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Temperature departures from average for the month of October 2021

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) came out with a climatology report for October 2021. This report shows that the contiguous United States saw its sixth warmest October in 127 years, with an average temperature was 57 degrees. This temperature is 2.9 degrees above average. The average temperature so far this year, January through October, is 57 degrees. This is 2 degrees above average and ranked 9th warmest during this time period.

In the image above, the areas in red indicate these locations saw warmer temperatures during October this year. The area that saw the greatest departure from average appears to be in portions of the Northeast. Two of the warmest states for the month were Maryland and Ohio.

Total Precipitation for the month of October 2021

Taking a look at the average precipitation for October the United States saw on average, 3.11 inches. This is almost an inch above average, making it the ninth wettest October. When looking at the entire year so far, January through October, the average precipitation total was 26.74 inches. This is 1.38 inches above average making it the third wettest on record.

In the image above, the areas in green indicate locations that saw above-average rainfall for the month of October. The most notable locations that saw above-average rainfall would be parts of California, Illinois, and Nevada.

More about NOAA’s article on the October 2021 Climate Summary

What about here in the Huntsville area?

Average temperature for the month of October and the year so far

For the Huntsville area, the warmest October was back in 2016, with an average temperature of 69.6 degrees. This year we saw an average temperature of 65.5 degrees for October, this is the 16th warmest on record for the area. If the year were to have ended on October 31st, it would have been the 16th warmest year on average. The warmest was in 2016 with an average yearly temperature of 65 degrees.

The average temperature for October was 63.9 degrees, so this year we were warmer by 1.6 degrees.

Precipitation totals for the month of October and the year so far

For the Huntsville area, the wettest October on record was in 1975 where we saw a total of 12.06 inches. This year we saw a total of 3.36 inches, making it the 52nd wettest October on record. If the year were to have ended on October 31st, it would have been the 38th wettest year on average. The wettest was in 1989 with a yearly precipitation total of 73.58″.

The average total precipitation for October, here in Huntsville, is 3.56 inches, so this year we saw a deficit of -0.20 inches.