Fall Arrives in Salina — and the Weather Is Finally Starting to Look Like It

Fall officially arrived Monday, Sept. 22, and after one of the hottest starts to September Salina has experienced, the weather is beginning to cooperate.

Temperatures have dropped sharply from where they were just a few weeks ago, while rain moved through the Salina area Thursday.

At Salina Regional Airport, 0.61 inches of precipitation was recorded Thursday, according to preliminary weather observations. Rainfall totals can vary across Saline County, particularly with thunderstorms and scattered showers.

From 106 Degrees to Fall Weather

The change is particularly noticeable considering how September began.

Salina reached 104 degrees Sept. 1, 105 degrees Sept. 2 and 103 degrees Sept. 3. Temperatures remained above 100 degrees through much of the opening stretch of the month.

The temperature eventually reached 106 degrees Sept. 8, the highest temperature recorded in Salina so far this month.

Then, on Sept. 14, Salina reached 103 degrees, breaking the previous daily record of 102 degrees set in 1911.

Just eight days later, on the first day of fall, Salina's high was 74 degrees.

That's a 32-degree difference from the month's 106-degree peak.

September Takes a Turn

The cooler weather actually began shortly before the calendar changed seasons.

After reaching 101 degrees Sept. 19, Salina's high fell to just 72 degrees Sept. 20. Highs since then have remained primarily in the 70s.

Wednesday reached 78 degrees, compared with a normal Sept. 23 high of 79 degrees.

Thursday continued the cooler pattern with cloudy skies, rain and temperatures far removed from the triple-digit heat that dominated the beginning of September.

The National Weather Service reported Salina at 67 degrees Thursday evening, with additional showers and thunderstorms possible overnight and into Friday.

For Salina, at least for now, the calendar and the weather finally appear to agree: fall is here.