I n September, there were no 90-degree temperatures, there was no frost, and although we flirted with snow -- Nederland got a couple of inches -- there was none of that either in Boulder.

A drier-than-normal month put Boulder slightly behind in year-to-date moisture.

September was the 24th driest on record, and a degree cooler than normal. The fire danger remained at "moderate" all month, despite relative humidities in the single digits on the last two days, and a red flag fire warning on the 30th.

This year's fire totals to date are much less than expected, given all the infernos in California. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, this year has seen 71,000 fires burn 5.6 million acres. Last year, at this time, it was 68,000 fires and 4.7 million acres, but in 2007 it was 73,000 fires and 8.2 million acres.

I don't know the correlation, but the Earth is approaching sunspot records.

"The sun's lack of sunspots may be linked to the pleasant summer temperatures the Midwest enjoyed this summer," said Charlie Perry, a research hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Lawrence, Kan.

In July through August, 51 consecutive days passed without a spot, one day short of the record of 52 days in the early 1900s. With three months to go, 2009 ranks third all-time with 206 spotless days. There have been 717 spotless days since 2004.

Perry says the current solar minimum could continue into 2010. He also said there is a feeling from some scientists the Earth may be entering a grand minimum. The year without a summer (1816) was during a grand minimum. Another grand minimum was from 1903 to 1913.

1912 and 1913 were the two coldest years in Boulder's history.