Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park: 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 Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP, 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 months were unseasonably mild, averaging nearly 3°F (1.7°C) above normal, as were the spring months that followed; April had daytime maximums as high as 19.0°F (10.5°C) above normal, while the month of June was the 4th warmest on record. The summer was also warmer than average, but closer to the long-term mean than the previous months, while autumn was near normal. The 11th driest winter on record was followed by a wet spring and near-normal summer and autumn rains. Overall, the year finished 0.6 in (15 mm) below normal, in the middle of the pack, historically. The wettest periods of the year occurred in the first half of May and the end of September, while the only yearly snowfall came from mid-January to mid-February. This resulted in a snowfall total of nearly 10 in (25 cm) below normal. The region also felt the effects of Tropical Storm Hanna during the first week of September, as heavy rain resulted in a one-day rainfall total of over 5 in (127 mm). The passage of Tropical Storm Hanna created a brief period of above-average discharge in the flow of the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg. The year averaged above the long-term mean for temperature, though not as warm as recent years. There were between 95–110 days on which the minimum temperatures were below 32°F (0°C), greater than the 30-year normal of 81 days (Table 1). The yearly minimum of 6.0°F (-13.3°C) was near the usual yearly minimum of 5.0°F (-15.0°C). There were 26–36 days on which the maximum temperature reached above 90°F (32°C), which is just below the 30-year average. The length of the growing season was close to normal, as it lasted 185–187 days. The growing season was aided by above-average precipitation totals in the spring, including the 4th wettest April on record. There were also 8–12 days on which daily rainfall totals exceeded one inch (25 mm). Meanwhile, an anomalously warm January and February, with temperatures occasionally above 60°F (15.6°C), kept the yearly snowfall total to only 25 percent of normal. The Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) indicated that, during 2008, the PDSI was below normal (dry) for the majority of the year. Despite the continued solar minimum, the net radiation still showed an upward trend.

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park: Weather of 2008

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