Cooler temps, rain end burn restriction

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Newcastle is well over the average annual precipitation received with 18.39 inches raining or snowing on the area since Jan. 1, with three months of the year left to go, according to Lacey Sloan, Weston County Natural Resource District manager. On average, Sloan said, Newcastle receives between 15 and 17 inches of precipitation annually. 
“Believe it or not, the record precipitation in any one year was set in 2018 when Newcastle received 24.7 inches of precipitation,” said Melissa Smith, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Rapid City. “That is looking at records dating back to 1906.” 
She noted that 2019, to date, is sitting as the 24th wettest year in Newcastle history, with three more months left in the year. 
According to Smith, when you put 2018 and 2019 together, the two-year period ranks fourth in Newcastle recorded history for the wettest years with 42.58 inches of precipitation to date. The record for any two-year period was set in 1996-97 when Newcastle received 44.79 inches of precipitation. 
“We aren’t that far off, only two and a quarter inches of precipitation needs to fall in Newcastle to set 2018-19 over the record for two-year periods,” Smith said. 
According to the Climate Prediction Center, the rest of the year looks like it will have a greater chance of above-average precipitation and temperatures, Smith said. 
The weather outlook for the High Plains region in October, including Weston County, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, is an average temperature of 52 degrees, which is three degrees above average with 1.5 inches of precipitation predicted to fall in the area, a half inch above the average for the area. 
“We will still get cold spells, and there will still be days that are miserable, but overall it should be a wet and warmer-than-average October, November and December,” Smith said. 
Due to current precipitation predictions and forecasted cooler temperatures throughout Weston County for the “foreseeable future,” the open burn restriction that went into effect July 16 is now suspended, according to Daniel Tysdal, the county’s fire warden. 
“However, residents are urged to use extreme caution when doing any outdoor burning, as there remains a heavy fuel load and fuels are still seasonably dry. The suspension of the open burning restriction does not relieve any individual from their responsibility to ensure their fire does not escape, and each individual may still be liable for suppression costs and damages caused to others if their fire gets away,” Tysdal said. “Any fires that are started should be stirred and closely monitored to ensure they are completely out. Please call dispatch at 746-4486, extension 1, if you plan on burning, so the fire department does not get paged to your controlled burn.”