...OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS...
...RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE SET ON OCTOBER 13TH...
...17TH WARMEST OCTOBER ON RECORD...
...8TH STRAIGHT OCTOBER WITH BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL...

IF OCTOBER 2008 FELT WARMER DURING THE DAY AND COOLER AT NIGHT THAN
OCTOBER 2007...WELL YOUR ARE RIGHT. THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE WAS
ABOUT A DEGREE WARMER WHILE THE AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE WAS ABOUT A
DEGREE COOLER THAN 2007. HOWEVER...WHEN YOU AVERAGE ALL THE DAILY
TEMPERATURES TOGETHER...OCTOBER 2008 ENDED UP WITH THE SAME AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE...72.9 DEGREES...AS 2007 DID.

THE MONTH BEGAN WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE LOW TO MID 90S BEFORE
AN UPPER LEVEL WEATHER SYSTEM MOVED THROUGH THE AREA AND COOLED THE
HIGH TEMPERATURES INTO THE LOW TO MID 80S ON THE 5TH AND 6TH. THIS
WEATHER SYSTEM ALSO BROUGHT SOME VERY LIGHT RAIN WITH A FEW SPOTS
RECORDING A COUPLE HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH. HIGH PRESSURE ONCE AGAIN
BUILT OVER THE AREA BETWEEN THE 7TH AND 10TH WHICH RESULTED IN HIGH
TEMPERATURES RETURNING TO THE LOW TO MID 90S.

AN UNSEASONABLY STRONG WEATHER SYSTEM MOVED THROUGH THE STATE ON THE
11TH AND BROUGHT VERY STRONG WINDS...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND A FEW
THUNDERSTORMS TO THE METRO AREA. IN FACT...A RARE OCTOBER SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH WAS ISSUED FOR THE MORNING OF THE 11TH. WIND GUSTS
WERE IN THE 35 TO 45 MPH RANGE WHILE RAINFALL AMOUNTS RANGED FROM A
TRACE TO TWO-TENTHS OF AN INCH...WITH THE HIGHER AMOUNTS NEAR THE
CATALINA AND RINCON MOUNTAINS. AFTER THE SYSTEM LEFT THE STATE
DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE 70S ON THE 12TH THROUGH 14TH...WHICH
IS 10 TO 16 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. IN THE WAKE OF THIS SYSTEM
SIGNIFICANTLY DRIER AIR MOVED ACROSS THE AREA AND COMBINED WITH A
CLEAR SKY AND LIGHT WINDS THE OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES ON THE 13TH
AND 14TH PLUMMETED INTO THE MID 30S TO THE LOWER 40S. THE LOW
TEMPERATURE AT THE AIRPORT OF 38 DEGREES ON THE 13TH SHATTERED THE OLD
DAILY RECORD OF 43 DEGREES WHICH WAS SET IN 1931. THE LAST TIME TUCSON
SET A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE IN OCTOBER WAS WAY BACK IN 1971 WHEN THE
MERCURY HIT 26 DEGREES ON OCTOBER 30TH. WHAT MAKES THIS RECORD LOW
TEMPERATURE MORE EXTRAORDINARY IS THAT IT OCCURRED DURING THE FIRST
HALF OF THE MONTH. THE LAST TIME TUCSON RECORDED A LOW TEMPERATURE IN
THE 30S DURING THE 1ST HALF OF OCTOBER WAS WAY BACK ON OCTOBER 10 1949
WHEN THE LOW WAS 38 DEGREES. IN FACT...THIS RANKS AS THE 4TH COLDEST
DAILY LOW TEMPERATURE DURING THE OCTOBER 1-15 PERIOD ON RECORD.

COLDEST LOW TEMPERATURES DURING THE OCTOBER 1-15 PERIOD ON RECORD...
1) 33 DEGREES ON OCTOBER 14 1920
2) 35 DEGREES ON OCTOBER 12 1924
3) 37 DEGREES ON OCTOBER 11 1912
4) 38 DEGREES ON OCTOBER 13 2008 ***
                 OCTOBER 10 1949
                 OCTOBER 15 1928
                 OCTOBER 15 1920

THE NEXT MORNING THE LOW TEMPERATURE WAS 40 DEGREES AND WHEN YOU
COMBINE THE 13TH AND 14TH TOGETHER...THE AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE OF
39 DEGREES IS THE COLDEST TWO DAY PERIOD IN OCTOBER SINCE 1981 WHEN
THE LOW TEMPERATURES WERE 40 AND 35 DEGREES ON THE 30TH AND 31ST
RESPECTIVELY.

AFTER THIS BRIEF COOL SNAP...THE REST OF THE MONTH WAS DOMINATED BY
STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WHICH RESULTED IN CLEAR DAYS AND VERY WARM
DAYTIME TEMPERATURES. IN FACT...THE HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR EACH DAY
FROM THE 16TH TO THE END OF THE MONTH WERE ABOVE 85 DEGREES. THIS
IS ONLY THE SECOND TIME THAT THIS HAS OCCURRED IN RECORDED HISTORY
WITH OTHER OCCURRENCE OCCURRING IN 2001. 1952 AND 1950 RECORDED 15
DAYS WHILE 1990/1988/1937/1933/1924/1915 RECORDED 14 DAYS. THE
AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE DURING THE OCTOBER 16 TO 31 PERIOD WAS 90.1
DEGREES AND RANKS AS THE 5TH WARMEST 2ND HALF OF OCTOBER ON RECORD.

TOP 5 AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURES FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 16-31...
1) 91.7 DEGREES IN 1952
2) 90.8 DEGREES IN 2001
   90.9 DEGREES IN 1933
4) 90.3 DEGREES IN 1950
5) 90.1 DEGREES IN 2008

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE DURING THE SECOND HALF OF OCTOBER OF 73.9
DEGREES RANKS AS THE 3RD WARMEST ON RECORD...BEHIND 74.8 DEGREES IN
2001 AND 74.3 DEGREES IN 1952.

THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE OF 72.9 DEGREES IS 2.4 DEGREES ABOVE
NORMAL AND RANKS AS THE 17TH WARMEST OCTOBER (TIED WITH 2007) ON
RECORD. TEMPERATURE EXTREMES FOR THE MONTH RANGED FROM A HIGH OF 96
DEGREES ON THE 1ST AND 8TH TO A LOW OF 38 DEGREES ON THE 13TH.

PAST 10 OCTOBER AVERAGE TEMPERATURES...
2008 ..... 72.9     2003 ..... 75.4
2007 ..... 72.9     2002 ..... 69.5
2006 ..... 70.2     2001 ..... 73.2
2005 ..... 72.8     2000 ..... 68.2
2004 ..... 69.9     1999 ..... 74.7
1971-2000 NORMAL ... 70.5
TEN YEAR AVERAGE ... 71.9

OCTOBER RAINFALL WAS ONCE AGAIN BELOW NORMAL THUS MAKING IT THE 8TH
STRAIGHT OCTOBER AND 17TH OF THE LAST 20 OCTOBERS TO BE BELOW NORMAL.
THE LAST OCCURRENCE OF ABOVE NORMAL OCTOBER RAINFALL WAS IN 2000 WHEN
A RECORD TYING 4.98 INCHES WAS RECORDED. RAINFALL TOTALS ACROSS THE
METRO AREA WERE LESS THAN A TENTH OF AN INCH WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS
NEAR A QUARTER OF AN INCH. OFFICIALLY THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
RECORDED A TRACE OF RAIN AND MARKS THE 19TH OCTOBER THAT NO
MEASURABLE RAINFALL WAS RECORDED AT THE OFFICIAL SPOT IN TUCSON.

PAST 10 OCTOBER RAINFALL TOTALS...
2008 ..... TRACE     2003 ..... 0.38"
2007 ..... 0.02"     2002 ..... 0.50"
2006 ..... 0.27"     2001 ..... 0.69"
2005 ..... 0.31"     2000 ..... 4.98"
2004 ..... 0.62"     1999 ..... TRACE
1971-2000 NORMAL ... 1.21"
TEN YEAR AVERAGE ... 0.78"

...OCTOBER 2008 STATS...       MONTH     NORMAL     DEPARTURE
AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE        88.3      84.0        + 4.3
AVERAGE LOW  TEMPERATURE        57.5      57.0        + 0.5
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE             72.9      70.5        + 2.4
HIGHS OF 90 DEGREES OR BETTER    16         9         +  7
RAINFALL                       TRACE      1.21"      - 1.21"

2008 CURRENTLY RANKS AS THE 20TH WARMEST YEAR...TIED WITH 2004...ON
RECORD WITH AN AVERAGE YEARLY TEMPERATURE OF 72.3 DEGREES.

PAST 10 YEARLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES THROUGH OCTOBER 31ST...
2008 ..... 72.3     2003 ..... 73.7
2007 ..... 73.1     2002 ..... 72.9
2006 ..... 72.9     2001 ..... 72.5
2005 ..... 73.2     2000 ..... 73.3
2004 ..... 72.3     1999 ..... 71.9
1971-2000 NORMAL ... 70.5
TEN YEAR AVERAGE ... 72.8

THE 2008 RAINFALL AT THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS WELL BELOW NORMAL
AND RANKS AS THE 28TH DRIEST ON RECORD.

PAST 10 YEARLY RAINFALL TOTALS THROUGH OCTOBER 31ST...
2008 .....  7.35"     2003 .....  8.86"
2007 .....  8.22"     2002 .....  6.96"
2006 ..... 11.19"     2001 .....  7.16"
2005 .....  9.56"     2000 ..... 11.07"
2004 .....  6.45"     1999 .....  9.68"
1971-2000 NORMAL ... 10.47"
TEN YEAR AVERAGE ...  8.65" OR A 18.20" DEFICIT

...2008 STATS THRU OCTOBER...   YEAR     NORMAL     DEPARTURE
AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE        86.2      85.4        + 0.8
AVERAGE LOW  TEMPERATURE        58.5      57.4        + 1.1
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE             72.3      71.4        + 0.9
HIGHS OF 100 DEGREES OR BETTER    52        55        -   3
RAINFALL                        7.35"    10.47"      - 3.12"

...LOOKING AHEAD INTO NOVEMBER...
THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER FORECASTS THAT THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER
WILL HAVE EQUAL CHANCE OF TEMPERATURES BEING EITHER BELOW
NORMAL...NORMAL OR ABOVE NORMAL. THE FORECAST FOR PRECIPITATION IS
ENHANCED PROBABILITIES FOR BEING BELOW NORMAL.

AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE ......... 72.3 DEGREES
AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE........... 45.1 DEGREES
AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE ...... 58.7 DEGREES
RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE ..........   94 DEGREES ON NOVEMBER 1 1924
RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE ...........   19 DEGREES ON NOVEMBER 19 1921
WARMEST NOVEMBER (AVG) ........... 65.4 DEGREES IN 1999
COLDEST NOVEMBER (AVG) ........... 51.0 DEGREES IN 1911
NORMAL RAINFALL .................. 0.67 INCHES
WETTEST NOVEMBER DAY ............. 2.09 INCHES ON NOVEMBER 22 1931
WETTEST NOVEMBER ................. 4.61 INCHES IN 1905
DRIEST NOVEMBER .................. 0.00 INCHES IN 1999
 	                                (LAST OF 13 OCCURRENCES)
RECORD NOVEMBER SNOWFALL ......... 6.4 INCHES IN 1958 (16TH)

THE NUMBER OF DAYLIGHT HOURS WILL DECREASE FROM 10 HOURS 52 MINUTES
ON THE 1ST TO 10 HOURS 13 MINUTES ON THE 30TH...A LOSS OF 39 MINUTES.

GLUECK