September marks the start of autumn

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WORTHINGTON — The September moon will be full on the 15th. In the language of the Ojibwe Indians it is the Manominiki Giziz, or “Wild Rice Harvest Moon.”

That mid-September date marks the beginning of the harvesting of wild rice on Minnesota Lakes.

The percent of possible sunshine falls rather sharply during the first few days of September, dropping nearly 10 percent from the 65 percent possible on the 1st. The period from the 10th to the 17th is cloudy, but the rest of the month averages about 60 percent of sunshine.

What may be the best weather news for residents of this area is the period from the 10th to the 15th which is rainy, with heavy rains at a maximum for the month. A good rain is needed for the crops.

However, don’t let this prediction keep you away from all of the King Turkey Day activities on the weekend of the 13th. You may want to carry an umbrella.

The amount of water vapor in the air is definitely at summer levels to midmonth. The rest of the month features a gradual drying out, with the chance of declining markedly the last 15 days.

The chance of a thunderstorm drops from almost 20 percent on the 11th to 10 percent by the 24th.

The average temperature declines steadily during the month, from 68 degrees on the 1st to 55 degrees on the 30th. Beware of frost anytime after the first day of September.

Dense fog occurs about 5 percent of the time on the first few days of the month, but curiously, dense fog is extremely rare between the 5th and the 9th. It occurs about 5 percent of the time between the 15th and 20th, then becomes less common.

The first 10 days are the best for outdoor activity, with the weather being essentially summery. Avoid the period from the 11th to the 19th —except for King Turkey Day weekend events. Based on past weather records, the average of the daytime highs during September is 71.7 degrees, while the average of the overnight lows is 46.9. That makes the month’s average temperature 59.5.

The average temperature of the month of August is 68.3 degrees, so September is usually about eight degrees cooler.

Average rainfall for September is 2.89 inches. The most rainfall for the month was 5.42 inches, which was recorded in 1986.

Those fearless forecasters for “The Old Farmer’s Almanac” predict that September will be about four degrees warmer than average and that the rainfall will be about one-half inch less than average.

Tags: news, september, weather