Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

October Weather Was Hot And Dry

October's weather was unusual, according to Prescott meteorologist John Teeter.

He said the month was hot and dry, and truly what the old timers called "Indian summer." However, true Indian summer normally occurs after the first frost, which hasn't happened yet.

With the month being dry, it is no surprise the rainfall amount was below normal. Usually October receives 3.27 inches of rain, but this year only 1.98 inches fell. This led to a deficit of 1.29 inches.

And it also brought the yearly total down, once again below normal. Teeter said the usual amount of rainfall received by this time of year is 40.35 inches, while only 39.38 inches has fallen. This puts the region 0.97 inches below average.

Davis Benton, the Cale weatherman, said the southern part of Nevada County received 3.33 inches for the year, with the year-to-date total being 33.31 inches.

The largest single-day total, Benton said, was 3.02 inches on Oct. 6, while there was frost on the ground Oct. 9-11.

The monthly low in the Cale area, Benton said, was 33 on Oct. 10.

According to Teeter, it rained seven days during the month, with the largest one-day total being 1.33 inches on Oct.6.

There were no watches or warnings posted in October, he said, while the normal number is three.

The average daily temperature, Teeter said, was 76.5 degrees, 11.4 degrees above the norm of 65.1 degrees.

The high temperature for the month, Teeter said, was 89 degrees on Oct. 6, while the lowest the mercury fell was 31 on Oct. 11.

For November, he said, the normal amount of rainfall is 4.43 inches, while the average daily temperature is 53.5 degrees.