Shenandoah National 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 Shenandoah NP, 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 year began unseasonably mild with high temperatures near 70°F (21°C) during the first half of January; while February was ranked as the 31st warmest since records began in 1895. A warm April was offset by a cool May before the 15th warmest June on record. A slightly cool July and August was countered by a warm September before a cool autumn ended the year. A very dry winter (January, February, March) was followed by a very wet spring and a near-normal summer and autumn. The wettest period was during the first week in July in which at least a hundredth of an inch (0.3 mm) of rain was reported every day from July 4–10. In contrast, October reported fifteen straight days without precipitation. Heavy rain as a result of Tropical Storm Hannah occurred on September 6th, while significant storms in April and May brought near or above 3 in (76 mm) of rain in 24 hours, making those two months combined the wettest period. The year averaged above the long-term mean for temperature, though not as warm as in recent years. The growing season was about ten days longer than the 30-year mean with a length of 200–205 days. While only about half of the expected 90° F (32°C) days occurred, six of them occurred from June 6–11, the warmest week of the year. An overall warming trend is noticeable in the number of cold days (Table 1); only six to eight days did not exceed 32°F (0°C), which is below the 30-year average of 10 days. There was also a noticeable lack of snowfall when compared with 30-year average, as only 5–8 in (13–20 cm) of snow were reported, far below the 30-year mean of 18 in (46 cm). Additionally, there were a normal number of days on which at least one inch (25 mm) of rain fell. The long-term trend of increasing solar radiation continued despite being in a solar minimum since 2007.

Shenandoah National Park: Weather Of 2008

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