SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 ISSUE
Boone Summer Not As Cool and Wet As Perceived
May rainfall was record-breaking this year, but, since June, both temperatures and monthly rainfall in Boone have been closer to normal than perceived. Talk around town of an unusually cool and wet summer is slightly off base, according to Dr. Ray Russell of Ray’s Weather.
“Perception is often not reality,” Russell said. “It has been cooler than recent years; thus, the general perception is that temperatures have been much cooler than normal this year.”
With the exception of July, overall Boone temperatures so far this summer have been slightly above normal, Russell said.
“However, it’s low temperatures [being] warmer than normal that have been largely responsible for this difference,” Russell said. “Daytime highs have been very close to normal overall.”
The nighttime low temperatures this summer have not fallen as much as they usually would, Ray added, because the humidity levels have been higher than normal, and added humidity prevents the temperature from dropping as significantly.
The long-term average temperature for June in Boone, using data dating back to 1929, is 65 degrees Fahrenheit. This June’s average temperature was 68.4 degrees.
July, the only month cooler than usual, averaged a temperature of 67.2 degrees, as compared to the long-term average of 68.5 degrees.
August’s average temperature was 68.6 degrees, while the long-term average is 67.5 degrees.
As for summer rainfall in Boone, Ray’s Weather data shows that it was not significantly different than last year.
June saw a total of 5.76 inches of precipitation, while 4.82 inches were measured in June 2008. July rainfall totaled 3.48 inches this year, but last year, 4.96 inches were recorded; and 4.37 inches fell this August, while last August saw 4.91 inches.
In other parts of the county, rainfall was more significant, Russell said.
“In general through the summer and even now, areas on the east side of the Appalachians, such as Blowing Rock, Grandfather Mountain, Linville and Deep Gap have received even more rain than Boone and in some areas a LOT more,” he said.
“The streams are in good shape,” Russell said, adding that a year’s worth of rain would have to fall in six months for groundwater levels to be fully replenished from the drought.
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