February Rainfall

The rain slowed down in February, adding about two inches to the nearly five-inch January total. This put it just short of seven inches for the first two months of 2017. These numbers are what I actually measured with my AcuRite Weather Station in the vineyard, rather than the official North Carolina/U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) rain gauge station data collected about a mile from my house. Although I measured about two inches, the White Farm station reported less than 1.20 inches.

I have no doubt the difference between USGS data and my own measurements is reasonable, due to the nature of the rainstorms we had in February. There were scattered cells of intense rainfall that led to a high level of localized variability in the totals.

The 2016 total for February, measured at the White Farm station, was just over two inches (I didn't have the AcuRite station last year). Normal rainfall for February, as reported  by the National Weather Service, for the period 1981 to 2010, is 3.32 inches. The January normal over that the same period is 3.41. So far, 2017 fits within the historical norms for rain.

Anecdotally, I found the soil damp when I planted roses two weeks ago, although the surface is badly in need of rain. I'm watching the radar and hoping.