| October 2009
climate report for Tucson |
| |
| October
2009 headlines |
Decade
of 2000s headlines |
| Coolest
since 2000 |
2nd
warmest October decade on record |
| 26th
driest on record |
Well
below normal rainfall |
| 3rd
warmest and 5th driest January-October period on
record |
|
| |
| The
first half of the month had below normal high temperatures with one
day of rainfall. That occurred on the 2nd into early on the 3rd when
moisture from tropical storm Olaf pushed in from the south and produced
scattered rain across the metro area. The northwest side through Oro
Valley was the beneficiary of the heavier rain with totals ranging
from two-tenths to half an inch. Elsewhere across the metro area,
totals ranged from a trace to two-tenths. |
| |
| By
mid-month strong high pressure aloft built over the area and pushed
the mercury almost to the triple digit mark on the 17th. A strong
cold front pushed through several days later, bringing gusty winds
to 45 mph and cooler temperatures to the area on the 21st. Temperatures
warmed up to above normal for the next several days before a dramatic
change hit the area toward the end of the month. |
| |
| One
of the coldest weather systems to hit the state since early in the
1970s impacted the area on the 28th, 29th and 30th with much below
normal high temperatures and near freezing low temperatures. Because
this system had an inland track, it didn't have much moisture with
it, but it did pack a lot of wind with gusts up to 50 mph on 27th
and up to 40 mph on the 28th. |
| |
| The
average monthly temperature of 69.8 degrees is seven-tenths of
a degree below normal and is the coolest
October since 2000 when the average monthly temperature
was 68.2 degrees. Temperature extremes for the month ranged from a
high of 99 degrees on the 17th to a low of 34 degrees on the 29th.
Three record temperatures were set during October. |
| |
- The high
of 99 degrees on the 17th broke the old record of 96 degrees which
occurred in 1933. This also threatened for the latest occurrence
of hitting 100 degrees, which is October 16th.
- The low of
70 degrees on the 18th broke the old high minimum record of 68
degrees which occurred in 1895.
- The high
of 59 degrees on the 29th broke the old low maximum record of
60 degrees which occurred in 1961 and 1911. This is the first
time since 1996 that an October high temperature was in the 50s.
Historically, the 59 ranks as the 8th coldest October high temperature
on record (record is 50 degrees on 10/30/1961
|
| |
|
The low temperature
on the 29th of 34 degrees is the coldest October low temperature
at the airport since October 30, 1971 when the mercury bottomed
out at an all-time October cold of 26 degrees.
|
| |
|
October rainfall
totals ranged from a trace to a half of an inch, with the highest
totals coming from the northwest side to Oro Valley. Officially,
the International airport recorded five-hundredths of an inch /0.05"/
of rain. This ranks as the 26th driest October (tied with 1937 &
1931) on record. Combined with September rainfall of 0.74",
the two-month total of 0.79" ranks as the 21st driest September/October
period on record. If you go back to August, the three-month total
of 1.12" at the airport ranks as the 4th driest August to October
period on record. Due to this very dry period, drought conditions
deteriorated to severe condition during October.
|
| |
| October
2009 stats |
Month
|
Normal
|
Departure
|
| Average
high temperature |
83.7°
|
84.0°
|
-
0.3°
|
| Average
low temperature |
55.8°
|
57.0°
|
-
1.2°
|
| Average
temperature |
69.8°
|
70.5°
|
-
0.7°
|
| Rainfall |
0.05"
|
1.21"
|
-
1.16"
|
|
| |
| Tucson
is still on track for recording one of its warmest years on record.
Through the end of October, the average yearly temperature of 73.9
degrees was within four-tenths of a degree of the record of 74.3 degrees
set in 1989. |
| |
| 2009
stats thru October |
Year
|
Normal
|
Departure
|
| Average
high temperature |
87.9°
|
85.4°
|
+
2.5°
|
| Average
low temperature |
60.0°
|
57.4°
|
+
2.6°
|
| Average
temperature |
73.9°
|
71.4°
|
+
2.5°
|
| Number
of 100+ degree highs |
74
|
55
|
+
19
|
| Rainfall |
5.24"
|
10.47"
|
-
5.23"
|
|
| |
October decade in review: the 2000s
|
|
The month of
October during the decade of the 2000s will go into the record books
as the 2nd warmest (dating back to the mid-1890s). The
decadal average temperature of 71.5 degrees is seven-tenths of a
half of a degree cooler than
the 1990s. The
average decadal precipitation of 0.78" is eight-hundredths
of an inch drier than the 1990s.
|
| Decadal
average temperatures |
| 2000s |
1990s |
1980s |
1970s |
1960s |
1950s |
1940s |
1930s |
1920s |
1910s |
1900s |
| 71.5° |
72.2° |
70.1° |
69.3° |
70.2° |
72.4° |
69.6° |
69.2° |
68.6° |
67.5° |
68.4° |
| Decadal
average precipitation |
| 2000s |
1990s |
1980s |
1970s |
1960s |
1950s |
1940s |
1930s |
1920s |
1910s |
1900s |
| 0.78 |
0.86" |
0.56" |
1.28" |
1.45" |
0.46" |
0.71" |
0.61" |
0.43" |
0.38" |
0.80" |
|
| |
|
2003 (75.4°)
is ranked as the 3rd warmest October on record.
|
| Year-by-year
statistical recap for Tucson International airport |
| Year |
Avg.
high |
Avg.
Low |
Avg.
Temp |
Precip. |
| 2000 |
79.2° |
57.2° |
68.2° |
4.98" |
| 2001 |
87.6° |
58.8° |
73.2° |
0.69" |
| 2002 |
82.5° |
56.5° |
69.5° |
0.50" |
| 2003 |
88.8° |
61.9° |
75.4° |
0.38" |
| 2004 |
82.7° |
57.0° |
69.9° |
0.62" |
| 2005 |
86.0° |
59.5° |
72.7° |
0.31" |
| 2006 |
83.8° |
56.6° |
70.2° |
0.27" |
| 2007 |
87.3° |
58.4° |
72.8° |
0.02" |
| 2008 |
88.3° |
57.5° |
72.9° |
Trace |
| 2009 |
83.7° |
55.8° |
69.8° |
0.05" |
| 2000s
avg. |
85.0° |
57.9° |
71.5° |
0.78" |
| 1971-2000
normal |
84.0° |
57.0° |
70.5° |
1.21" |
| Click
on a year for full climate report previously posted. |
|
| |
|
The first two
graphs below shows the daily departure from normal, or periods of
warm/cold, for each October day from 2000 through 2009. The third
graph is the departure from normal for the monthly average temperatures.
The fourth graph is the departure from normal for the monthly rainfall.
(all years compared against 1971-2000 normals except 2000/2001 which
were compared to 1961-1990 normals).
|
|
[Daily
highs] [Daily
lows] [October
average temperatures] [October
precipitation] |
| Move
your mouse over the locations to change graphics. Click link for larger
view. |
 |
| |
|
Temperature
extremes for the decade ranged from 99 degrees, which occurred
three times (October 17, 2009; October 1, 2003 and October 7, 2000),
to 34 degrees on October 29, 2009. Nineteen record temperatures
were set/tied this past decade (listing below is in chronological
order). For the first time since 1971, a record low temperature
was set during October (38 degrees on 10/13/2008).
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Record
type |
Date |
Record |
Previous |
Year(s) |
| Low
Maximum |
Oct.
11, 2000 |
67° |
70° |
1924 |
| Low
Maximum |
Oct.
23, 2000 |
64° |
68° |
1978/1935/1906 |
| High |
Oct.
26, 2001 |
96° |
95° |
1934 |
| High
Minimum |
Oct.
27, 2001 |
64° |
62° |
1977 |
| High |
Oct.
29, 2001 |
92°
(tied) |
92° |
1950/1937 |
| High |
Oct.
30, 2001 |
94° |
91° |
1990/1975/1950 |
| High |
Oct.
20, 2003 |
97° |
95° |
1952/1921 |
| High |
Oct.
21, 2003 |
96°
(tied) |
96° |
1909 |
| High |
Oct.
22, 2003 |
95° |
93° |
1952/1915 |
| High
Minimum |
Oct.
27, 2004 |
64°
(tied) |
64° |
2001 |
| High
Minimum |
Oct.
8, 2005 |
71° |
68° |
1954/1932 |
| High
Minimum |
Oct.
24, 2007 |
66° |
64° |
1992 |
| High |
Oct.
28, 2007 |
94°
(tied) |
94° |
1934/1902 |
| Low |
Oct.
13, 2008 |
38° |
43° |
1931 |
| Low
Maximum |
Oct.
13, 2008 |
72° |
73° |
1957 |
| High
Minimum |
Oct.
28, 2008 |
65°
(tied) |
65° |
1943 |
| High |
Oct.
17, 2009 |
99° |
96° |
1933 |
| High
Minimum |
Oct.
18, 2009 |
70° |
68° |
1895 |
| Low
Maximum |
Oct.
29, 2009 |
59° |
60° |
1961/1911 |
|
| |
| Three
rainfall record were set during the 2000s |
| Date |
Record |
Previous
/ Year |
| October
11, 2000 |
1.53" |
0.25"
/ 1974 |
| October
22, 2000 |
1.24" |
0.28"
/ 1997 |
| October
8, 2001 |
0.65" |
0.62"
/ 1960 |
|
| |
| |
| Looking
ahead into November |
|
The Climate
Prediction Center forecasts enhanced probabilities for
above normal temperatures while forecasting equal chances
for above or below normal precipitation.
|
| |
|
| Normal
high temperature |
72.3° |
| Normal
low temperature |
45.1° |
| Normal
monthly temperature |
58.7° |
| Record
high temperature |
94°
on November 1, 1924 |
| Record
low temperature |
19°
on November 19, 1921 |
| Warmest
November (avg) |
65.7°
in 2007 |
| Coldest
November (avg) |
52.8°
in 2000 |
| Normal
rainfall |
0.67" |
| Wettest
November day |
2.09"
on November 22, 1931 |
| Wettest
November |
4.61"
in 1905 |
| Driest
November |
0.00"
in 2005 (last of 14 occurrences) |
| Record
November snowfall |
6.4"
in 1958 |
| |
|
|
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
|
www.weather.gov 
