If you’re waiting for fall colors to appear in and around Watertown, you may have to wait a little longer.
That’s because Mother Nature apparently still think it’s August.
Watertown experienced its third-warmest September on record with an average temperature that was 6 degrees above normal. The warmest day during September was on the 15th when the temperature reached 88 degrees, according to Aberdeen-based meteorologist Mike Connelly of the National Weather Service.
Two temperature records were set during September in Watertown, and another was tied. On Sept. 16, the overnight low temperature reached only 66 degrees, the highest overnight low for that date in the town’s history. Two days later, on Sept. 18, the low reached only 68 degrees, also a record.
The record for high temperature on Sept. 15 in Watertown was tied this year when it reached 88 degrees.
It reached 80 degrees on 18 days, the third-most in Watertown history.
“And it wasn’t just Watertown,” Connelly said. “It happened regionally as well. Mobridge, Pierre, Aberdeen and Sisseton all set records for most days over 80 degrees. It was pretty amazing.”
It was also the sixth-driest September ever in Watertown, with only a quarter-inch of moisture, which is 2 inches below normal. That’s a change from the rest of the year, which saw the area received adequate moisture. Even with September’s historically dry weather, the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map shows no drought conditions anywhere in Eastern South Dakota.
A cold front moving through the area mid-morning on Saturday will produce strong winds, and temperatures won’t fall noticeably with highs still in the mid-70s.
“The humidity will drop,” Connelly said, “because there is moisture associated with this front. We do have a fire weather watch currently out for Saturday during the afternoon hours for all Eastern South Dakota.
“We’re trying to get people to take precautions. If they are going to be out doing any haying, or other agricultural activities, they should have water with them in case they hit a rock and cause a spark, or their engine gets too hot and sets the grass. Things will ignite fairly easily because we are so exceptionally dry.