MONTHLY WEATHER DATA AND OBS - WESTMONT 1.1W PA OCTOBER 2013 OBSERVERS NATE AND STEVE MULLINS Special Observations: F=fog, T=thunder, H=hail, S=sleet, G=glaze, DW=damaging winds Observation time for this station is midnight (Eastern US). Temperature, °F Precipitation, In. Liquid Solid 7am 24-hour At Rain Snow/ Snow Date Max Min Obs Equiv Ice Depth Special Obs. 1 72 54 61 2 78 61 61 3 74 55 65 T 4 79 62 64 .24 T 5 77 60 66 T F 6 84 62 68 7 68 47 47 .55 8 61 42 47 9 63 38 47 10 58 43 48 .06 11 56 48 52 1.12 12 67 52 54 13 60 53 54 .10 14 61 53 56 .03 15 66 52 56 16 62 51 60 .04 17 60 46 46 .41 18 58 41 41 19 53 33 40 .05 1st frost 20 56 37 39 21 67 34 50 22 50 37 37 .17 23 39 35 35 .14 T S 24 41 32 32 .04 T S 25 43 31 33 26 50 27 42 T 27 47 33 34 28 58 28 42 29 60 32 43 30 67 38 52 31 62 52 55 .31 AVG/SUM 61.2 44.2 49.3 3.26 T - EXT 84 27 68/32 1.12 T - Date 6 26 6/24 11 24* - *=Also occurred on earlier dates Miscellaneous Stats Mean Monthly Temperature: 52.7°F (+1.7 °F) Year precipitation to date: 44.08" (+3.37") Monthly precipitation departure: -0.01" (normal October 3.27") Season snowfall to date: Trace Number of days with: Fog 1 Thunder 1 Sleet 2 DETAILED OBSERVATION NOTES WARM 1: Overcast early becoming partly cloudy by noon, near calm W wind. 2: Partly sunny and warm high 78 with light W winds. 3: Variable clouds and mild with near calm wind. Some lightning to the N & NE late this evening, no thunder, only a trace of rain. 4: Variable clouds and warm with very light W winds. A brief thunderstorm around 9pm dropped .24" of rain. 5: Early fog, another mild day with partly cloudy skies and little wind. Heavy rain shower downtown this afternoon but only a few sprinkles here. 6: Mild overnight low 62 F and a very warm summer-like day with partly cloudy skies and winds shifting to the east and increasing, leading to a mild and breezy evening. Still 68 F at midnight with clear skies. 7: Becoming overcast overnight with gusty SE winds and rain beginning around 6:30 am. Moderate to heavy rain through 8:30 am then intermittent showers, falling temperatures and winds shifting to the west with skies clearing in the afternoon. Much cooler this evening. MUCH COOLER 8: Cool AM low 41 F and a mostly sunny, pleasant day with a high struggling to 60. Very light N wind. 9: Cool low 38, clear and sunny through mid-afternoon then increasing clouds with winds also increasing. RAINY 10: Sunny during the morning becoming cloudy after noon with intermittent light rain through the evening only .06" fell as very heavy rain to our east inched westward but evaporated when it reached the mountains. 11: Steady moderate rain developed during the pre-dawn hours and continued through mid-day, tapering to light rain showers by noon and continuing into the evening for a total of 1.12". Extremely heavy rain east of the area again in south-central PA with storm totals of 5 to 10 inches common in the Harrisburg region. 12: Overcast all day with calm to very light E winds. Many areas had additional rain but none fell here. 13: Cloudy again with light E winds. Brief shower around 1 pm and occasional evening showers, .10" fell. 14: Light showers (.03") overnight. Again overcast nearly all day with very light winds shifting to SW. 15: Mostly cloudy during the morning, again little wind, some partial clearing during the afternoon 16: Variably cloudy with some light mid-afternoon rain, then clearing during the evening. 17: Overcast AM with intermittent drizzle. A rain shower around 2pm and a very brief but torrential downpour with gusty winds around 5:45 pm when a cold front plowed through. Peak rain rate an impressive 6.94"/hour but again was very brief. Falling temperatures in the evening with one more shower .41" of total rain. 18: Mostly cloudy with occasionally gusty SW to S winds. Gradual PM clearing, cool and clear evening. 19: Clear and chilly overnight with a low of 33 and frost on the roof, the 1st of the season. Sunny early then becoming cloudy with light rain during the late afternoon. 20: Clear early, partly cloudy with light SW winds. *AWAY 21-25* Much colder during this period with snow flurries and ice pellets observed on the 23rd and 24th. 26: Clear and chilly early with a low of 27. Sunny and breezy becoming cloudy by mid-afternoon, few sprinkles. 27: Overcast early becoming partly cloudy and again breezy at times. 28: Clear, frosty AM and a mostly sunny, mild PM with little wind. 29: Another chilly morning followed by a mild, sunny and gorgeous afternoon with near 100% sunshine. 30: Mostly cloudy early then clearing, quite mild high 67 F, little wind, increasing clouds by dusk. 31: A couple of pre-dawn showers between 5 and 7 am (0.16"). Cloudy with periods of light rain and about an hour of moderate evening rain, total .31" fell today. A mild evening with temperatures in the mid 50s. MONTHLY SUMMARY This was a fairly typical October with a very warm start and some rather chilly temperatures late in the month before moderating right at month's end. Precipitation was near normal, with an overall wetter weather pattern than in September but with less local rain, due to the usual decline in heavy, convective thunderstorms headed into the heart of autumn. There were a number of strong frontal systems that passed through the area, most of which had light to moderate amounts of moisture. The month's main feature was a cut-off low pressure system along the Mid-Atlantic coast that drew in tropical moisture from the remnants of Karen further south. This brought the month's heaviest rain on the 11th here, just over an inch but a very modest amount compared to the south-central portion of the state in the Harrisburg and York areas where tremendous amounts of rain of 5 to 10 inches fell in a couple of days. Some stations had over 10 inches for the month, yet within 60 miles east had under an inch. The majority of the state, including our area, had rainfall totals in the 2-4 inch range. After a couple of months with cooler than normal temperatures, October was warmer than average, owing entirely to above normal minimum readings, as has frequently been the case over the past 10 years. The first week was reminiscent of late August, with highs in the 70s to a toasty 84 on the 6th and balmy lows in the 50s and 60s. Temperatures dropped off after a cold front on the 7th but were still on the mild side during the 2nd and 3rd weeks of October. There was a notable lack of any particularly cold readings until the 4th week, when a large trough ushered in the season's first sub-freezing readings and the first traces of frozen precipitation, with spits of snow and sleet observed the 23rd and 24th. Temperatures moderated near month's end, with the final three days reaching well into the 60s ahead of another cold front that approached the area on Halloween.