Warmer and wetter than normal

By Russell Russ

This October saw nearly four more inches of rain than last October. Temperature-wise it was very similar to our last two Octobers. There were six days this month with scattered frost in the area, but the first frost of the season at the weather station did not come until the morning of October 31. This is a little unusual; normally we see several frosts at the station during the months of September and October. With its higher elevation the weather station typically records fall frosts later than many of the lower-lying valley areas in the region. Usually the weather station will record its first frost by early October. Not this year.

Always a point of debate, the foliage peaked in color about the second to third week of the month. This year it just seemed to take a little longer for most trees to show color and it lasted throughout the month. For those that love the colors, a long foliage season is not such a bad thing. Was it a good or bad foliage season? They are all good aren’t they?

The month’s high temperature of 72 degrees was observed on October 15 and the low temperature of 31 degrees was observed on October 31. Only one day got below freezing, the last day of the month. The average mean temperature was 50.3 degrees, 2.7 degrees above normal.

The total precipitation for the month was 5.30 inches, one inch above normal. There were two days with just a trace of sleet, but there was no snowfall to record, putting the month 0.9 inch below October’s normal snowfall amount. Through October, the total precipitation amount for the year was 47.11 inches. This is about a half inch more than last year through October. Through October this year we were 3.50 inches above normal for total precipitation and 1.7 inches below normal for snowfall.

There are many differing views on what this winter will bring. Will it be warm or cold, snowy or not snowy? It has been said that November is the month that will predict the coming winter’s weather. The first half of November was warmer and drier than normal. We shall see what the second half of November shows us.

Weather observations are recorded by the Great Mountain Forest Corporation at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2 SW.