NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

AUGUST 2015

1-8: Early-week rainfall continued to pound west-central Florida, where Tampa netted 17.46 inches in a 12-day period from July 23 - August 3. Tampa reported a daily record total (4.39 inches) on August 3, along with Key West, FL, where 3.14 inches fell.
Meanwhile, locally heavy showers spread northward across the western U.S., with some rain reaching the southern Plains. Borger, TX, received 5.13 inches of rain during the first 4 days of the month, including a daily-record sum (3.58 inches) on August 2.
Dyer, NV, was inundated by 3.07 inches of rain in a 24-hour period on August 1-2, shattering the previous all-time record of 2.05 inches set on August 9- 10, 1983. By mid-week, the focus for heavy rain shifted to the central Plains and mid-South. Record-
setting totals for August 5 reached 3.34 inches in Jonesboro, AR; 2.61 inches in Memphis, TN; and 2.14 inches in Salina, KS.
Later, widespread showers arrived in the Southeast, breaking daily records for August 6 in locations such as Columbus, GA (3.80 inches); Greensboro, NC (2.95 inches); and Muscle Shoals, AL (2.49 inches). Late in the week, showers returned to the West and
overspread the Great Lakes region. Daily-record totals for August 7 included 1.60 inches in Appleton, WI; 1.57 inches in Flagstaff, AZ; 0.72 inch in Eureka, NV; and 0.61 inch in Cedar City, UT. A day later, Idaho Falls, ID, measured a record-setting
amount (0.59 inch) for August 8.

Showers were heaviest in separate areas across the northern and southern Midwest, respectively, with several locations reporting 2to 4 inch weekly totals. Meanwhile, locally heavy showers also peppered the northern and central Plains.

9-15: Widespread showers provided beneficial moisture for pastures and immature summer crops across the eastern one-third of the U.S. Some of the heaviest rain fell across Florida's peninsula, where 2 to 4 inch totals were common.

During the first 15 days of August, rainfall totaled just 0.06 inch (3 percent of normal) in Rochester, MN--the driest such period in that location since 1983. In contrast, enough rain fell in northern Indiana to propel Fort Wayne to its wettest summer
on record. From June 1 - August 15, Fort Wayne's total of 19.33 inches (189 percent of normal) surpassed its June-August 1986 standard of 18.70 inches. Meanwhile, locally heavy showers occurred during the early- to mid-week period in the Southwest and
from the Midwest into the East. On August 10, Lansing, MI, experienced its wettest August day on record, with 3.77 inches (previously, 3.39 inches on August 27, 2013). It was also Lansing's wettest day since June 11, 1986, when 4.95 inches fell.
Elsewhere, selected daily-record totals included 2.24 inches (on August 11) in Salisbury, MD; 2.23 inches (on August 9) in Mobridge, SD; and 1.60 inches (on August 10) in Cape Girardeau, MO. Showers persisted in Florida, where
Melbourne netted a daily-record sum of 2.36 inches on August 13. In the Southwest, daily-record amounts totaled 1.59 inches (on August 10) in Pueblo, CO, and 0.57 inch (on August 13) in Las Vegas, NV. Toward week's end, a few showers dampened the Pacific
Northwest, where Olympia, WA, received a daily record total (0.93 inch on August 14). At week's end, a new round of showers developed in the lower Great Lakes region, resulting in a record-setting total (2.85 inches on August 15) in Buffalo, NY.

16-22: Rain soaked much of the upper Midwest, providing a generally favorable boost in soil moisture for Midwest in areas where little rain had fallen during the first half of August.

Early- to mid-week showers were particularly heavy across the upper Midwest and lower Southeast. Weekly rainfall totaled 4.92 inches in Chattanooga, TN, aided by a daily-record total of 2.68 inches on August 17. Meanwhile, August 16-19 rainfall reached 4.
47 inches in
Huron, SD; 4.16 inches in Omaha, NE; and 3.57 inches in Sioux City, IA. On August 18, daily-record rainfall amounts exceeded 2 inches in locations such as Omaha (3.58 inches); Huron (2.97 inches); Rockford, IL (2.87 inches); and Des Moines, IA (2.46
inches).
Locally heavy showers also spread into the Northeast, where Concord, NH, collected a daily-record sum (2.48 inches) for August 18. By midweek, heavy rain moved into the mid-South and developed in the western Gulf Coast region. In Texas, Waco's longest
spell on record without a drop of rain ended at 49 days (July 1 - August 18). On August 20, Waco received its first measurable rain (0.77 inch) since June 30. Following 44 days (July 6 - August 18) without measurable precipitation--just 2 days shy of its
record set in October-November
1921--Shreveport, LA, netted 1.20 inches of rain on August 19. New Iberia, LA, received rainfall totaling 0.32 inch from August 1-15, but was pelted with 4.79 inches from August 16-21. Similarly, only a trace of rain fell in McAlester, OK, from August 1-
18, followed by 4.14 inches from August 19-23. Along and near the Texas coast, rainfall was especially heavy on August 20, when daily-record amounts reached 3.74 inches in Galveston and 2.21 inches in McAllen. By August 22, showers swept eastward across
the northern Plains, producing daily record totals in North Dakota locations such as Grand Forks (1.76 inches) and Minot (1.05 inches).

23-29: Tropical Storm Erika disintegrated long before reaching Florida, but the storm's remnant moisture contributed to heavy, late-week showers in the southern Atlantic region.

In advance of a cold front, early-week showers were scattered across several areas. On the Plains, daily-record totals for August 23 included 2.50 inches in Wichita, KS, and 1.63 inches in Muskogee, OK.
Showers lingered for a few days in parts of Texas, where Houston's Hobby Airport netted a daily-record rainfall (1.81 inches) for August 25. Meanwhile, significant rain fell in portions of northern New England, where Houlton, ME, received a record-
setting rainfall (1.24 inches) for August 26. Late in the week, a surge of Southwestern monsoon moisture interacting with a cold front resulted in locally heavy rain. Daily-record amounts for August 27 reached 2.44 inches in Chanute, KS, and 2.09 inches
in Broken Bow, NE. The following day, Waterloo, IA, received 4.10 inches--a record for August 28. The last time Waterloo reported more than 4 inches of rain on an August day was August 20, 1966, when 4.92 inches fell. Heavy, late-week showers also dotted
the southern Atlantic region, where Alma, GA, collected a daily-record total (1.78 inches) for August 28. At week's end, an autumn-like storm arrived in the Pacific Northwest. On August 29, peak wind gusts were clocked to 64 mph in Hoquiam, WA, and 62
mph in Astoria, OR. In addition, Seattle, WA, measured 1.70 inches of rain from August 28-30, aided by a daily-record total of 1.28 inches on the 29th. Most of Alaska continued to receive widespread showers.

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