Climatologists precipitation reports confusing
I am perplexed by Laura Edwards report of Brookings precipitation (12/29/23).
She reports a total precipitation for 2023 of 17.78 inches. Ive been recording precipitation in White for over 10 years. 17.78 inches would be lower than my smallest record in over 10 years: the drought year 2020 at 18.36 inches. This year I was pleased to report a total of 22.75 inches. I agree with Laura that November was an unusually dry month, but December was an unusually wet month, making the combined total of November and December well above average. I also agree nearly exactly with her October and November reported results.
I understand that there can be considerable variation in precipitation from location to location, but 5 inches appears implausible. One possibility is that Lauras report does not include melted snow. I would appeal to my fellow CoCoRaHS precipitation reporters to either confirm or deny my results for Brookings County.
Bill Powers,White
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