NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

OCTOBER 2023

1-7: A strong cold front advancing eastward across the country sparked daily showers, starting in the Northwest—and eventually reaching the Plains, Midwest, mid-South, and Northeast. Rainfall was highly variable, with some of the highest totals (2 to 8 inches) occurring in the south-central U.S.

Late in the week, the cold front’s interaction with the remnants of Tropical Storm Philippe delivered another round of heavy rain (and gusty winds) to the waterlogged Northeast. Event-total rainfall reached 2 to 4 inches or more in several areas, including much of Maine, western Vermont, and eastern New York.

As the month began, significant rainfall was generally confined to parts of the Southeast and Northwest. Record-setting rainfall totals for October 1 included 1.52 inches in Orlando, FL; 0.47 inch in Boise, ID; and 0.46 inch in Great Falls, MT. A day later, recordsetting rainfall totals on the Plains (for October 2) reached 0.94 inch in Dalhart, TX, and 0.70 inch in Alliance, NE. Along the Gulf Coast, Corpus Christi, TX, also measured a daily-record sum (2.41 inches) for October 2. At mid-week, local downpours developed across the mid-South, where Texarkana, AR, experienced its wettest day since May 28, 1998, when 10.48 inches fell. Texarkana’s total of 7.49 inches on the 4th marked its wettest October day since October 10, 1926, when rainfall reached 9.29 inches. By October 5, the focus for heavy rain shifted to the Great Lakes region; daily-record amounts in Michigan included 2.80 inches in Battle Creek and 1.75 inches in Lansing. Additional dailyrecord amounts in Michigan for October 6 totaled 1.39 inches in Muskegon and 1.35 inches in Holland. At week’s end, Northeastern downpours resulted in the wettest October day on record in Plattsburgh, NY. The total in Plattsburgh, 3.94 inches on the 7th, easily surpassed the October daily record of 2.25 inches, set on October 17, 1977. Elsewhere, daily records for October 7 reached 3.11 inches in Bangor, ME; 2.80 inches in Burlington, VT; and 2.39 inches in Saranac Lake, NY.

8-14: Significant areas of precipitation affected the North and the Deep South. The Southern rain, locally totaling 2 to 4 inches or more and accompanied by a few severe thunderstorms, was indirectly related to tropical activity over the eastern Pacific Ocean. Specifically, remnant moisture associated with Tropical Storm Max and Hurricane Lidia—which made landfall in Mexico on October 9 and 10, respectively—was absorbed by a cold front draped across the lower Southeastern U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico.

Farther north, a Pacific storm system reached the Northwest before crossing the central Plains and the Great Lakes States. That system produced its heaviest rain (locally 2 inches or more) from Wyoming to near Lake Michigan.

By October 11, Southeastern daily-record rainfall totals reached 1.76 inches in Montgomery, AL, and 1.23 inches in Columbus, GA. Columbus collected another dailyrecord sum, 1.63 inches, on October 12. Elsewhere on the 12th, daily-record totals included 3.11 inches in Gainesville, FL; 2.17 inches in Tallahassee, FL; and 1.97 inches in Macon, GA. On the night of October 11-12, as many as a half-dozen tornadoes struck Florida, mainly in the vicinity of Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, a separate area of heavy rain arrived across northern sections of the Rockies and High Plains. By October 11, daily-record totals topped an inch in Wyoming locations such as Buffalo (1.16 inches) and Riverton (1.11 inches). Both locations also noted record amounts for October 12, with 1.74 inches in Buffalo and 0.95 inch in Riverton. Casper, WY, netted an October 11-13 total of 1.68 inches, including a trace of snow. Farther east, October 12 featured historic rainfall totals in parts of Nebraska and South Dakota. In fact, it was the wettest October day on record in Nebraska locations such as Broken Bow (5.45 inches; previously, 4.19 inches on October 5, 1946) and Valentine (2.80 inches; previously, 2.08 inches on October 15, 1911). Dailyrecord totals for October 12 topped the 2-inch mark in several South Dakota locations, including East Rapid City (2.63 inches) and Huron (2.24 inches). High winds on the 12th accompanying South Dakota’s rain gusted to 59 mph in Pierre and 56 mph in Watertown. By October 13, heavy rain shifting eastward across the Midwest led to daily-record totals in many locations, including Rockford, IL (2.71 inches); Dubuque, IA (1.86 inches); and Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN (1.61 inches). Farther south, the Ohio River at Cairo, IL, fell to a stage of 4.54 feet on October 8, representing the lowest water level in that location since 1901 and 0.29 foot below last year’s low-water mark. By October 16-17, the Mississippi River stood more than one foot below October 2022 record lows in locations such as Memphis, TN, and Caruthersville and New Madrid, MO.

15-21: Meaningful precipitation was confined to the Pacific Northwest and an area stretching from the Great Lakes region into the Northeast. Widespread weekly totals exceeding 2 inches were confined to New England and neighboring areas, such as eastern New York.

With drought in place across nearly 40 percent of the Lower 48 States, according to the October 17 U.S. Drought Monitor, limited soil moisture and low river levels were an ongoing concern. During October, the Ohio River at Cairo, IL, and the Mississippi River from New Madrid, MO, to Helena, AR, have achieved modern record-low levels mostly set just last year, in October 2022. The Mississippi River at Caruthersville, MO, dipped to a preliminary stage of -2.98 feet on October 16, breaking the lowwater record of -1.82 feet, set exactly a year earlier. Farther downstream, Memphis, TN, achieved a stage of -12.04 feet on October 17, more than a foot below last year’s record (-10.81 feet on October 21, 2022).

Showers arrived early in the week across the Pacific Northwest, where Portland, OR, netted a record-setting rainfall total (0.79 inch) for October 16. Subsequently, rainfall activity was minimal until late in the week, when moderately heavy showers spread from the Great Lakes States into the Northeast. In Maine, Bangor received rainfall totaling 1.10 inches on October 21, followed the next day by a daily-record sum of 1.59 inches. Meanwhile, daily-record totals on the 21st included 2.33 inches in Burlington, VT, and 1.48 inches in Plattsburgh, NY. Elsewhere, little rain fell during the first 3 weeks of the month in parts of the South, with month-todate totals through October 21 as low as 0.34 inch (15 percent of normal) in Muscle Shoals, AL; 0.31 inch (12 percent) in Memphis, TN; 0.30 inch (13 percent) in Nashville, TN; 0.29 inch (13 percent) in Birmingham, AL; 0.25 inch (9 percent) in Tupelo, MS; and 0.10 inch (4 percent) in Greenwood, MS.

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.jimmunleywx.com