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West Kootenay soaked in September

Last month was the wettest September in West Kootenay since 2004 and the third wettest since local record keeping began in 1966.
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Water runs down Stanley Street following a storm on September 21 that helped make last month the third wettest since 1966.

Last month was the wettest September in West Kootenay since 2004 and the third wettest since local record keeping began in 1966.

According a monthly roundup from Southeast Fire Centre weather specialist Ron Lakeman, the Castlegar airport was deluged with 91.4 millimetres of rain last month and the 21.4 millimetres that fell when a "vigorous frontal system" passed through on the 28th set a new record for that date.

But the month didn't start off so damp.

"Other than a system that produced a few showers, thundershowers and relatively cool temperatures during the 6th and 7th, summer continued through the initial half of September with high pressure providing many sunny and very warm days," Lakeman wrote.

The warmest temperature of the month was 32.3 degrees on the afternoon of the 2nd. Records for warmest average temperatures were set on the 13th and 14th.

But the second half of the month was far more typical of autumn as numerous Pacific disturbances produced frequent rain and much cooler temperatures, Lakeman said. More than 80 per cent of September's total rain fell during the final 15 days and only three days were dry.

The all-time high of 123 millimetres of rain was set in 1997 while the record low of 1.6 millimeters occurred in 1990.