Or forget...depending on your perspective...with this being Halloween we're about to close the door on the month...and for many who don't like the chilly weather...most will say good riddance...October typically is one of our better months here...but that really wasn't the case here...or across most of the midwest...

First the data for KCI...we had about 6 days this month with temperatures above average...almost all the others were on the cool side, or cold side, of average...we'll finish some 6 degrees below average which ios the coolest month in years..making this the coldest month, relative to average, since at least 2002...when in October of that year we were some 6.1 degrees below average...so far this month we're 6.3 degrees below average...

Overall though the region was very chilly...take a look...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now lets scoot farther westwards...where the core of the cold was located...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those brightest pinks are anomalies of at least 10 degrees below average...if not more...

So a very impressive month for sure...if I discover any other interesting facts about this months weather I'll pass them along tomorrow...

Meanwhile I was curious to see the visible satellite picture today...particularly relating to the snowpact that is eroding away acrosee the western plains this afternoon...temps there now are in the 60s...so it won't last long...take a look...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of that is cloud cover...as of 2PM North Platte is 44...while Imperial is close to 65...so that snow is certainly playing a role in temperatures for some areas...also notice the snow covered areas in the Rockies....always an impressive sight...

Our weather here looks quiet for quite some time with some minor temp swings coming...tomorrow we'll be on the plus side as highs soar to near 70...longer term quick hitting cool airmasses will be rotating through the region every so often...these type of airmasses can wreak havoc on the forecasts from day to day...because as the timing changes the effects on the temps will change as well...so a mild forecast can become a cooler forecast in a days time if another airmass change speeds up by 12-18 hours...and that works the other way as well...so bear with us...the bottom line is no significant storms are expected for at least the next 5-7 days...the EURO is, I think, overamplfying a NW digging wave on FRI...that'll happen with these fast flows...but it'll be something to watch...the Canadian is a bit diggy as well...so I'll watch it for you...but continue to play the forecast dry for now till further notice...

We still have one month left of the hurricane season...however a researcher from Florida State (Karli's Alma Mater) have released some information concern the lack of activity this year...and for that matter the last several years...

North Atlantic Hurricane Season slowest since 1997 -- Figure

Global and Northern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclone Activity remains near 30-year historical lows -- three years in a row now of considerably below-average activity globally. -- Figure

Consequence of the transition from La Nina to El Nino during the past year

Oct 29: The North Atlantic hurricane season has not produced a storm in over 3-weeks and, if no more develop, the season overall would rank as the slowest since the El Nino year of 1997. Hurricanes Bill and Fred accounted for over 82% of the Accumulated Cyclone Energy [ACE**] -- a metric that combines intensity, duration, and frequency of hurricanes and tropical storms during a year. The remaining storms were weak, rather short-lived and unremarkable. Indeed, the Accumulated Cyclone Energy [ACE] of 44 ranks among the slowest during the past half-century. Elsewhere, the Northern Hemisphere and Global ACE when calculated either with 12- or 24-month running sums, remains just above historical 30-year lows. Indeed, the global ACE sunk to record low levels during the early summer prior to the typhoon activity in the Western Pacific and the hurricane activity in the Eastern Pacific. While it may seem like the world has experienced considerable tropical cyclone activity lately, 2009 as a whole is still well behind normal or climatology. The previous Southern Hemisphere cyclone season including the Southern Indian and Pacific Oceans along with the Australian region produced historically low levels of ACE (from Oct 2008 - Apr 2009). So a global sum during the past 12 or 24 months will simply show the depressed tropical cyclone activity experienced. This is a natural consequence of the rather unusual flip from strong La Nina to El Nino conditions during the past calendar year, which did not happen at all during the period of 1976-2006 as indicated by the MEI-ENSO INDEX (LINK). It is expected by NOAA and others that the current-El Nino is locked in for the rest of winter 2009-2010 and may indeed strengthen. This would suggest enhanced typhoon activity in the Western Pacific throughout the rest of the fall and winter which will necessarily increase the NH ACE. The Southern Hemisphere TC season may begin at any time now, but most activity is experienced between January and March.

end text...

By the way...there is a lot of talk about the ACE...here is a definition for you

That's about it for now...there is the threat of rain in the Philly area tonight...not sure it'll be enough to mess up the game, it's not overly impressive on radar now...looks more like a broken area of showers...which is worse in a sense because that brings up the potential of rain delays...which I'm not a fan of...that usually means later nights for me...but the good news is that we set the clocks back one hour tonight as Daylight Saving Time ends...

We'll call it an afternoon now...I'll see you tonight on the 5PM news...and then again after the game...hopefully not too late...we have a midnight cutoff...

Joe