Mother Nature decided to rain on some people's parades and other events over the Labor Day weekend. While it seemed rather inconvenient, the precipitation was much needed in some areas. She also determined that this past weekend needed a washout too. Looking over some weather statistics, I was inclined to agree with her.
As of Sept. 1, the U.S. Drought Monitor had listed the eastern half of Venango County as abnormally dry. Of course, this map did not reflect the rain that fell over the holiday weekend and this past weekend. Living in Pinegrove Township, I had indeed noticed that things seemed very dry.
With the recent rainfall, I expected the map released on Sept. 8 to show some improvement. However, it seemed liked the yellow had expanded slightly in Venango County. Meanwhile, the counties in north central Pennsylvania must have received enough rain to be moved from the moderate drought category to abnormally dry.
With the recent rainfall, I expected the map released on Sept. 8 to show some improvement. However, it seemed liked the yellow had expanded slightly in Venango County. Meanwhile, the counties in north central Pennsylvania must have received enough rain to be moved from the moderate drought category to abnormally dry.
I was interested to see where the Venango stood in terms of precipitation or rain deficit this summer.
I turned to the National Weather service's website to search its data for some comparisons.
While all I could dig up were numbers for Franklin, the information was still fascinating.
According to an accumulation graph that started from Jan. 1 of this year until Sept. 12, Franklin was on par with its rainfall amounts with 33.58 inches for 2022 so far. The normal average for accumulation to this date was 33.09 inches.
These numbers seemed to contrast the Drought Monitor's and my observations.
I turned to the National Weather service's website to search its data for some comparisons.
While all I could dig up were numbers for Franklin, the information was still fascinating.
According to an accumulation graph that started from Jan. 1 of this year until Sept. 12, Franklin was on par with its rainfall amounts with 33.58 inches for 2022 so far. The normal average for accumulation to this date was 33.09 inches.
These numbers seemed to contrast the Drought Monitor's and my observations.
So, I did a little more research.
It had seemed to me that this spring was rather wet, but that the marked dryness started in the summer.
Even though Franklin's precipitation numbers are near the normal range. The numbers still reflected a decline in rainfall over June, July and August.
The numbers for the end of June were recorded at 3.12 inches, short of the norm at 4.86 inches.
July came up short at 4.39 inches with the normal range being 5.32 inches. August also showed a decline from the norm with 2.37 inches compared to 4.24 inches.
So far for this September, Franklin was ahead of the norm of 1.62 inches with this year's total set at 3.01 inches.
I surmised that a wet spring and the slightly higher numbers this month may have helped average out Franklin's accumulation numbers.
It had seemed to me that this spring was rather wet, but that the marked dryness started in the summer.
Even though Franklin's precipitation numbers are near the normal range. The numbers still reflected a decline in rainfall over June, July and August.
The numbers for the end of June were recorded at 3.12 inches, short of the norm at 4.86 inches.
July came up short at 4.39 inches with the normal range being 5.32 inches. August also showed a decline from the norm with 2.37 inches compared to 4.24 inches.
So far for this September, Franklin was ahead of the norm of 1.62 inches with this year's total set at 3.01 inches.
I surmised that a wet spring and the slightly higher numbers this month may have helped average out Franklin's accumulation numbers.
Another chart on monthly total precipitation for Franklin added some more evidence to my theory.
March, April and May's totals were above the mean or normal numbers. While, June, July and August's numbers fell short. In fact, according to the chart, August's total of 2.37 inches was highlighted as the lowest total recorded on the chart in the years ranging from 2000 to 2022.
Last year was a different story. In comparison, 2021's totals of 7.26 inches for July and 7.59 inches for August drowned out the norms of 5.05 inches and 4.39 inches respectively.
However, 2006 had the wettest July and August over the past 22 years. The totals were 9.62 inches in July and 7.69 inches in August.
After some more snooping around the National Weather Service's site, I discovered that the river levels also had a story to tell.
I found it riveting, that after the Labor Day weekend washout the river level in Franklin increased from 3 foot to 3.9 foot. As of Sept. 10, the Allegheny River at Frankin was recoded at 3.46 ft and forecasted to fall to 3.1 foot later in the week.
March, April and May's totals were above the mean or normal numbers. While, June, July and August's numbers fell short. In fact, according to the chart, August's total of 2.37 inches was highlighted as the lowest total recorded on the chart in the years ranging from 2000 to 2022.
Last year was a different story. In comparison, 2021's totals of 7.26 inches for July and 7.59 inches for August drowned out the norms of 5.05 inches and 4.39 inches respectively.
However, 2006 had the wettest July and August over the past 22 years. The totals were 9.62 inches in July and 7.69 inches in August.
After some more snooping around the National Weather Service's site, I discovered that the river levels also had a story to tell.
I found it riveting, that after the Labor Day weekend washout the river level in Franklin increased from 3 foot to 3.9 foot. As of Sept. 10, the Allegheny River at Frankin was recoded at 3.46 ft and forecasted to fall to 3.1 foot later in the week.
Meanwhile here in Pinegrove Township, I only had the neighbor's pond, my observations and my parents' rain gauge to judge the dryness of the area.
The neighbor's pond seemed to be at least 18 inches lower than it had been at the start of this summer.
I had first noticed one of the old pilings that had been used to construct one of the pond's walls was sticking out. In past years, in times of drought, a second shorter piling has been seen rising from the water. After the heavy rains over Labor Day weekend, I rushed to the pond to see if it was back up to its normal levels.
While lack of rainfall in Pinegrove Township was an issue, I soon discovered that the pond had developed a washout which made the deficit considerably worse. I attempted twice to sure up the outflow area with no resolve.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature's beaver construction crew that fixed the first sinkhole a couple of years ago wasn't able to be contacted. They usually only arrived in the spring.
I made a final attempt to stem the tide.
I had tried to face the problem head on by plugging the hole on the pond side of the outflow. Here the secret was that support was needed from behind the outflow to make sure the repair held in place. As of this Monday, the pond was up to near normal levels.
My parents' rain gauge reported 3.2 inches of rain from Saturday night to early Sunday morning over the Labor Day weekend. I woke up at 2 a.m. that Sunday morning to find water running across the basement floor. That rainfall certainly helped the pond and various vegetation in the area.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature's beaver construction crew that fixed the first sinkhole a couple of years ago wasn't able to be contacted. They usually only arrived in the spring.
I made a final attempt to stem the tide.
I had tried to face the problem head on by plugging the hole on the pond side of the outflow. Here the secret was that support was needed from behind the outflow to make sure the repair held in place. As of this Monday, the pond was up to near normal levels.
My parents' rain gauge reported 3.2 inches of rain from Saturday night to early Sunday morning over the Labor Day weekend. I woke up at 2 a.m. that Sunday morning to find water running across the basement floor. That rainfall certainly helped the pond and various vegetation in the area.
| While the neighbor's pond seemed to survive this summer's lack of rain, others were not so fortunate. Earlier this summer, reports indicated that Jeanie Jo’s in Fryburg had its well run dry on July 9. The dry well caused a multitude of problems for the small business. Sunny B's sunflower farm reported Aug. 2 on its Facebook page that it would not be open for the 2022 season. "It is with great sadness that we make this announcement. Lack of rain and hungry deer did not permit our fields to flourish. Thankfully this is our hobby. We pray that farmers who earn their livings from their crops have more success than we did. We will try again in 2023," the post continued. Earlier this summer our hay supplier in Fertigs was expressing concern over the second cutting of hay. While the spring rains had created a good first cut, the lack of water was making a second cutting uncertain. However, I did notice over the past weekend that some hay fields were being harvested. Other observations of possible water trouble this summer included a water drilling rig at a home along Maple Shade Road in late August. |    |
While Sunny B's sunflowers didn't fare well, those planted in my garden bloomed. However, I only had two rows of the bright flowers to water and not several acres. In fact, I almost pumped our well off watering the garden. I rushed to shut the pump off and after a few hours our well recovered. The incident served as an important reminder that I needed to be more cautious with water usage this summer.
While most of the summer I got used to not having to prepare for rain, last Wednesday's downpour caught me off-guard. The dry weather had caused me to remove a jacket I had stashed in my backpack. I also remembered that I thought I had put a black garbage bag in my pack, but it wasn't there either in my time of need. I recalled hearing a soft roar in the distance and thought it might be just wind. It wasn't. The goats and I sought shelter under a pine tree which worked for a little bit but soon the deluge was too much.
We cut our walk short. Amazingly, after the dogs and
I were dried off, the rain stopped.
Out of curiosity, I checked my parents' rain gauge after the skies cleared. It measured almost a half an inch of rain for the episode.
While I might not be a huge fan of drenching weather, it seems that fungus and mushrooms need the moisture to flourish.
We cut our walk short. Amazingly, after the dogs and
I were dried off, the rain stopped.
Out of curiosity, I checked my parents' rain gauge after the skies cleared. It measured almost a half an inch of rain for the episode.
While I might not be a huge fan of drenching weather, it seems that fungus and mushrooms need the moisture to flourish.
In a Sept, 9, 2021, post titled "Do Mushrooms Need Sunlight? (Solved and Explained!)" author John Stephens explains how important water is to mushrooms.
"The most suitable environment for a mushroom to grow and thrive requires 90 percent water, from both the soil and humidity in the atmosphere," Stephens wrote.
This seemed to concur with my finding a topless tree adorned with the bright orange hues of some chicken of the woods mushrooms.
"The most suitable environment for a mushroom to grow and thrive requires 90 percent water, from both the soil and humidity in the atmosphere," Stephens wrote.
This seemed to concur with my finding a topless tree adorned with the bright orange hues of some chicken of the woods mushrooms.
 |  |
While I'm glad that the mushrooms thrived by getting drenched, I did not enjoy it so much. The fungus also love high humidity, which I am an avid hater of.
Although, a humidity-clouded camera lens did make an interesting filter for a butterfly photo.
I had to concede that while I did enjoy the drier air, higher humidity and more moisture were needed to help drive the area's rainfall totals up.
Nonetheless, earlier this week the National Weather Service posted its precipitation outlook for Sept. 18 to 24. Venango County looked again to be split between near normal precipitation and below normal.
The forecast seemed to indicate a dry September, but I'm going to pack a jacket anyway.
That's just the nature of things 'round here.
Although, a humidity-clouded camera lens did make an interesting filter for a butterfly photo.
I had to concede that while I did enjoy the drier air, higher humidity and more moisture were needed to help drive the area's rainfall totals up.
Nonetheless, earlier this week the National Weather Service posted its precipitation outlook for Sept. 18 to 24. Venango County looked again to be split between near normal precipitation and below normal.
The forecast seemed to indicate a dry September, but I'm going to pack a jacket anyway.
That's just the nature of things 'round here.
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