A Wet, Chilly October (So Far)

If you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of an unseasonably cool, wet October.

According to the Preliminary Monthly Climate Data compiled by National Weather Service for La Crosse, here’s where we stand:

Through October 14, our average temperature (found by averaging the high and low temperatures for every day) is 43.7 degrees Fahrenheit. This is almost 11 degrees Fahrenheit below normal! In fact, below normal high and low temperatures have been recorded every day this month at the La Crosse airport. Many areas even set new record low high temperatures. On Monday, October 12, Grand Meadow, Austin, Preston and Theilman, MN; Osage and New Hampton, IA; and Owen, Neillsville, Sparta and Hillsboro, WI, all set record low high temperatures as the afternoon mercury struggled to reach the mid-30s.

Of course, its been a wet month, too. This follows the fourth driest September ever recorded in Wisconsin, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As of October 14, 2.16 inches of liquid precipitation have been recorded at the La Crosse airport. This is more than an inch above normal for this period. In fact, we received more rain at the La Crosse airport the first week of October (1.87″) than during the entire month of September (1.02″)!

And don’t forget the snow we saw Monday, October 12! We picked up almost a half-inch of snow at the La Crosse airport, with more than an inch of snow measured at the National Weather Service office near Grandad Bluff. While it’s not uncommon to see our first trace of snow in October, we normally don’t see our first measurable snow in La Crosse until early to mid-November.

It looks like we’ll see some warmer temperatures starting this weekend, and we may even have seasonable temperatures back by Monday, October 19. Of course, as our recorded temperatures slowly climb, our average high and low temperatures are slowly falling as we head toward November.

What might this mean for the upcoming winter? The Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service still is forecasting a high probability for above normal temperatures for the Upper Midwest, with an equal chance for above or below normal precipitation. The Farmer’s Almanac, on the other hand, is sticking to their forecast for a chilly winter. Stay tuned!