Appomattox Court House National Historical Park and Booker T. Washington National Monument: Weather of 2008

Knight, Paul; Wisniewski, Tiffany; Bahrmann, Chad; Miller, Sonya

The purpose of this report is to provide a concise climate summary for 2008 at Appomattox Court House NHP and Booker T. Washington NM, as part of the Mid-Atlantic Network's Weather and Climate Monitoring Program. Specifically it contains summaries for weather, temperature, and precipitation and descriptions of observing stations, stream flow, and draught status. The winter was unseasonably mild, averaging just over 1.0°F (0.6°C) above normal; however,the spring months had near average temperatures. Both the summer and autumn were cooler than average, with the latter season averaging about 1.5°F (0.8°C) below normal. Overall, 2008 was slightly cooler (0.2°F [0.1°C]) than average. A very dry winter was followed by near normal spring rains, a damp summer, and a dry autumn. The wettest periods of the year were during the first week in April (with 2.3 in [57 mm] of rain over a 7-day period) and the last week in August (3.6 in [91 mm] of rain), which was preceded by a parched first three weeks of that month. The snowiest month of the year was January, totaling just over 4 in (105 mm). The passage of Tropical Storm Hanna on September 6–7 resulted in a 2-day precipitation total nearing 1 in (25 mm). Tropical Storm Hanna also made its mark on the Appomattox River, as below-normal discharge of the river was frequent in May and dominated until late August when the tropical storm passed through the area. Overall, 31.7–35.4 in (805–899 mm) of rain fell in 2008, ranking as the 34th driest year since 1895 (43 in is average). Additionally, severe storms during the first week in April brought hail greater than 0.75 in (19 mm) in diameter to Appomattox. The highest temperature recorded during the year was 98.0°F (36.7°C) on June 9, while the lowest was 10.0°F (-12.2°C) on January 21.The year finished only slightly cooler than the 114-year average; 56.1°F (13.4°C) was the lowest annual temperature since 2003. There were 28–30 days on which the temperature reached at least 90°F (32°C), which is just above the 30-year mean; however, there were 3–6 days when the maximum temperature failed to go above 32°F (0°C), which is near normal. The growing season lasted 173–198 days, which lies within the normal threshold. There were 6 days on which precipitation totals met or exceeded 1 in (25 mm), falling short of the long-term average of 10–11 days. Additionally, as a result of a mild winter, there were 5–6 in (13–15 cm) of snowfall recorded, well below the average of 18–21 in (46–53 cm). Overall, annual precipitation for 2008 fell short of the long-term average. This was reflected in the Palmer Drought Severity Index, which has been below normal for both parks since December 2006. The trend of increasing solar radiation continued in the long term, despite being in a solar minimum since 2007.

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park and Booker T. Washington National Monument: Weather of 2008

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