By Nathan Ham
If you didn’t know that the season had changed on the calendar, you would have no idea that autumn has arrived.
More very dry and very warm weather is on top as the first week of October begins on Tuesday. According to Monday’s weather forecast from Ray’s Weather Center, there will be a chance to set some more record high temperatures this week, particularly on Wednesday and Thursday. High temperatures are predicted to reach the upper 70s on Tuesday and the lower to mid-80s on Wednesday and Thursday.
The current record high for October 1 was 81 degrees set in 1933. The record for October 2 is 79 degrees set in 1951 and the record for October 3 is 81 degrees set in 1954. Both of those last two records are certainly in jeopardy if the current forecast holds out.
The weekend, however, is shaping up to be a lot more seasonable with highs in the mid and upper 60s on Saturday and Sunday with only a slight chance of isolated evening showers on Sunday.
Since the area has had such little rainfall over the past two months, dry conditions will continue to be prevalent across the High Country. Some parts of the High Country, including Banner Elk, Boone and West Jefferson did get a brief downpour and some lightning and thunder on Saturday. Appalachian State’s home football game against Coastal Carolina on Saturday saw a two-hour weather delay, thanks in large part to the NCAA’s rule of an automatic 30-minute delay if a lightning strike is detected near the stadium. Fans at Kidd Brewer Stadium were asked to leave their seats and eventually leave the stadium completely for the delays.
With only a few hours remaining in the month of September, Boone recorded just a half-inch of rain for the month. Blowing Rock has barely received any rain at all with just 0.16 of an inch of rain during the month. Banner Elk received 1.41 inches of rain this month, Beech Mountain got 2.13 inches and West Jefferson had under an inch with just .24 of an inch of rain.