What kind of Weather Will October Bring?

 

September 2022 finished as a warmer than average month in the Nation’s Capital.  It was also a drier than average September for the second time in the last five years.  Following a drier than average August, Washingtonians combined rainfall deficit from August 1 – September 30 was 2.49”.

October has gotten off to a cooler and wetter than average start in the D.C. Metro Area largely due to the slow-moving remnants of Hurricane Ian.  High temperatures 10° - 15° cooler than average will continue through Tuesday, along with periods of rain and showers.  Yesterday’s high temperature of 64° in Washington, D.C. is more typical of late-October.

Average daily high/low temperatures in the Nation’s Capital range from 75°/58° on October 1 to 64°/46° on Halloween.  D.C. warmest October temperature on record of 98° occurred three years ago today on October 2, 2019.  D.C.’s coolest October temperature of 26° has occurred twice, most recently on October 31, 1917.  Temperatures at or below freezing are quite rare in the Nation’s Capital in October and none have occurred since October 20, 1992 (32°).  Nine of the last 10 Octobers have been warmer than average in Washington, D.C.

The Nation’s Capital averages 3.66” of rainfall with six of the last 10 October’s having been drier than average.  Weakening tropical systems can sometimes impact the D.C. Metro Area in October with heavy rain and severe weather.  Such was the case with the remnants of Hurricane Opal in 1995 and post-Tropical Storm Sandy in 2012.  Infrequently, D.C. Area residents can get an early taste of winter with light October snow.  Washington, D.C. officially averages a trace of snow (too little to measure) in October, with the most recent such occurrence in 2011.  D.C. earliest accumulating snowfall occurred on October 10, 1979 with 0.3” at National Airport.

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center expects October 2022 to finish as a cooler and wetter than average month in the Nation’s Capital.  Washington, D.C. hasn’t had a cooler and wetter than average October since 2011.