.0 degrees F (1.8 degrees below normal), in Athens 60.7 degrees (1.1 degrees below normal), Columbus 64.5 (1.3 degrees below normal), Macon 64.5 (0.6 above normal), Savannah 68.5 (1.5 above normal), Brunswick 71.5 (1.9 above normal), Alma 68.9 (0.4 above normal) and Augusta 63.2 (0.1 above normal).  In general, the coolest spots were where the most rain occurred, due to cloudiness and high humidities.

Record high and low temperatures were reported at several locations during the month.  Savannah reported a record high temperature of 93 degrees on October 9. Augusta, Savannah, and Alma reported record low maximum temperatures in the 50's and 60's on October 17.  Athens had a record low temperature of 33 and Macon tied their low temperature of 35 on October 19.  Scattered frost occurred in northern and low-lying locations during this cold outbreak.

There was one tornado was reported in October.  This EF1 tornado touched down south of Americus and severely damaged a grocery store on October 15.  Over 100 trees were snapped.  A motorist sustained minor injuries in another severe weather event near Glennville when a tree toppled onto the car on October 27. There were scattered reports of strong winds or small hail somewhere in Georgia on four days in the month. Flooding occurred in low-lying areas on the 13th with the heavy rainfalls and storms across northern Georgia.  Dense fog in Atlanta on the 27th caused multiple traffic accidents during the morning commute.

During October, the rains in northern Georgia caused problems for farmers trying to harvest hay and other crops.   Many counties reported problems with rot in the cotton and hay and sprouted corn that was exposed to wet conditions before harvest. Peanuts in central Georgia were reported to be on track for a record late harvest. Fieldwork came to a stop in many areas. In other areas of the state the rain was beneficial to crops and harvesting was proceeding at a good pace.