So, when the temperatures stayed in the moderate 80s and the sky remained overcast most of the weekend, it was with great anticipation that area residents crossed their fingers, looked skyward and hoped for the best.

Temple has received 17.31 inches of rain this year, according to AccuWeather. By this time last year, more than 38 inches of rain had fallen here. The normal year-to-date amount is 21.23 inches.

Finally, on Monday the rain began, moving in from the northwest.

Storms moving through the area caused power outages just before 8 p.m. Monday. Approximately 650 customers in downtown Temple were without power for about 30 minutes, said John Toone, area manager for Oncor.

At about 9 p.m., crews were still working to restore power to another 300 customers in Nolanville, he said.

The rain will continue to fall on and off over the next 24 hours, or until Wednesday morning, said KCEN-TV chief meteorologist Andy Andersen.

Two to three inches of rain will be common in most locations, he said, with isolated areas getting up to six inches.

The moderate temperatures will increase as the week progresses, with a high of 85 degrees today, increasing to 93 degrees by Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

During the late summer it seems the only prospect for rains are the remnants of hurricanes that have hit the coast.

This year, even the storms in the Gulf failed us. In late July, Hurricane Dolly made landfall too far to the west to be much help. Some communities benefited from Tropical Storm Edouard as it moved inland, but it appeared to bypass Temple, instead drenching communities to the west.

Dirk Aaron, Texas AgriLife Extension agent, said early Monday afternoon he had talked to farmers in different parts of the county and those to the south had not had any rain, but those in east Bell County had received about a half inch by noon.

“This is incredibly positive for our wheat fields as well as for pastures that are suffering because of the lack of rain,” Aaron said.

The type of rain the area is receiving is exactly what is needed, slow and steady, he said.

“We need saturating rains,” Aaron said. “Heavy rain with lots of runoff won’t benefit us that much.”

It didn’t appear that the rain had resulted in an increased number of traffic accidents, said Thomas Pechal, Temple Fire and Rescue spokesman.