Wettest fall in HSC since 1923

The recent rains experienced in Hot Springs County have made many of us wonder if we were going to need webbed feet before it was all over, but Brett McDonald with the Riverton office of the National Weather Service gives us a glimmer of hope.

According to McDonald, the type of rains we’ve been having during September and this first part of October are quite unusual. Generally, we get a majority of our moisture in the spring months, particularly March and April.

Weather has been plotted in Hot Springs County since 1899, so McDonald has a lot of information to draw his conclusions from.

In September, we experienced 1.36 inches of precipitation, and so far in October, we’ve had .85 inches here in town. Other, unofficial reports show anywhere from 1.75 inches to a full two inches in the last storm.

“This is unusual for this time of year,” McDonald said. “We have a peak in precipitation in the spring and occasionally, a second peak in September and October.”

That’s not to say this kind of deluge hasn’t happened before.

In 1923, in late September, early October, five inches of rain fell in the county during a three-day period.

Late August of 1933 saw a three-day storm that dropped over three inches of rain.

The good news is Hot Springs County is now at 12.5 inches of precipitation for the year, a full two inches more than normal.

So what does McDonald see for our winter?

“Looking at December, January and February,” he said, “I would say our temperatures will be about normal with a slight hint of above normal precipitation.”