In general August was warmer than average and drier than average. There were exceptions to the pattern. The Northwest Division saw the coolest temperatures. It also was the area that saw the coldest reading of the month: 47 degrees F at Brewster. Despite these factors, the division average was 0.9 degrees above normal. All divisions saw temperatures above 100 degrees F during the month. Despite the warm temperatures, no new monthly record high temperatures were set for August, and only three daily records were matched or exceeded. The statewide average temperature for the month was 78.7 degrees F, ranking 37th of 120 years. Much of the warmth was noted in elevated night temperatures, where 35 daily records were met or surpassed.
The statewide average precipitation for August was 2.14 inches, which was a 1.18-inch deficit for the month. That is 64 percent of the normal precipitation for the month, and places it as the 30th driest of 120 years. Only the North Central Division averaged normal, with 3.31 inches. It should be noted that this does not include the widespread rain that fell during the afternoon and evening of August 31st. Those totals were reported on the 1st of September, and will be included in next month’s summary. Beloit reported the greatest monthly total for a National Weather Service station with 6.47 inches; Lebanon had the greatest monthly total for a CoCoRaHS station at 8.87 inches.
Drought conditions persist across the state, but there was continued improvement in western Kansas. Conditions deteriorated in the central part of the state. Only a tiny sliver of extreme northeast Kansas is in near normal conditions. However, the area of extreme drought has been reduced, particularly in central and south central Kansas. Less than 10 percent of the state is in extreme drought, and an additional 24 percent is in severe drought. The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is still expected to switch to an El Niño event before winter, but it still remains to be seen what impact will be felt. The September temperature outlook is for cooler-than-normal temperatures across most of Kansas, with the southern counties likely to have near-normal temperatures. The precipitation outlook is for above normal from the northwest through the southeast, and neutral for north central and northeast Kansas. This does not indicate how that moisture might be distributed.
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Aug 2014 |
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Kansas Climate Division Summary |
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Precipitation (inches) |
Temperature (oF) |
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Aug 2014 |
2014 Jan. through Aug. |
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Monthly Extremes |
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Division |
Total |
Dep. 1 |
% Normal |
Total |
Dep. 1 |
% Normal |
Ave |
Dep. 1 |
Max |
Min |
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Northwest |
1.76 |
-0.97 |
64 |
12.05 |
-4.84 |
70 |
75.6 |
0.9 |
103 |
47 |
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West Central |
2.44 |
-0.17 |
92 |
14.97 |
-1.32 |
90 |
76.8 |
1.3 |
102 |
54 |
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Southwest |
1.27 |
-1.44 |
45 |
12.90 |
-2.54 |
81 |
79.5 |
2.3 |
104 |
56 |
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North Central |
3.31 |
0.03 |
100 |
16.06 |
-5.23 |
75 |
78.0 |
0.9 |
102 |
52 |
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Central |
2.38 |
-1.19 |
67 |
17.58 |
-4.90 |
78 |
80.4 |
2.2 |
103 |
52 |
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South Central |
1.73 |
-1.71 |
49 |
18.99 |
-4.48 |
81 |
80.1 |
0.9 |
103 |
51 |
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Northeast |
3.31 |
-0.59 |
85 |
19.16 |
-6.50 |
74 |
78.0 |
1.7 |
103 |
50 |
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East Central |
2.00 |
-2.09 |
48 |
17.52 |
-10.09 |
63 |
79.5 |
2.4 |
104 |
53 |
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Southeast |
1.84 |
-1.90 |
49 |
18.64 |
-10.77 |
63 |
80.0 |
1.5 |
101 |
51 |
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STATE |
2.14 |
-1.18 |
64 |
16.40 |
-5.60 |
75 |
78.7 |
1.6 |
104 |
47 |
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1. Departure from 1981-2010 normal value |
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Mary Knapp, Weather Data Library
mknapp@ksu.edu
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