October 2016 Climate Summary Now Available

Overview - Warm and Dry

The warmth of September continued into October across the High Plains, as average temperatures were at least 2.0 degrees F (1.1 degrees C) above normal in most areas. The warmest locations included eastern Colorado and southwestern Kansas where departures were greater than 6.0 degrees F (3.3 degrees C) above normal. Many locations ranked in the top 10 for warmest October on record. Dry conditions accompanied the warmth, especially in eastern Colorado and southwestern Kansas where the greatest temperature departures occurred. For instance, Colorado Springs, Colorado and Garden City, Kansas had their 2nd warmest and 3rd warmest Octobers on record respectively, and they both tied for their driest Octobers on record (Colorado Springs period of record 1895-2016, Garden City period of record 1947-2016). These conditions caused soils to dry out quickly and wildfires to spread easily, which prompted the expansion of abnormal dryness and moderate drought to these areas by authors of the U.S. Drought Monitor. Meanwhile, record precipitation in Montana and above-normal precipitation in northern Wyoming relieved drought conditions and improved streamflows in the Upper Missouri River Basin.

It was quite an interesting month for weather across the U.S. One of the biggest highlights of October was the impacts of a major hurricane along the U.S. East Coast. The first week of October, Hurricane Matthew ravaged Haiti and the Bahamas, then skirted up the coast of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina before turning out to sea. Although Matthew only made a brief landfall in South Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane, it was a Category 3 when it moved parallel to the Florida coastline. Flooding was widespread throughout the Southeast and, according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center, at least 49 people died as a result of Matthew, over half of which occurred in North Carolina due to drowning. Another highlight of the weather in October was the rare occurrence of two tornadoes in northwest Oregon. According to the NWS Portland, the last time there were multiple tornadoes in one day in their area was November 12, 1991.

For more information on temperature, precipitation, and impacts from climate in September in the High Plains region, please see the link to the full PDF of the summary: http://hprcc.unl.edu/climatesummaries.php