Last year snow, this year Hurricane Sandy
By Russell Russ
October is proving to be a wild weather month. Last year we saw nearly two feet of snow and this year we were hit with the affects of Hurricane Sandy. Sandy broke records and many have placed it in the Perfect Storm category of storms. A hurricane joining a nor’easter is not a good combination for the Northeast. In addition to causing widespread damage from North Carolina all the way to Maine it has the distinction of now holding the record for the lowest barometric pressure of any East Coast storm to make landfall north of Cape Hatteras. The Hurricane of 1938 still holds the record for lowest pressure at landfall. Sandy’s record low pressure was recorded just prior to landfall.
Connecticut was on the windy east side of the storm so was spared the heavy rains that states to our south and west had to endure. Norfolk was spared, but it certainly didn’t seem like it with all of the tree and power line damage that occurred. Most of Norfolk was without power for days while utility crews worked to repair the damage. Sandy will forever be remembered for the accurate way it was forecasted and for the widespread and extensive damage it caused.
The month’s high temperature of 72 degrees was observed on October 6 and the low temperature of 25 degrees was observed on October 13. The average mean temperature was 50.5 degrees, 2.9 degrees above normal. The first frost of the season came on October 13 and it was a killing one, effectively ending the growing season.
The total precipitation for the month was 6.15 inches, 1.84 inches above normal. Through October, the total precipitation amount for the year was 39.06 inches. Over the last three months we have decreased our rainfall deficit for the year, but through October we were still 4.6 inches below normal. The affects of Hurricane Sandy only brought us 1.72 inches of rain on October 29 and 30. Sandy’s winds were the big story around here. We actually had more rain on October 19 when we received 2.09 inches.
No snow fell this month. The average snowfall for October is 0.9 inches. What a difference a year makes. Last year nearly two feet, this year not even a flake was observed at the station. They say November is the month that will tell us what our winter will be like. We shall see over the next month. Stay tuned.
