Rainfall for the First Quarter of 2010

As a gardener, I often get asked if this season is on track in terms of rainfall. Many of my friends know that weather observing is a hobby with me. That doesn’t mean I know much about the weather, but I do keep pretty accurate records for my location here in Forsyth Missouri.

So, what about the rainfall? Have we had more than or less than average? Well, the answer is….we’ve been about average for the first quarter of the year. As you can see in the graph at right, I’ve included the average rainfall rates for Springfield (SGF) which is to my north and West Plains (WP) which is to the east. I recorded 12.8 inches of rainfall here versus an average for the two locations of 13.3 inches for the months of January through April. That puts us at about a half inch behind. By my way of thinking that makes us pretty close to where we should be for this time of year.Also, Bull Shoals is not flooded for a change.