Meteorological Fall begins Wednesday! A look ahead at September

Meteorological vs astronomical fall
Meteorological vs astronomical fall(WOWT)
Published: Aug. 30, 2021 at 5:58 PM CDT
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Wednesday, September 1st marks the first day of Meteorological Fall in the northern hemisphere. The start of astronomical fall this year – the autumnal equinox – occurs on September 22nd.

(You can review the difference between meteorological and astronomical seasons here.)

The latest September monthly outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center do not include eastern Nebraska or western Iowa in either the temperature or precipitation contours. This means our weather is not looking drastically warmer, cooler, drier, or wetter than average for the month as a whole.

September Monthly Temperature Outlook
September Monthly Temperature Outlook(WOWT)
September Monthly Precipitation Outlook
September Monthly Precipitation Outlook(WOWT)

On average, Omaha starts the month with highs in the lower-80s end ends September with highs in the low to mid-70s. Our average lows drop from the lower-60s to around 50° by September 30th. Our daylight hours also shorten throughout the month from more than 13 hours of daylight on September 1st to less than 12 hours by September 30th.

September climate normals for Omaha
September climate normals for Omaha(WOWT)

September is typically drier than the summer months, with less than 3 inches of total rainfall on-average.

September 1st starts a meteorological season of transition, as hours of daylight and temperatures greatly decrease through the end of November. We typically see big swings in highs and lows throughout the fall season as well, thanks to stronger fronts and the southward progression of the jet stream. So while the graphic below shows our “average” highs and lows, we typically don’t experience a nice, gradual cooling during September, October, and November.

Average highs and lows for Omaha
Average highs and lows for Omaha(WOWT)

As we head into the start of September, keep track of the 10-day forecast by downloading the free WOWT First Alert Weather App: https://www.wowt.com/page/get-the-first-alert-weather-app/

Copyright 2021 WOWT. All rights reserved.