October 2021 was 6th warmest on record for US, NOAA says
From heat to rain, from bomb cyclones to tornadoes, October was one for the record books
A general view shows the New York city skyline from a viewpoint at the High Mountain Park Preserve in New Jersey, on November 1, 2021.
(ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)
If you thought October was a crazy month weather-wise, you weren’t wrong.
In a report published Monday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recapped the wild month.
Here's how October 2021 ranks in the nation's weather history.
It was warm
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NOAA said October 2021 will go down as the sixth-warmest October on the 127-year weather record for the U.S., saying the average temperature for the month across the Lower 48 was 57 degrees. That’s nearly 3 degrees above the 20th-century average.
OCTOBER 2021 WAS WARMEST, WETTEST ON RECORD FOR SEVERAL CITIES IN CENTRAL, EASTERN US
Both Maryland and Ohio had their warmest October on record. Much of New England and the Northeast saw their second-warmest October on record. This includes Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
The year has also been warmer than average, so far. NOAA said the year-to-date average temperature for the U.S. is 57 degrees, about 2 degrees above the 20th-century year-to-date average.
It was stormy
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Powerful storm systems swept across the U.S. during October, dropping hail, high winds and tornadoes.
According to NOAA, a preliminary tornado count showed 146 tornadoes were reported across the country, with 121 of those reports being confirmed. That puts October 2021 as the second-busiest October for tornadoes on record.
OCTOBER 2021 COMES IN SECOND ON LIST OF OCTOBERS WITH MOST TORNADOES
"Only preliminary counts in 2018 ranked higher with 159 tornadoes reported," NOAA wrote in the report.
Oklahoma set a new record for tornadoes in October, with 31 twisters reported. That breaks the old record of 27 set in 1998.
It was wet
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Bomb cyclones and atmospheric rivers slammed into the West Coast during the month, leading to drenching rains.
NOAA said the average precipitation for the U.S. was 3.11 inches, which is nearly an inch above average. That makes October 2021 the ninth-wettest October on record.
OCTOBER 2021 WAS WARMEST, WETTEST ON RECORD FOR SEVERAL CITIES IN CENTRAL, EASTERN US
California and Illinois recorded their fourth-wettest October. Montana recorded its fourth-driest October.
Year-to-date precipitation for the U.S. is at 26.74 inches, 1.38 inches above average.