Mostly dry weather dominated the Plains, including the drought-stricken South-Central United States, where Texas completed its driest October-September period on record. Rainfall was also in short supply across the Northwest and upper Midwest, and the latter region endured an unusually early freeze in mid-September. Meanwhile, wet weather prevailed along and east of a line from Louisiana to Indiana. Some of the heavy rain, especially early in the month, was due to the interaction between a cold front and Tropical Storm Lee's remnants. Lee made landfall along the Louisiana coast on September 4. Back-to-back tropical deluges (from Irene in late August and Lee in early September) led to record flooding in parts of the Mid-Atlantic states. Elsewhere, scattered showers accompanied late-season warmth in the Southwest.
Weatherwise Contributing Editor BRAD RIPPEY is the U.S. Editor of the Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin of the Joint Agriculture NOAA Weather Facility.
Weatherwise Contributing Editor JEFFREY B. HALVERSON is an associate professor of geography at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.