This summer has been very unusual. The temperatures and humidity have been much higher than usual and rainfall over the past three weeks seems to be a daily occurrence. Here is what the numbers say...
Year-to-date, we've had 45.6" of rain. If you extrapolate that over the period of a year (assuming the trend continues), it works out to 78.17" of rain, which would be considered a drought year. However, we still have the autumn months ahead and it always seems like historically, our larger rain events occur during that season.
From a golf course perspective, it's been too wet over the past month. Looking back over the season, our irrigation system got it's fair share of use but, the rain events we had during the early part of the summer were spaced out nicely, giving the perception that we've had plenty of rain. But again, the numbers don't lie and we are in a slight drought. An "average year" of 96" of rain, we would normally have an additional 10" of rain by now. With the climate changing, there's no question that 'normal' or 'average' is relevant anymore. While the reason for the climate change is up for debate, Highlands weather is much different than it was 25 years ago. The all-day rains and steady afternoon showers have been replaced with constant severe storms. We still get the rain totals that designate this area a temperate rain forest, but the type of rain we get is far different from the past. The temperatures speak for themselves. Even some of the pest problems we see on the golf course are different today compared to 25 years ago.