News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Bill Turnbull, left, and his wife Nancy Turnbull use an umbrella while walking through downtown Alpena during a light rain on Tuesday. Despite the precipitation, much of Northeast Michigan is classified as being in a moderate drought.

ALPENA — A warm and dry September has caused a large portion of Northeast Michigan to fall into drought, an update from the Climate Prediction Centre’s U.S. Drought Monitor shows.

Although the Alpena area saw a few sprinkles on Tuesday, it wasn’t enough to put a dent in the drought conditions and there is little chance of precipitation in the next week or so.

Temperatures last month were well above the long-term average and precipitation was nearly two inches below the norm.

The long-term average rainfall for September is 2.84 inches. But last month Alpena only received 0.99 inches and a brunt of that came during one rain shower on Sept. 25 when Alpena received 0.52 inches.

According to the Drought Monitor, the area around Alpena and the shoreline of Thunder Bay is at the D0 drought level, which means the ground is abnormally high. Just a few miles out of town further out in Alpena County, the drought classification is D1, which is moderate drought.

Most of Presque Isle County is also classified as being in a moderate drought, as is a sliver of Alcona and Montmorency counties.

Joe Delizio, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Gaylord, said the warm weather and lack of rain last month really dried things out. He said the rain on Tuesday in Alpena will be little help to the drought conditions and there isn’t really a rain system large enough to soak the ground thoroughly in the immediate future.

“We just aren’t seeing anything major right now,” Delizio said. “We may get a small system later in the week, but it doesn’t appear to be anything that will improve the drought.”

Besides the lack of rain, temperatures were very warm in September, especially during the day. For the month, the average high temperature was 76.8 degrees, which easily eclipsed the 71 degree long-term average.

The hottest day last month was Sept. 12 when the mercury climbed to 87 degrees.

In all, there were 11 days where the thermometer reached at least 80 degrees in Alpena.

Temperatures during the nighttime and in the early morning hours did cool, but were still above the long-term average. Last month, the average low temperature was 48.6 degrees, which was higher than the 47 degree average.

The coldest temperature recorded at the Alpena County Regional Airport in September was 43 degrees on Sept. 8.

Delizio said temperatures have pivoted to a more fall like feeling, but they are still above average. He said the warmer than normal temperatures will last a few more weeks and then there could be a cooldown in Northeast Michigan.

Still, he said, the long range forecast for October and November shows there is a chance that temperatures will remain slightly above the long-term average. He said eventually though, Mother Nature will step in and winter will come calling.

“Fall and winter are inevitable, it is just a matter of when they arrive,” Delizio said.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.