Georgia summertime weather seeps into September

September was hot and dry in Georgia, with many locations setting daytime temperature records. Several locations had the hottest April-through-September period on record.

Rainfall across the state was very spotty. Severe drought returned to southeast Georgia, which missed the rainfall.

Temperatures were warmer than normal everywhere in Georgia. In Atlanta, the monthly average temperature was 78 degrees F (4.7 degrees above normal), in Athens 75.8 degrees (3.2 degrees above normal), Columbus 80.7 degrees (4.5 degrees above normal), Macon 77.4 degrees (2.9 degrees above normal), Savannah 79.4 degrees (2.5 degree above normal), Brunswick 80.7 degrees (2.6 degrees above normal), Alma 78.9 degrees (1.6 degrees above normal), Valdosta 80 degrees (3.3 degrees above normal) and Augusta 76.7 degrees (2.9 degrees above normal). Sweltering conditions set many new daytime temperature records. Atlanta set new records Sept. 11 with 96 degrees, breaking the old record of 95 degrees set on that date in 2002, and again Sept. 25 with 93 degrees, breaking the old record of 92 degrees set on that date in 1993.

Columbus broke daily highs Sept. 11 (99 degrees), Sept. 12 (98 degrees), Sept. 18 (98 degrees), Sept. 19 (97 degrees), Sept. 20 (98 degrees) and Sept. 21 (98 degrees), breaking records from the 1990s and 2002 by 1 to 3 degrees.

Brunswick also set daytime high records Sept. 9 (98 degrees), Sept. 10 (97 degrees), Sept. 11 (98 degrees) and Sept. 20 (97 degrees). Daytime high temperature records were tied at many other locations across the state.

Several airport locations recorded their warmest April through September ever, including Savannah, Athens and Columbus. Columbus had its warmest and Atlanta had its second warmest September ever due to the very warm daytime temperatures. Atlanta reported the second highest number of days above 90 degrees after the notorious summer of 1980. (The old second-place record was 84 days above 90 degrees set in the summer of 1954.)

Many areas experienced extended dry spells punctuated by a few heavy rainfalls. Generally, the central part of the state was the wettest with above-average rainfall. Border regions were well below normal, particularly the southeastern coast.

The highest monthly total from National Weather Service reporting stations was 7.32 inches in Valdosta (3.52 inches above normal). The lowest was in Brunswick at 1.47 inches (4.77 inches below normal). Athens received 5.35 inches (1.82 inches above normal), Alma 3.31 inches (.03 inch below normal), Atlanta 1.60 inches (2.49 inches below normal), Columbus 3.17 inches (.10 inches above normal), Macon 5.45 inches (1.82 inches above normal), Savannah 3.01 inches (2.07 inches below normal) and Augusta 1.89 inches (1.70 inches below normal).

Columbus got 1.85 inches of rain Sept. 26, breaking the old record of 1.55 inches for that date in 1953.
The highest single-day rainfall from Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network stations was 6.33 inches reported in Lexington, Oglethorpe County, Sept. 27. An observer in Taylor County received 6.07 inches on that date. The highest monthly rainfall total from the network was 9.57 inches at the Lexington site, followed by 9.06 inches in Oglethorpe County and 9.04 inches in Lowndes County.

Scattered wind damage hit somewhere in Georgia on three days during the month. Moderate-sized hail was reported at several locations in northern Georgia Sept. 27, including golf ball-sized hail in Fulton County. No tornadoes were reported.

The dry conditions affected the development of peanuts across Georgia in non-irrigated fields, leading producers to harvest early. Pastures were severely affected by the lack of rain.

By Pam Knox
University of Georgia

-----
Community News You Can Use
Click to read MORE news:
www.GeorgiaFrontPage.com
Twitter: @gafrontpage & @TheGATable @HookedonHistory
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
Twitter: @artsacrossga, @softnblue, @RimbomboAAG
www.FayetteFrontPage.com
Twitter: @FayetteFP

Fort Benning, Georgia: Thousands Speak Out Against the School of the Americas and for Human Rights in the Americas

/PRNewswire/ -- Thousands of solidarity activists gathered at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia in a funeral procession commemorating the hundreds of thousands killed and tortured by graduates of the School of the Americas, now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (SOA/WHINSEC).

Four demonstrators carried their witness across military lines and were arrested on Ft. Benning: Nancy Gwin of Syracuse, NY; Ken Hayes of Austin, TX; Fr. Louis Vitale of Oakland, CA; and Michael Walli of Washington, DC. Walli remains in custody and the other three are currently being released on bail, to face trial in January 2010. None of those responsible for SOA/WHINSEC crimes have ever been held accountable, while 286 peace and justice activists have served up to 2 years in prison for their acts of nonviolent civil disobedience.

On Sunday morning, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), announced that SOA Watch and founder Fr. Roy Bourgeois have been nominated by the Quaker organization for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. "We are deeply honored, and deeply humbled, to be nominated for this prize for peace," commented Bourgeois, a Vietnam veteran, Purple Heart recipient. "This nomination is a recognition of the work of the thousands struggling against militarism across the Americas."

Following the procession, several hundred activists marched together, risking arrest, into the street beyond the confines of the protest to carry their message of resistance and people power further.

The weekend has been a tremendous success for all those struggling against militarism across the Americas.

Bertha Oliva from the Committee of the Family Members of the Disappeared from Honduras was one of the featured speakers this weekend. Several SOA Watch activists, including Lisa Sullivan, SOA Watch's Latin America Coordinator, will accompany her when she returns to Honduras in order to stay in solidarity with the people who are resisting the SOA graduate-led military coup in that country.

We Need Your Help to Find Civil Rights Victims’ Next of Kin

After two-and-a-half years of exhaustive investigation into more than 100 civil rights-era cold cases, the FBI has announced the next phase of our Cold Case Initiative: we’re looking for the next-of-kin in 33 cases to let families know what happened to their loved ones and to possibly obtain additional investigative information.

So please look over this list, and if you’re a family member of one of the victims or think you may know the whereabouts of a family member, contact your local FBI office.

These cases—announced today in Baton Rouge, Louisiana by FBI Civil Rights Unit Chief Cynthia Deitle, along with cold case documentary filmmaker Keith Beauchamp—represent the last remaining investigations from our original list of 108 cold cases released in February 2007.

Special Agent Cynthia Dietle

We’ve done a tremendous amount of work since February 2007, locating victims’ families in 75 cases, enabling us to investigate and assess each one. “Our agents have worked tirelessly, reaching out to victims’ families and interviewing witnesses, along with police officers, prosecutors, and judges,” says Deitle. “They’ve combed through old police records, grand jury transcripts, and court transcripts to piece together a story that may have happened decades ago.

Because of our previous publicity efforts, Deitle adds, “We’ve also received tips and other help from the public, the media, academia, and our partners at organizations like the NAACP, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the National Urban League.”

To date, three of our 108 cases have been referred for state prosecution. In other cases, there may be no charges filed because many involve:

* deceased suspects (47 percent of cases);
* individuals who were already tried in state court and can’t be prosecuted again in federal court because of double jeopardy;
* deceased witnesses and old evidence that’s been destroyed; or
Civil Rights-era funeral
The FBI will continue to probe civil rights-era cases.
Photo courtesy of Keith Beauchamp.
* deaths that weren’t racially-motivated homicides (19 percent).

However, several additional cold cases have been prosecuted federally in recent years, including the 1964 murders of Henry Dee and Charles Moore. And we’re pursuing leads in other cases, including the 1964 murder of Frank Morris.

Among the 36 victims whose families we’re currently looking for:

* Arthur James Hill: shot and killed in August 1965 in Villa Rica, Georgia during an altercation with a group of white men.
* Clarence Horatious Pickett: beaten to death by a police officer in December 1957 in a jail in Columbus, Georgia.
* Ann Thomas: sexually assaulted and shot four times in the head in April 1969 in San Antonio, Texas.
* William Lewis Moore: a postal worker and former U.S. Marine shot and killed in April 1963 near Attalla, Alabama while marching to deliver a letter to the governor of Mississippi urging the integration of the University of Mississippi.
* Ernest Jells: shot to death in October 1963 in Clarksville, Mississippi, by police after he allegedly pointed a rifle at officers attempting to arrest him for stealing a banana.

Once we officially close all 108 cases, we’ll continue to look into racially-motivated homicides from the civil rights era that come to our attention. Protecting the rights of all Americans—whether in 1959 or 2009—remains one of our top criminal investigative priorities.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter: @GAFrontPage