U.S. National Overview

October 2006

• 29th coolest October on record (1895-2006).
• All regions near to or below normal temperature (first time since February 2003 with no regions above average temperature).
• Only 2 states above normal temperatures in October: New Hampshire and Texas.
• Alaska was 6th warmest on record (1918-2006) for October with temperatures 6.8°F (3.8°C) above the 1971-2000 mean.
  
  
• 12th wettest October for U.S.
• Fourth wettest October on record for the Northeast Region.
• Maine ranked 2nd wettest October.
• Regionally, wet in Southwest, South, Central, Southeast and Northeast
  
  

• Drought conditions persisted in the South and northern Plains. October rainfall helped to eliminate the extreme drought which was located in parts of northeast Texas.  For more information on drought during October, please visit the U.S. Drought page.
  
  
• No tropical storms or hurricanes developed in the Atlantic Basin during October.
  
  
• In the East North Pacific Basin, Tropical Storms Norman and Oliva formed. Hurricane Paul was a strong category 2 storm which made landfall in Mexico as a tropical depression.
  
  
• El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions remained in a warm phase (El Niño) in the tropical Pacific basin as SSTs in the Equatorial Pacific continued to warm and expand throughout October. As of the beginning of November, SST anomalies are between 1.0°C and 1.2°C in all of the Niño regions. El Niño conditions are expected to intensify over the next several months. For more information on ENSO conditions, please visit the NCDC ENSO Monitoring page and the latest NOAA ENSO Advisory.

• October 2006 was the 29th coolest October in the 1895-2006 record.  The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 53.8°F (12.1°C), which was 0.9°F (0.5°C) less than the 1901-2000 (20th century) mean.
  
  
• October had above-average precipitation nationally, ranking as the 12th wettest October in the 1895-2006 record. An average of 2.82 inches (72 mm) fell over the contiguous U.S. in October, 0.7 inches (18 mm) above the 20th century mean for the month.
  
  
• The 3-month period (August-October) was the 53rd warmest in the 1895-to-present record, 0.03°F (0.01°C) above the 20th century mean. The preliminary nationally averaged August-October temperature was 64.4°F (18.0°C). A total of 8.47 inches (215 mm) of precipitation fell during this 3-month period, which corresponds to a ranking of 9th wettest.
  
  
• The 6-month (May-October) national average temperature was the 8th warmest such period on record. The nationally-averaged temperature was 67.5°F (19.7°C), which was 1.2°F (0.7°C) above the 20th century mean. At 15.90 inches (404 mm), May - October precipitation was near average and ranked as the 57th driest such period in the 1895-2006 record.
  
  
• January to October has been the 3rd warmest such year-to-date period on record. The nationally averaged year-to-date temperature was 57.9°F (14.4°C), or 2.1°F (1.2°C) above the mean. The year-to-date period was the 49th driest January-October in the 112-year record, receiving a national average of 24.54 inches (623 mm) of precipitation during the period, or 0.24 inches (6 mm) below the 20th century mean.
  
  
• November 2005 - October 2006 was the 3rd warmest such period in the 1895-2006 record.  The preliminary nationally-averaged 12-month temperature was 54.7°F (12.6°C), which was 1.9°F (1.1°C) above the mean. Precipitation was slightly below the mean for the November 2005 - October 2006 period, ranking it as the 49th driest November-October in the 111-year record.  The nationally-averaged 12-month precipitation accumulation was 28.83 inches (732 mm), or 0.32 inches (8 mm) below the 20th century mean.

• October precipitation across Maine was 2nd wettest on record and 3rd wettest in Louisiana. Most of the central U.S., Great Lakes states and parts of the Northeast and Southeast experienced below average temperatures during this period. Above average temperatures occurred in Texas and New Hampshire.
  
  
• August-October precipitation across Kentucky was the wettest on record and 3rd wettest in Indiana. Colorado ranked 11th coolest during this period. Above average temperature ranks were present in 5 states across the U.S. Below average temperatures were centered around the Great Lakes and the central U.S.
  
  
• In the Southwest region, August-October precipitation was 4th wettest on record. The Northeast and Central regions both experienced their 8th wettest such period. The Northwest ranked 11th driest during this 3-month period.
  
  
• The past 6-months (May-October) were above- to much-above-normal across 6 of the 8 standard regions, with the West having its 3rd warmest such period on record. Precipitation across the Northeast region was the wettest May-October period on record.
  
  
• May - October temperatures were much above normal across most of the western half of the contiguous U.S. Nevada was 3rd warmest and California was 4th warmest on record for this period. Twenty-eight states had temperatures which were either above or much above average during the May to October period. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont each experienced their wettest such period on record in 2006. The new precipitation record in Rhode Island broke the previous one set in 1989 by more than 2.5 inches (63 mm). The former Vermont record, set back in 1990, was eclipsed by 4.31 inches (109 mm) in 2006. Most of the eastern Great Lakes states, Mid-Atlantic and the Southwest were also wet during the May-October period.
  
  
• During the Year-to-Date period (January-October), temperatures were 2nd warmest for Montana, North Dakota and Oklahoma. Forty-seven of the 48 contiguous states were either above or much above average during this period. Vermont had its wettest such period on record while Indiana, New Hampshire and New York were 2nd wettest. Seven additional states (Michigan, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine) from the Great Lakes to the Northeast were among the top ten wettest during this period. In stark contrast to the wet conditions in the northeastern U.S., Florida was 2nd driest during the January-October period.
  
  
• The January-October regional temperature across the West North Central region was 3rd warmest in the 1895-2006 record. The South was 4th warmest. Every other region was either above or much above average during this period. The Northeast region was 2nd wettest during the year-to-date period.
  
  
• Despite a warm October, the January-October period across Alaska was the coolest such period since 1999, yet remained nearly 0.5°F (0.3°C) above the 1971-2000 mean.
  
  
• November 2005 - October 2006 was either warmer, much-warmer-than-average or warmest on record for all but four states in the contiguous U.S. North Dakota was warmest on record for this period. Twenty-five states, covering most of the central U.S. and Northeast, were much above average during this period. Three states (Indiana, New Hampshire and New York) had the wettest such period on record. Seven additional states ranked among the top ten wettest such periods on record.
  
  
• Regional temperature ranks for the November to October period were all above to much above average in 2006. The Northeast region was 2nd wettest on record during this period.

  
  
  See NCDC's Monthly Extremes web-page for weather and climate records for the month of October.