FOR RELEASE: Nov. 19, 1997
Contact: Blaine P. Friedlander, Jr.
Office: (607) 255-3290
Internet: [email protected]
Compuserve: Bill Steele, 72650,565
http://www.news.cornell.edu
ITHACA, N.Y. -- With autumn bursting all around, October turned out dry in the Northeast, according to climatologists from the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.
So dry, in fact, that the area-weighted monthly precipitation total of 1.81 inches represented 54 percent of the long-term normal (3.33 inches). For the Northeast, this month ranked as the 12th driest October in the last 103 years of records and the second driest in the last 15 years (with 1.14 inches of rain, 1994 is the driest in the last 15 years). Since records have been kept, October 1924 still reigns as the driest with an arid .44 inches of precipitation, according to Keith Eggleston, a climatologist with the center.
Maine was particularly dry, getting 1.33 inches of precipitation, or just 37 percent of its 3.55-inch normal precipitation. This gave Maine its eighth driest October in 103 years of record.
Portions of the mid-Atlantic coast received the most precipitation this month. Delaware reported 2.80 inches, or 87 percent of their 3.21-inch normal.
For this year's January through October period, the Northeast received 31.26 inches of precipitation, which was 3.4 inches below normal and nearly 14 inches less than the amount received during the same ten months last year. With 29.29 inches of precipitation, Maryland recorded its sixth driest January-October period. ( Maryland's record for this period is 19.84 inches, set in 1930.) Neighboring state Delaware recorded its seventh driest January-October periods, with 28.96 inches of precipitation. Delaware's driest January-October period was 1930 with 24.32 inches.
Temperatures averaged near or below normal throughout the northeastern United States in October. The first half of the month was unseasonably warm, as high temperatures peaked in the 70s and 80s. Following this, however, much colder air became entrenched for the remainder of the month. West Virginia was the only state to average slightly warmer temperatures than normal, with a state-average departure of 0.2 degrees. Vermont recorded the largest deviation from normal, averaging 43.2 degrees, or 3 degrees colder than the 30-year mean of 46.2 degrees.
New Weather Records
Maximum Temperature Records
City Date New Previous
Hartford, Conn. (tie) 6th 86 deg. 86 deg. in 1990
Bridgeport, Conn. 6th 86 deg. 85 deg. in 1959
Atlantic City AP, N.J. (6th 87 deg. 87 deg. in 1951
Brookhaven, N.Y. 6th 85 deg. 83 deg. in 1995
Bridgeport, Conn. 7th 78 deg. 77 deg. in 1990
Beckley, W.Va. (tie) 7th 77 deg. 77 deg. in 1963
Beckley, W.Va. 8th 81 deg. 75 deg. in 1993
Caribou, Maine 10th 73 deg. 69 deg. in 1955
Atlantic City marina, N.10th 85 deg. 85 deg. in 1939
Minimum Temperature Records
City Date New Previous
Worcester, Mass. 2nd 33 deg. 34 deg. in 1946
Bridgeport, Conn. 2nd 37 deg. 39 deg. in 1992
Baltimore 2nd 35 deg. 38 deg. in 1899
Scranton, Pa. 2nd 30 deg. 32 deg. in 1958
Atlantic City, N.J. AP 2nd 32 deg. 34 deg. in 1972
Allentown, Pa. 2nd 32 deg. 34 deg. in 1958
Wilmington, Del. 2nd 34 deg. 36 deg. in 1895
Newark, N.J. 2nd 39 deg. 40 deg. in 1938
Binghamton, N.Y. (tie) 2nd 30 deg. 30 deg. in 1955
Buffalo, N.Y. (tie) 2nd 32 deg. 32 deg. in 1975
Beckley, W.Va. 16th 29 deg. 31 deg. in 1986
Baltimore 23rd 28 deg. 31 deg. in 1976
Pittsburgh (tie) 23rd 25 deg. 25 deg. in 1976
Allentown 23rd 24 deg. 25 deg. in 1944
Atlantic City airprt,NJ 23rd 27 deg. 27 deg. in 1969
Parkersburg, W.Va. 23rd 21 deg. 24 deg. in 1969
Huntington, W.Va. 23rd 23 deg. 25 deg. in 1913
Beckley, W.Va. 23rd 18 deg. 24 deg. in 1969
Charleston, W.Va. (tie) 23rd 24 deg. 24 deg. in 1976
Newark, N.J. 23rd 30 deg. 31 deg. in 1969
Daily Snowfall Records (inches)
City Date New Previous
Caribou, Maine 26th 8.3 1.6 in 1962
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