MANHATTAN — Kansas experienced much lower than normal precipitation in October. State climatologist Mary Knapp said moisture for the month was only about one-third of normal. The statewide average was .01 of an inch of precipitation, she said. Nineteen weather-reporting stations saw no moisture in October and there were 10 days in which there was no measurable precipitation in the state. However, it could have been a lot worse, she said. On Nov. 9, 1914, the longest dry spell in the history of the continental U.S. was ended when Baghdad, Calif., deep in the Mojave Desert, received its first measurable precipitation since Oct. 12, 1912, a string of 767 days without rain.
Monday, Oct. 8, 1 p.m.
