1992 WAS MIXED BAG FOR WEATHER; AVERAGES SLIGHTLY WARMER AND DRIER

Last year was another unusual weather year for the Cape Girardeau area.

For the second year in a row, the daily high in 1992 did not reach 100 degrees, and the overnight low did not fall below zero, according to statistics provided by Al Robertson, climatologist and professor of Earth Science at Southeast Missouri State University.

"We were slightly warmer than the 48-year average, and a little drier than our 45-year annual precipitation average," Robertson said.

The El Nino effect in the Pacific Ocean, and the huge amounts of volcanic dust blown into the earth's atmosphere from the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, continued to have a major impact on weather world-wide, and in the Cape Girardeau area, according to Robertson.

"The net effect of both of these phenomenon was an unusually warm winter and a definite cooling trend during the final seven months of the year," he said.

The average temperature at the Cape Girardeau airport for 1992 was 57.6 degrees, compared to the long-term average of 57.4 degrees, a change of only .6 of a degree.

"The year started out very warm," said Robertson. "During January, the monthly average was over 4 degrees above normal. In February, it was nearly 8 degrees above average. The March average was 2.3 degrees above normal. April was only .6 of a degree from the long-term average."

After March, the trend reversed itself.

The May temperature average was 1 degrees below normal. June was 3.4 degrees cooler than normal, and July, slightly (.4 of a degree) cooler than average.

August was much cooler than normal, with the monthly average 3.4 degrees below the long-term average. September was nearly two degrees below normal. October was over 2 degrees cooler than normal. November and December were slightly cooler than average.

Robertson noted the unusually warm temperatures last winter were offset by the unusually cool temperatures during the fall and early winter months, resulting in practically no change from the long-term average.

The high for the year, 95 degrees, occurred on June 17. There were only 25 days last year when the daily high was at or above 90 degrees.

"That's very unusual for Southeast Missouri," Robertson said. "During an average year, we should have at least 1-2 days when the daily high is at, or above 100 degrees. All of the volcanic dust in the upper atmosphere was partly responsible for some of this cooling effect."

Robertson said the last time the Cape Girardeau airport recorded 100 degrees was in 1990.

The low temperature for 1992 was 10 degrees on Jan. 16. Robertson said the last time the temperature was at or below zero at the airport was on Dec. 22, 1989, when the thermometer fell to -11. It was -9 degrees the following day, and zero on Dec. 24, 1989.

"When you look at all of these figures from last year, we really had a very mild year," Robertson said.

Total precipitation at the airport last year amounted to 39 inches, down 6.03 inches from the long-term average of 45.03 inches.

"That was due mainly to a drier than normal January, March, April, May, and June," Robertson noted. "We did recover some of the loss between June and November, which all had above average precipitation."

Robertson said the wettest month in 1992 was September, with 5.28 inches of rain, and November, with 5.24 inches of precipitation.

The mild winter of 1992 was also obvious because of the lack of snow. Robertson said only two inches of snow fell at the airport in January, none in February, and .4 of an inch of snow in March.