As we move deeper into autumn, October typically brings the first freeze of the season and one of the driest months of the year. For the second consecutive month, temperatures averaged above normal across the entire area. While not as warm as September, where temperatures averaged 3 to 4 degrees above normal, October finished 1 to 3 degrees warmer than what is expected. Except for many of the larger cities, most experienced the first freeze on October 17th and 18th with many dipping into the 20s! Indianapolis was the only city to see freezing temperatures with 30 degrees on the 17th and a chilly 27 on the 18th!
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Precipitation was hard to come by during the month and despite its wet end, areas from Chicago to Indianapolis received 50 - 75% of the monthly normal. Central and southern Illinois and Indiana were especially dry, receiving less than 25% of normal!
The first three weeks of the month were exceptionally dry and it took the final days of the month for appreciable rainfall events to hit the Midwest. The first was a southerly tracking system on October 27 – 28th which brought Indianapolis and Ohio the month's largest rain event but left Chicago unscathed. Indianapolis observed 0.91 inches and areas from Columbus, OH to Cincinnati, OH measured impressive amounts ranging between 2 and 3 inches. It took until Halloween for Chicago to measure its highest rainfall amount when a disturbance brought about 0.75 inches to the windy city, saving October 2015 from ranking among the driest Octobers on record! Since October is climatologically a dry month, the low monthly rainfall totals did not significantly exasperate the ongoing minor drought. Only portions of Indian and central Illinois worsened into a moderate drought.
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October often brings the first snowflakes of the season with most locations receiving a trace to 0.4 inches on average in October. However, the lack of events combined with warmer than normal temperatures meant the month finished snowless for most areas. The only exception was northern Ohio where a few spots observed wet flurries during the evening hours of October 17th.
As we enter into late fall and eventually winter, the effects of the strong El Nino will continue to be felt, with more warmer and drier conditions expected.
