Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

October Rain Falls 7 Days

By JOHN MILLER

Even though it rained more than normal in October, local meteorologist John Teeter said the area is still below what it should be for this time of year.

According to Teeter, the normal amount of rainfall for a Nevada County October is 4.33 inches. However, it rained 5.16 inches last month, giving the region 0.83 inches above average.

For this time of year, though, the area should have seen 45.74 inches of wet stuff hit the ground, but only 44.78 inches has fallen. This means the Prescott vicinity is 0.98 inches below normal.

Davis Benton, the Cale weatherman, said a total of 5.54 inches of rain fell in the southern part of Nevada County during the month, with the lowest temperature recorded being 37 degrees on Oct. 28.

Teeter said even though the month was wetter than normal, the soil is still quite dry.

It rained seven days during the month, he said, with the single largest one-day amount being 1.77 inches on Oct. 13. Oct. 24 saw 1.58 inches fall, with these two days providing the bulk of the rain for the month.

October was also cooler than normal, Teeter said. The average daily temperature for the month was 62.7 degrees. This was 3.8 degrees below the normal temperature of 66.5.

It was also a month for fluctuating temperatures, he said. The highest reading the mercury reached was 92 degrees on Oct. 1, while the lowest recorded was 34 degrees on Oct. 2. This is a variance of 58 degrees. Most months, Teeter said, vary from 10 to 25 degrees.

There were two watches or warnings during the month as well. Teeter said since 1972, when watches or warnings were first recorded, the average for October has been three.

Looking at November, Teeter said the average amount of rainfall is 5.49 inches, with the average daily temperature being 53.7 degrees.

"Unless El Nino fouls us up," he said, "we can expect a 'Blue Norther' with cold temperatures between now and Thanksgiving.

"Some of our worst tornadoes have happened during the winter months. The 1915 tornado, which struck Bodcaw Thanksgiving afternoon, was one of the most destructive to hit the county."

Teeter suggested for residents to pay attention to the watches and warnings issued by the National Weather Service. "If the threat becomes local," he said, "listen to our county weather spotters."