Weather-wise, October was a pretty average fall month here.
The
average monthly temperature was pretty steady. The only record set was for low temperature when we hit 30 on Oct. 20, but really that isn't that craze compared to the absurd temperatures we had this summer.
Our rain total was below normal, which any more, below normal is the new normal.
But elsewhere, October was pretty nutty.
For example, more than half a million acres burned in wildfires across the United States, which is a monthly record. Drought conditions persisted here (raise your hand if you're tired of that phrase), but they did improve, ever so slightly. However, drought spread further north into Iowa and Minnesota. A monster Nor'easter blasted away October snow records in the northeast.
And that is just the continuous United States.
It would really be stating the incredibly painfully obvious to state that our planet is crazy, especially when it comes to weather and natural phenomena. The monthly
State of the Climate report from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center does a very nice job of neatly summarizing just how nutty a planet we live on.
Let's revisit that Nor'easter. I talked about it here before, but it was so monumental, I'll mention it again.
The storm could not have hit at a worse time. The heavy, wet snow on the autumnal foliage led to more than 3 million people without power. In western Massachusetts and New Hampshire, more than 30 inches fell. The storm received a
Category 1 rank on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale, the only ranking in October.
However, that snowfall is a good example of how weather is different than climate. The August to October temperature average in the U.S. was 66 degrees, making it the 10th warmest period on record.
Also, drought. Oh, drought. It did improve last month: On Oct. 1, about 12 percent of the country was in D4, the most extreme category. On Nov. 1, that had dropped to 9 percent. Before you start busting out the fire hoses and taking a celebratory 20-minute shower, consider this: the Southern Plains would need at least
18 inches of rain in a month to end the drought. Hahahahahahaha. When you can't cry, all you can do is laugh.
Again, check out that report. There is too much information in there to do adequate justice.
--Jerry Wofford
