A Daily Look at October's Weather

Based on my posting of 21 September in the wee hours of the morning called "Ember Days", it was noted by me that Wednesday following the Feast of St. Lucia's Cross (this past Wednesday, for you pagans, who, like me, have zero concept of the lesser-known Roman Catholic/Anglican church feast days), that the weather was perfect this first Ember Day of September - sunny, a cloudless, clear cerulean blue sky, temperature of around 78 degrees, the slightest zephyr of a breeze. A perfectly delightful autumn day.

This log will start on Monday, 1 October and will be faithfully maintained through Wednesday, 31 October. I will be curious to see how these days stack up individually and on an overall basis during the month (my absolute favourite month) against such a foretelling method.

Of course, today is the Ember Day that portents November's weather... so far, at 0220, it is lovely. The temperature has not dropped to a frigid 40s temp, and the sky appears clear, although last night's moon (20 September) had a halo, usually a sign of less-than-ideal (precipitative) weather to come within 24 to 48 hours.

The newest Old Farmer's Almanac I bought (dated 1979) read that every October 19 days are beautiful. We'll see...

Monday, 1 October: The first day of October was cool, which is not unusual for this time of year, but it was so warm over the weekend that it felt shocking. The sky was mostly cloudy in the morning, but cleared up intermittently, then clouded up again at night.

Tuesday, 2 October: The morning was mostly cloudy, but with just an occasional pocket that allowed me to see Venus twice and the waning Moon on the ride in. There were one or two stars visible when I got to work at about 10 to 0600. The day continued cloudy and cool. Now the clouds are heavy and lowering, looking rather threatening.

Wednesday, 3 October: Can you picture a day with nearly every kind of weather? It started out foggy; it cleared up and became sunny but was humid; then it rained, but drizzle and then downpour. Then the weather cleared again and it was rather pleasant. The only weather form we did not get it thunder and lightning.

Thursday, 4 October: The same as Wednesday, if you can imagine.

Friday, 5 October: Foggy in the morning, warm, got into the 80s, muggy, sometimes sunny, sometimes not.

Saturday, 6 October: More fog - shocking. We'll see what happens. OK, it is now 2314. It was sunny and warm, in the low 80s, a little humid, but nothing terrible. As the night came, the air became increasingly humid. It has been a week of the same pattern: heavy fog in the morning, sunny and hot through the day, humidity increasing at night.

Sunday, 7 October: This morning was surprisingly clear and while there were some very high cirrus clouds, they fortunately waited until shortly before sunrise to occlude the crescent moon and Venus. And I was up early enough to see the conjunction of the Moon, Venus, Regulus and Saturn. Today was sunny and mostly clear, although at one point the sky was overcast. Humidity was not too high. Temperature was well over average for early October. Tonight it is getting increasingly humid again and we'll likely see fog again tomorrow.

Monday, 8 October: A little hazy this morning, very humid and well above normal temperature. Felt much more like August than October, which I don't care for... I prefer autumn temperatures and less humid conditions.

Tuesday, 9 October: The day dawned with mostly cloudy skies that became thicker with clouds as we approached the later morning hours. The temperature prior to dawn was a thick, heavy 74 F (22 C). Around 1045 the temperature was still high - close to 80 F, but a wind was beginning to blow. When I returned from my appointment, an hour later, the wind was more steady and there was a definite drop in temperature. Quite amazing. When I left around 1545 it was cold to me, at 66 F. Certainly it was no where near the 80 F that it had been. Around 1635 it began to rain - hard - on Route 24, then gave way to a bit of the westering sun, before darker, more ominous clouds filled up the sky. Approximately 1910 the first distant roll of thunder presaged the coming thunderstorm, which raged until almost 2100.

Wednesday, 10 October: The day dawned dark (yes, I know...). No stars, no sliver of Moon. It was also sprinkling. It was cool. The day continued cold and a little windy, and I froze my butt off under the heavy lowering clouds heading down in a speeding golf cart (it really wasn't speeding, but I made it to the Grounds Administration building prior to the masses heading out for a shotgun start. Not bad for a cart that does a maximum speed of 14 miles per hour! While I was down there the sun came with Mark and when I drove back it was a mid-May day with bright sun and warm air. And it remained that way. Now, at 2058, the skies are clouding over. The temperature has dropped quite a bit again. But more rain wouldn't be bad!

Thursday, 11 October: Well, more rain we got - by the bucketload. The day started out extraordinarily cloudy; it was not warm, but not freezing, around 63F. At some point, around 0930 it warmed up and even became sunny. It was nice. Then by 1145 it was quite dark and getting windy. And then at around 1330 I hear the lightning detection system go off. It was a while before I heard the all-clear, but it wasn't long before it deployed again. About an hour and a half later (after a multitude of booming thunder peals and unbelievable rain), I heard the all-clear. I looked out the window, saw lightning and immediately the ambulance siren sound went off -- gee, wow, more lightning. Shocking. (Literally!) It stormed all afternoon and was finally winding down around 1700. I left at 1730. I'd had a long enough day. It's still cloudy and a possibility of more storms. Wahoo!

Friday, 12 October: Today began with a storm - I always love 0430 storms. Any early morning storm, really. There is something about those off-shedule storms that is delightful and usually stronger than the more typical late afternoon storms. This one started out very quiet and worked its way into a perfectly respectable storm. The weather was clearing by 0900 and when I went to physical therapy it was beautiful and sunny and cool. It's clear and cool and quite windy still.

Saturday, 13 October: Beautiful, sunny, no clouds in the morning, some clouds in the afternoon and evening. Clear and cold (for us now) at night. Daytime temps in the mid-60s, a breeze. Gorgeous!

Sunday, 14 October: More gorgeous, more beautiful. When the sun is out, the temperature is perfect. A nice breeze, not constant. No clouds this morning; now partly cloudy. Thick full clouds at the lower latitudes; no horsetail clouds. Means no rain in the next 24 hours. In the mid- or low 60s. Delightful!

Monday, 15 October: Coolish temps, a little overcast in the morning, then bright and sunny later. It warmed up to the 70s. Clear skies all day long.

Tuesday, 16 October: The official Womens Golf Closing Day! Warm temps, above the normal October averages, a little humid, but sunny and pleasant.

Wednesday, 17 October: The official Mens Golf Closing Day! Very warm (low 80s), sunny after an overcast morning, good day. A little humid again.

Thursday, 18 October: Another odd start but was intermittently cloudy and sunny. Humid again and in the low 80s, not at all what mid-October should be like.

Friday, 19 October: Heavy, grey clouds were everywhere and there was a very strong line of showers coming up the coast. I drove through New Jersey (one 12 mile long squall of pouring rain), Delaware (a shorter squall of rain), and Maryland (three different squalls from just over the state line until 20 or 25 minutes into the journey. Now I'm in Adelphi, Maryland and it is pouring at night. Torrential rains. No thunder and lightning, though. Sigh.

Saturday, 20 October (Adelphi): Sunny and beautiful. No idea what the temp is, I have not been outside. Last night's forecast read mid-70s. Sounds great to me!

Sunday, 21 October (Adelphi): Sunny, beautiful, and quite warm - in the direct sun, I was quite uncomfortable but the Ren Faire in Maryland is mostly wooded, shady areas and so very comfortable. Low if no humidity. Quite nice!

Monday, 22 October (Adelphi): It is lovely. A repeat of yesterday.

Tuesday, 23 October (Crofton, MD): It started out well and was getting a little overcast, then remained mostly sunny as I drove home. I made the trip in 3.5 hours, excellent time. The sky presaged bad weather for the morrow, however.

Wednesday, 24 October (Parsippany, Back Mountain/Dallas, PA, Parsippany): Overcast and rainy, clear until the top of the Poconos, then extreme fog and reduced visibility. Made the trip in 1.45 hours. It rained on and off all day. The drive home was minus fog (which was a good thing) but the trip was not easy; the truck drivers were everywhere and driving like total maniacs! Got home by 2330, about 1.30 hours. Excellent, but hair raising...

Thursday, 25 October: Overcast most of the day but little rain. Went to the pumpkin patch in the afternoon after getting my eyelid on the right side fixed (I had a couple of "millia" removed). It was cooler out than it had been most of October.

Friday, 26 October: Drizzled and cool all day. Rainy overnight. Not pleasant weather.

Saturday, 27 October: Rained all morning into the mid-afternoon. Very unpleasant but quite warm, high 60s. Cleared up around 1530, then mostly overcast and now clear skies at night. Should be nice tomorrow.

Sunday, 28 October: It is lovely out. The temperature is late-October normal (yay - what relief), cool and dry. The sky is blue. A lovely day. Looks like it will be lovely all week!

Monday, 29 October: Another beautiful day and cool - well, cold - in the morning, and then warmer in the day.

Tuesday, 30 October: A repeat of the past two days. I'm loving it. It's been a treat after so many days of rain.

Wednesday, 31 October: Can you believe another lovely day? Cold in the morning, not cold during the day. It was quite nice.

There is October in a nutshell. (By the way, the Old Farmer's Almanac from 1879 lied. Not every 19 October is beautiful - this last one certainly wasn't!