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Rain Dance Celebration Held at Greenway Tuesday Morning, See Video & Pictures

 

rays-rain-dance

 By Jesse Wood

About a dozen folks joined RaysWeather.com owner Ray Russell in a rain dance celebration at the Boone Greenway on Tuesday morning, which included refreshments from Stick Boy Bread Company.

Russell said he had this “crazy idea” on Friday and starting planning on Monday after the holiday weekend. Prior to the event, Russell noted that it’s a rare event to celebrate rain after the ski season historically begins in the High Country, so he wanted to give folks an outlet to express the excitement related to the dousing of the regional fires and smoke.

“I am so glad we can put those fires out. We won’t end the drought with this event, but we are going to put the fires out,” Russell said. “All of us are celebrating.”

The closest fire to Boone is, of course, the Horton Fire in southern Watauga County. As of this morning, about three-quarters of rain fell in the Sampson area, where the Horton Fire is located. This morning, fire officials stated in a release, “The rain is expected to exterminate much of the subsurface heat; however, additional heat may still exist in deep pockets.”

However, a fire in Gatlinburg spread quickly last night with very high winds. Here’s an update on that fire. 

According to weather archives at RaysWeather.com, Boone has a precipitation deficit of about 13 inches on the year and more than 11 inches over the last six months compared to historical averages. See graph from RaysWeather.com.

Boone Rainfall 2016 vs Average    
Month Average Precipitation 2016 Precipitation Difference
1 3.98 3.02 -0.96
2 3.92 7.71 3.79
3 5.04 1.22 -3.82
4 4.48 2.33 -2.15
5 4.66 6.06 1.4
6 4.66 3.59 -1.07
7 5.4 2.67 -2.73
8 5 4.65 -0.35
9 4.77 3.21 -1.56
10 4.12 2.3 -1.82
11 (28 days) 3.92 0.27 -3.65
Total 2016 Deficit as of 11/28   -12.92
6-month Deficit as of 11/28   -11.18

Editor’s Note: Story was updated.