September 2023 was a dry and warm month, especially after a wet and cool August. Precipitation was nearing record level dry conditions and much of the state was in abnormally dry conditions and moderate drought towards the end of the month.
Temperature:
Summer 2023 was rather cool. Not many 90-degree days were seen. From June to August, there were only 10 90+ degree days, when typically, 14 days reach that threshold throughout that period. September brought 3 90+ degree days. The start to the month was a hot start. Things warmed up and 90s were reached the 3rd, 4th, and 5th before a cold front came along and cooled things off. The hottest day of the month was the 5th when a 92-degree high was recorded. This was only the 7th time 92-degrees was reached this year.
There was definitely a period of below average temperatures, however no days recorded highs that were more than 10 degrees below normal. Lows dipped into the 40s throughout the middle of the month with highs in the mid-to-upper 70s. The coolest day was the 27th, when a high of 72 was recorded.
Precipitation:
September was a dry month. There was a lot of sunshine and high pressure dominated for a majority of the month. Surprisingly, there were 16 clear days (30% cloud cover or less), 13 partly cloudy days (40-70% of cloud cover), and only 1 cloudy day (>80% cloud cover)!
The first 25 days of the month only brought in 0.41" of precipitaition. This period was the 5th driest stretch in September on record. Furthermore, from August 18th to September 25th (over 5 weeks), 0.57" of rain fell which was the 2nd driest period on record! This dry stretch allowed for abnormally dry conditions to fall across 93% of the state and moderate drought encompassing 35%.
Finally, relief was in the forecast. A nice drenching rainfall brought 0.95" of rain on the 27th. Rain fell a majority of the day as other places across the state saw more than an inch of rain, some places even saw more than two inches! Even with the 3 day rainy period, Muncie ended up below average in rainfall. 1.46" was recorded for the both which is still 1.63" below the 3.09" average for September.
--Chief Weather Forecaster Hope Kleitsch
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