Mariton: Speaking of Water…

by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager.

…we received a lot of rain during the third quarter of 2021.  Combined, the months of July, August and September saw 22.72 inches of rain fall on Mariton’s slopes.  To put it another way that is 13.6 gallons of water for every square foot of surface area.  The remnants of Fred, Henri, and Ida contributed about half of that total.  We also received a few thunderstorms, and a couple persistent Low-Pressure Systems during the period.

July was actually average for the month.  We received 5.66 inches and the running average for the month is 5.63″.  August saw the remnants of Fred and Henri.  The month ended with 8.04 inches of rain at Mariton.  I have an average of 5.13 inches for August.  Ida wreaked havoc in many places at the very beginning of September.  Mariton had some trail erosion and uprooted trees but was spared severe damage.  I recorded 9.02 inches of rainfall in September when the average is 5.56“.

My records have shown a rainfall deficit for most of the year.  August and September pushed us into a rainfall surplus for the time being.  We have received 45.02 inches of precipitation during the first three quarters of 2021, while the average is 40.77 inches for that same period.

I’ve written about how the years seem to be getting wetter.  Meteorologists often mention it in their year end reviews.  To put things in perspective I averaged the annual precipitation that I recorded for the six years from 1997 to 2002.  The average for those years was 44.49 inches of precipitation per year.  We have already received that much precipitation in just nine months.