KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The month of September is usually one full of change but there was an especially stark shift this year as we transitioned from summer to fall.
The week before the first day of fall, nearly every day was above average in temperatures, yet September as a whole saw below-average temperatures and rainfall.
The beginning of September was just like the rest of the summer before it – hot.
The first two days were in the 90s, but we ended up with four total 90-degree days during the month. Over the entire summer season, we saw 41 of those days compared the annual average of 34 days.
On the bright side, this isn’t the hottest summer East Tennessee has ever seen. Back in 1936, there were 78 total 90-degree days that summer. Despite this, we had 17 cooler-than-average temperature days compared to 13 warmer-than-average, leaving September 2022 1.3 degrees cooler than normal.
The past month was also drier than we'd normally see, officially making September more fall-like than summer. Knoxville saw a little less than 2.50 inches of rain, a full inch less than normal. It only rained on 12 days, and nearly all of it happened in the first half of the month when we were still in summer.
Fun fact: It never rained on a Wednesday or Thursday all month long!
The end of September and the start of October have kicked autumn off on a very dry note. While this is no surprise, since October is the driest month of the year, it’s not exactly great news.
Recent drought monitors have shown widespread dry areas and a few pockets of moderate drought, especially further west in Tennessee. This season isn’t expected to be abnormally dry, so all that’s left to do is pray for some rain!