UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- What a difference a year makes. Last September went down as the wettest ninth month in Pennsylvania history. This September is on track to be one of the driest ever, according to a precipitation expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, with many counties not likely to register even an inch of rainfall.

And you can blame it on five hurricanes that had radically different impacts on the Keystone State. Last year it was the remnants of Frances, Ivan and Jeanne that dumped huge amounts of rainfall, especially on the western half of the state, swelling rivers to unheard of levels and doing millions of dollars worth of damage. This September it was Katrina and Rita, which did record amounts of damage to communities on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico but didn't do much at all to Pennsylvania.

"It is all determined by the tracks the storms take," says Bryan Swistock, water resources extension specialist. "Last September, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne all made landfall in Florida and tracked north directly over our state. This September, Katrina and Rita made landfall further west and tracked over Ohio. We didn't get much rain from those systems -- only the northwest corner of the state was an exception."

The whole year has been drier than normal, although not a record-breaker by any means, Swistock points out. "After a fairly wet early spring, we had a pretty dry growing season," he says. "For May through August, it was the 20th driest out of 112 years of keeping records. Crops suffered from dryness in places, but it was spotty. One farm would have crop damage, and 20 miles down the road enough rain fell to keep crops healthy. "Most of the effects so far have come on streams and crops," Swistock adds. "We really haven't seen much impact on groundwater yet, but that could become a real issue later if we don't get some rain or melted snow before the ground freezes, when the period for recharging groundwater ends."

This September has been unusually hot, too, in fact, the entire summer has been, according to Swistock. "This summer was the warmest ever for central Pennsylvania," he says. "For the rest of the state, it was one of the top 10 warmest summers ever."

The disparity in rainfall between this September and last is almost unheard of. "Last September, most of the counties were 5 inches or more above normal," says Swistock. "Normal for the month is 3 to 4 inches, so most counties recorded 8-12 inches of rain. This September, most counties will be lucky to get an inch."

###

EDITORS: Contact Bryan Swistock at 814-863-0194 or e-mail brs@psu.edu.

Writer/Editor: Jeff MulhollemOffice 814-863-2719