The Kansas Ag-Climate Update is a joint effort between our climate and extension specialists. Every month, the update includes a brief summary of that month, agronomic impacts, relevant maps and graphs, 1-month temperature and precipitation outlooks, monthly extremes, and notable highlights.
September 2023: Improved drought conditions except for the southeast
The average statewide temperature for September was 72.3°F, or 3.5°F above normal. This was the 14th warmest September out of 129 years of records, dating back to 1895. All nine climate divisions were above normal. Anomalies ranged from +3.0°F (southwest) to +4.0°F (central and east central). Rankings across all nine climate divisions ranged from 12th to 20th warmest.
Average statewide precipitation for September was 1.60”, or 64% of normal. This amount was 0.92” below normal and ranked as the 25th driest September on record. Only Southwest Kansas had above-normal precipitation (2.03”, departure +0.60”); all other divisions were below normal. It was the 7th driest September on record in northeast Kansas and the 10th driest in central Kansas. Northwest Kansas was the driest division (0.56”, departure -1.10”), ranking 14th driest.
Figure 1. Departures from normal temperature (°F) and precipitation (inches) for September 2023.
View the entire September 2023 Ag-Climate Update, including the accompanying maps and graphics (not shown in this eUpdate article), at http://climate.k-state.edu/ag/updates/.
Xiaomao Lin, State Climatologist
xlin@ksu.edu
Matthew Sittel, Assistant State Climatologist
msittel@ksu.edu