Special Highlight

A retreating southerly monsoon across southeast Asia continued to bring unusually heavy rainfall to portions of Vietnam, Laos and Thailand with locally excessive amounts. A westward moving tropical wave dumped over 27 inches of rain on Vinh, Vietnam during the 22nd through the 27th. Flooding has plagued the Mekong Delta region since August, with at least 310 deaths and more than 313,000 houses inundated. In Indonesia, the Associated Press reported that torrential rains triggered a landslide in the Kebumen district of the Central Java province, causing 7 deaths.

Asia (Click for map)

A warm dome of high pressure at upper levels was responsible for monthly temperatures that were 1-3°C (1.8-5.4°F) above average across most of Mongolia and the eastern half of China. Along with the unseasonably mild weather, a lack of significant precipitation exacerbated persistent dryness in these areas, as drought continued to adversely impact agricultural interests.

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Farther to the west, a deep upper level trough of low pressure that was dominant across central Asia during October brought an early Arctic outbreak of cold air and snow into Siberia. The Europe/Asia snow cover loop reveals the southward progression of snowpack deep into central Russia and southward into Kazakhstan by the end of the month, where temperatures averaged 1-2°C (1.8-3.6°F) cooler than the 1992-2001 mean.

There were three typhoons that developed in the western Pacific during October which remained primarily over the open ocean waters. A weakening typhoon Haiyan recurved through the East China Sea and passed across the Ryukyu Islands as it accelerated to the northeast. Typhoons Krosa and Podul remained offshore during their life spans, although Podul reached super-typhoon intensity with maximum sustained winds reaching 140 knots (~160 mph or 72 m/s).

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A tropical low pressure system crossed southern India on the 8th producing torrential rains and resulting in at least 78 deaths. In neighboring Bangladesh, the Associated Press reported that thunderstorms produced a tornado in the northern part of the country, killing 5 people and injuring 150 on the 5th.

Europe (Click for map)

An impressive upper level ridge of high pressure brought very mild conditions to Europe and north Africa during October. Monthly temperatures were 2-3°C (3.6-5.4°F) above average across a large area. In the United Kingdom, the mean Central England Temperature for October was 13.3°C (55.9°F), which is the warmest on record. The previous October record was 13.0°C (55.4°F) set in October 1969. According to the U.K. Met Office, the Central England Temperature Series began in 1659 and is thought to be the longest instrument-based weather record in the world.

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The record-breaking warmth was captured by the European temperature timeseries for October, which includes all European nations eastward through the Ukraine. A persistent upper level low pressure trough anchored offshore promoted above average rainfall across extreme western Europe, with areas from the U.K. northward into Scandinavia reporting wetter than normal conditions. Oslo, Norway received twice their normal October rainfall, and over 90 mm (3.54 inches) of rain fell near Cambridge, England on the 21st which caused severe flooding.

Farther east, the interior of Europe including the Mediterranean region had below average rainfall. Other than heavy frontal rains on the first day of the month, Rome, Italy had less than half their normal October precipitation. Most of southern Europe has accumulated less than 100 mm (3.94 inches) of precipitation during the past 2 months.

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Australia (Click for map)

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October was both wetter and cooler than average across most of the country, although there was little overall change for areas experiencing ongoing rainfall deficiencies. A significant upper level trough of low pressure was responsible for the much cooler than normal weather. When averaged over the country, October maximum temperatures were the coolest since 1976 with minimum temperatures the fourth lowest since October 1950. Mean temperatures for the month were 1-3°C (1.8-5.4°F) below average, with localized departures of -4°C (-7.2°F) across central Australia. For more information on Australian weather and climate, see the Australian Bureau of Meteorology web site.

It was the wettest October since 1993 across Victoria and South Australia, as a series of cold frontal passages contributed to the above average rainfall in the southeast. Observed rainfall in Melbourne was double the normal October amount. Meanwhile, dry weather continued the ongoing drought across parts of Western Australia and Queensland.

Africa (Click for map

Dry conditions were observed across much of eastern Kenya, southern Ethiopia, southern Somalia and northeastern Tanzania where October precipitation was less than 50 percent of normal. Farther west across Chad and Uganda, rainfall ranged from 100-200 percent of normal across some areas. Flooding continued in Chad along the Logone, Chari and Batha rivers where 100 people have been killed and 11,000 houses destroyed since the flooding began in September.

CAMS precipitation estimates

The seasonal southward progression of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) signaled the onset of the dry season across the Sahel region, while the southward ITCZ shift heralded the arrival of significant rains to parts of Gabon eastward through the Congo. Farther south, more wet weather was observed across Botswana and parts of South Africa, with drier than average conditions noted across much of Mozambique.

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The most pronounced temperature anomalies were observed across north Africa, with temperatures of 2-4°C (3.6-7.2°F) above average throughout much of Algeria.

North America (Click for map)

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Upper level ridges of high pressure were responsible for warmer than average temperatures across parts of the western United States and southeastern Canada, with monthly departures of 1-3°C (1.8-5.4°F). Temperatures were cooler than usual from Alaska southeastward into the Canadian prairies.

larger image Radar imagery courtesy of NCAR

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One of the largest severe weather outbreaks ever recorded during the month of October in the U.S. occurred in parts of the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys on the 24th. Severe thunderstorms and an associated derecho developed ahead of a strong cold front that caused widespread hail and wind damage.

Precipitation was above average from the central Great Lakes to the lower Mississippi River valley, with much drier conditions along the eastern seaboard extending into the maritime provinces of Canada.

In the tropics, the remnants of hurricane Juliette regained tropical depression status in the northern Gulf of California on the evening of the 1st, bringing localized heavy rains to parts of northern Baja California and northwestern Sonora state in Mexico.

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In the Atlantic, hurricane Iris slammed into the southern coast of Belize on the evening of the 8th as a strong category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 knots (~150 mph or 67 m/s). More than 80,000 people were evacuated farther inland, with 18 deaths attributed to the storm.

Hurricane Karen originated from a subtropical storm on the 12th after raking Bermuda with sustained winds near 50 knots (~58 mph or 26 m/s) and dumping 2.7 inches of rain on the 11th. Karen weakened into a tropical storm and made landfall near Halifax, Nova Scotia on the 15th with winds gusting to around 40 knots (~46 mph or 21 m/s).
Tropical depression #15, which would ultimately become hurricane Michelle, developed on the 29th along the coast of Nicaragua. The depression moved very slowly to the north, depositing torrential rainfall amounts and severe flooding across parts of Nicaragua, Honduras and Jamaica that resulted in 12 deaths as reported by the Associated Press.	larger image

Meanwhile, drought-stricken areas of Guatemala experienced another dry month, and the World Food Program estimated that some 366,000 people are suffering from drought related malnutrition in the country.

South America (Click for map)

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Nearly three consecutive months of above average rainfall continued over northern Argentina and adjacent areas of Uruguay during October. Flooding occurred in the Pampas region of Argentina, with approximately 8.6 million acres of agricultural land submerged and estimated losses of $300 million (USD). Buenos Aires reported nearly 250mm (9.84 inches) of rainfall during October which is more than double the normal amount.

Temperatures were near to or slightly above average for most locations, except in southeastern Brazil where temperatures were 1-2°C (1.8-3.6°F) cooler than the 1992-2001 mean.

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References:

Basist, A., N.C. Grody, T.C. Peterson and C.N. Williams, 1998: Using the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager to Monitor Land Surface Temperatures, Wetness, and Snow Cover. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 37, 888-911.

Peterson, Thomas C. and Russell S. Vose, 1997: An overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network temperature data base. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 78, 2837-2849.

For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services Division:

Climate Services Division
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue, Room 120
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4876
phone: 828-271-4800
email: ncdc.orders@noaa.gov

For more information, refer also to ...
Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN)
The Global Temperature Anomalies
CLIMVIS - Global Summary of the Day
CAMS data provided by IRI

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