(WGHP) – October is known to many as the start of “spooky season,” but it’s also known as a month of cooling temperatures, changing leaves and less daylight.
Let’s take a look at what a “normal” October looks like weather-wise before we take a closer dive into the forecast for the rest of the month.
October Temperatures
At the start of October, our normal high temperatures are in the mid-70s with morning temperatures typically in the mid-50s.
By mid-October, high temperatures normally fall into the low 70s with morning temperatures typically in the mid-50s.
At the end of the month, our afternoon highs average in the mid-60s with morning temperatures in the low to mid-40s.
For those who love the warm weather and those who love the cold weather, what are the record warmest and coldest temperatures we’ve seen in October?
The warmest temperature recorded at Piedmont Triad International Airport was 95 degrees on Oct. 3, 2019. The coldest temperature was 20 degrees on Oct. 27, 1962.
Based on what data is showing and what the FOX8 Max Weather Team is forecasting, the first week of October for the most part will remain above normal for temperatures with highs in the upper 70s and even the low 80s for some.
The second week of October looks to be cooler than normal thanks to a cold front that will bring a nearly 15-degree temperature drop. Temperatures throughout the second week will be below normal and will have much of the Piedmont Triad feeling like early November.
According to NOAA’s three-to-four-week outlook, temperatures in the Piedmont Triad have equal chances of being above normal or below normal from mid- to late October.
Another noteworthy weather occurrence in October is our first frost and first freeze of the season typically occurs by the mid to end of this month.
Guilford County averages its first freeze on Oct. 29 while Forsyth County observes its average first freeze on Oct. 30.
October Rainfall
As of Oct. 3, no drought conditions are in place in the Piedmont Triad. One reason for that is we are currently sitting just slightly above normal for year-to-date rainfall.
Piedmont Triad International Airport has observed 35.83 inches of rainfall compared to the 34.64 inches we average through this point in the year.
With the near-normal observations this year, the Climate Prediction Center is not forecasting drought conditions to develop in October.
Despite how October is starting out, the Climate Prediction Center is forecasting up to a 40% chance for above-normal precipitation in North Carolina during the 10th month of the year.
A normal monthly rainfall total is 3.10 inches for October, and with the CPC’s forecast for a wetter-than-normal month, we have a 40% chance of seeing over 3.10 inches of rain.
October Daylight
September and October have the most amount of daylight lost in the Piedmont Triad with about 65 minutes of daylight lost each month.
Between September and October, we lose a total of two hours and 10 minutes of daylight in just 61 days which averages out to about two minutes of daylight lost each day in the two-month span.
In the Triad, the last 7 p.m. sunset of the year occurs in October, which starts a five-month period in which the sun goes down before 7 p.m. Our last 7 p.m. sunset will occur on Oct. 4, and we won’t have another 7 p.m. sunset until March 10, the start of daylight saving.
