PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1235 PM CST MON JAN 3 2000

...1999 CLIMATOLOGICAL AND SIGNIFICANT WEATHER SUMMARY FOR TUPELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...

1999 WILL GO DOWN IN THE RECORD BOOKS AS A WARMER THAN AVERAGE YEAR. EVERY MONTH WAS ABOVE NORMAL EXCEPT FOR MARCH...WHICH WAS ACTUALLY COOLER THAN FEBRUARY. PRECIPITATION WAS NEAR NORMAL...BUT THIS IS
DECEIVING SINCE ALMOST 30 INCHES OF RAIN FELL IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF THE YEAR...AND ONLY 0.44 INCHES FELL IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER COMBINED.  BELOW IS A TABLE OF EACH MONTHS AVERAGE TEMP AND PRECIP:
 

MONTH AVGTEMP DEPARTURE RAINFALL DEPARTURE RAINDAYS
JANUARY 47.3 +7.4 11.58 +6.69 14
FEBRUARY 50.3 +6.0 2.87 -1.85 13
MARCH 50.0 -3.7 8.03  +1.96 15
APRIL 66.6 +4.2 7.03 +1.78 10
MAY 70.4 +0.2 3.25 -2.47 11
JUNE 78.2 +1.0 6.94 +3.10 13
JULY 83.0 +2.4 2.40 -1.90 10
AUGUST 82.7 +3.1 0.39 -2.66 2
SEPTEMBER 74.5 +0.5 0.05 -3.55 1
OCTOBER 63.6  +1.2 1.67 -1.75 3
NOVEMBER 56.2 +3.6 2.04 -2.81  7
DECEMBER 45.6 +2.1 3.03 -3.13 10
YEARLY 64.0 +2.3 49.28 -6.59 109
(NOTE: RAINDAYS INDICATE NUMBER OF DAYS WITH AT LEAST 0.01" OF RAIN.)

THE WIDE RANGE OF TEMPERATURES AND CONDITIONS IN ANY GIVEN YEAR OFTEN LEADS TO RECORDS BEING SET OR TIED. BELOW IS A LIST OF RECORDS SET OR TIED (DOES NOT INCLUDE COOLEST HIGHS OR WARMEST LOWS) IN 1999:

JAN 04...NEW RECORD LOW....13 DEGREES...PREVIOUS RECORD NOT AVAILABLE
FEB 07...NEW RECORD HIGH...76 DEGREES...PREVIOUS RECORD 73 SET IN 1937
FEB 11...TIE RECORD HIGH...78 DEGREES...PREVIOUS RECORD 78 SET IN 1938
APR 10...NEW RECORD HIGH...86 DEGREES...PREVIOUS RECORD 85 SET IN 1995
AUG 19...NEW RECORD HIGH..104 DEGREES..PREVIOUS RECORD 103 SET IN 1980
NOV 07...NEW RECORD HIGH...81 DEGREES...PREVIOUS RECORD 80 SET IN 1934
NOV 10...NEW RECORD HIGH...79 DEGREES...PREVIOUS RECORD 78 SET IN 1949

...OTHER SIGNIFICANT WEATHER INFORMATION...

THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER WAS THE DRIEST EVER IN TUPELO...WITH ONLY 0.05 INCHES OF RAINFALL RECORDED. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 0.06 INCHES SET IN 1998. THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 24TH TO NOVEMBER 1ST...INCLUDED JUST FOUR DAYS WITH MEASURABLE RAINFALL.

MISCELLANEOUS CLIMATOLOGICAL INFORMATION FOR TUPELO:
 

PARAMETER MEASURED  1999 NORMAL DEPARTURE
AVERAGE HIGH 75.6 72.2 +3.4
AVERAGE LOW 52.5 51.2 +1.3
HIGHEST TEMPERATURE 104 ON 8/19
LOWEST TEMPERATURE 11 ON 1/ 5
DAYS LOW 32 OR LESS 47 DAYS
DAYS HIGH 90 OR MORE 77 DAYS
DAYS HIGH 100 OR MORE 8 DAYS
LAST FREEZE (SPRING) 3/27
FIRST FREEZE (FALL) 10/24
GROWING SEASON 210 DAYS
HEATING DEGREE DAYS  2443 3054 -611
COOLING DEGREE DAYS 2223 1901 +322
GREATEST 24 HR RAIN 3.75 ON 1/22