Local weather in the month of August was above normal in the precipitation department in addition to above normal temperatures.
Despite fairly dry conditions through much of the summer, several nice rain storms crossed the area in August, with one storm on August 6th and another on August 15th both dropping over a half inch of rain on Broadus. In the northwestern sections of the county the August 6th storm dropped copious amounts of moisture, with reports of 1.5” southwest of Volborg.
Broadus ended the month with 1.73” of precipitation for the month, which is 0.45” above normal for the month.
11.38” of precipitation accumulated in Broadus from January 1 to the end of August, falling just behind the long term average of 11.65”. The year with the highest total through the first eight months of the year was 2019 with 17.33”, the lowest was 1988 with 4.89”.
The average high for the month was 93.6 degrees, right at 4 degrees above normal.
Six days had temps reaching into triple digits, with the mercury topping out at 102 on both August 1st and the 4th, but no daily record highs were broken. The records for those days were 103 and 105, both recorded in 1964.
The low temp in Broadus for August was 48, recorded on the 29th and 30th.
Looking around the area at NOAA weather stations, the Biddle 8 miles southwest station had 1.36” on the month, compared to an average of 1.14”. The heaviest daily accumulation of 0.74” fell on August 23rd at that station.
The high for the month at the Biddle SW station was 101, recorded on the 4th, 10th, and 11th. The station had five days at 100 or higher in August. The low for the month was 47, on the 29th.
The Moorhead 9 miles NE station had 1.48” of precip in August, with 0.40” on the 6th. August normally sees 1.25” of moisture at that location. The Moorhead NE station topped out at 102 on the 10th, and had only 2 days at 100 or higher. The low was 44, on the 29th.
The Sonnette 7 miles SW station was cooler and drier than other stations, with 0.71” of moisture compared to an average of 1.10”; the bulk of that fell on the 6th, with 0.63”.
The Sonnette SW station topped out at 98 on August 4th, and temps fell to 40 on the 29th and 30th.
Looking at data from the RAWS station at Fort Howes, the temp topped out at 102 on August 4th, and fell to 42 on the 29th. That station received 1.00” of moisture for the month, with 0.76” recorded on August 6th.
Wind speeds at the Fort Howes station were fairly calm, as often occurs in August, where windmills struggle to pump water for thirsty critters. The average wind speed for the month was 5.1 mph. By contrast, the average wind speed in April of this year was 9.3 mph.
The top wind gust in August was on the 27th, with a speed of 46 mph.
The Volborg station, which records only precipitation, had 1.31” in August, with 0.85” on August 7th.
The Powderville 8 miles NNE station was a hot spot in August, topping out at 103 on the 4th. The record high for that date was 107, in 1964. That station had 1.02” in August, compared to an average of 1.23”. 0.48” of that total fell on August 6th. The mercury dipped as low as 46 there, on the 29th.
As this article is written in early September, temps have stayed considerably above normal, reaching into triple digits and forecast to exceed the record for September 7th. Record highs for September in Broadus are over 100 for each of the first eight days of the month.
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