You'll see some of these stats in Anthony's earlier post A Warm Start to October and here are a few bonus October climate numbers for the Quad Cities. We'll start off in the temperature department:
Average Temps
1st - 70°/47°
31st - 58°/38°
Overall average for the entire month - 53.2°
Hottest - 95° on October 3rd, 2006
Coldest - 11° on October 28th, 1925
Precipitation Stats
Average Rainfall - 2.97"
Average Snowfall - 0.00"
Wettest October on record - 9.41" in 1941
Driest October on record - 0.01" in 1964
Snowiest October on record - 6.6" in 1964
Monday, September 30, 2013
A Warm Start To October
September 2013 will be remembered for above average temperatures (more than two degrees) and below average rainfall (more than two inches).
October will get off to a very warm start with high temperatures for the first two days about 15 degrees above average in the mid-80s.
October ranks behind November (first) and September (second) and just ahead of December (fourth) as the month with the biggest drop in average temperatures from the beginning of the month to the end of the month.
In October, the averages on the first day of the month are 70° and 47°. By Halloween, those drop to 58° and 38°.
A typical October sees about 2.97" of rain in the Quad Cities.
CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples
October will get off to a very warm start with high temperatures for the first two days about 15 degrees above average in the mid-80s.
October ranks behind November (first) and September (second) and just ahead of December (fourth) as the month with the biggest drop in average temperatures from the beginning of the month to the end of the month.
In October, the averages on the first day of the month are 70° and 47°. By Halloween, those drop to 58° and 38°.
A typical October sees about 2.97" of rain in the Quad Cities.
CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples
Sunday, September 29, 2013
What Causes Leaves To Change?
Fall is here and leaves are rapidly beginning to change colors on some tress across the area. Here is a map showing the peak fall foliage across the midwest. Here in the QCA, we've got our peak colors coming up in the next few weeks!
So, what makes these leaves change color? All leaves have color pigments within their "body." Carotenoids, Anthocyanin and Chlorophyll are the three pigments which give leaves their colors. Carotenoids give leaves the yellow, brown and orange color you see in Autumn. Anthocyanin is the pigment that gives off the vibrant reds. Chlorophyll is what keeps the leaves green during the Spring and Summer. This means that the breaking down of chlorophyll causes the other pigments to take over. During night time, chlorophyll production slows and stops. Production is halted even more during Autumn when night time is longer and cooler, leading to a fast breakdown of chlorophyll.
How does the weather affect the leaves? Warm days with sunshine and cool night (not freezing) are the perfect formula for vibrant Autumn colors. If spring-like weather occurs a little later than usual or there is a severe summer drought, leaves may change a little later than usual and may not be as colorful. An unusually wet spring can also lead to awesome Fall colors. Here in the QC, we've dealt with both a wet Spring and drought conditions in Summer, so it's hard to determine at this point. But I can tell you I've noticed color on some trees across the area.
For a little more in depth on why leaves change, and to see what colors you can expect for your tree...CLICK HERE.
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| Times to expect peak color on trees. |
How does the weather affect the leaves? Warm days with sunshine and cool night (not freezing) are the perfect formula for vibrant Autumn colors. If spring-like weather occurs a little later than usual or there is a severe summer drought, leaves may change a little later than usual and may not be as colorful. An unusually wet spring can also lead to awesome Fall colors. Here in the QC, we've dealt with both a wet Spring and drought conditions in Summer, so it's hard to determine at this point. But I can tell you I've noticed color on some trees across the area.
For a little more in depth on why leaves change, and to see what colors you can expect for your tree...CLICK HERE.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Latest Rain Totals
Saturday started off mostly sunny with warm, southerly winds. The high temperature was 81°, recorded at 10:56AM. From there, clouds began to move into the picture, cooling temperatures down. Clouds then gave way to rain just ahead of a cold front that swept through the metro around 6:30 Saturday evening.
The heaviest of the rain fell west of the Mississippi River, with a general tenth of an inch to third of an inch. As the cold front continued its trek to the east it began to lose some of its forcing, allowing some of the rain to dissipate, hence the lower rain totals.
While we didn't receive a beneficial rain this time around, there are promising signs of a good rain by the end of next week. Here's WPC's outlook valid through next Sunday.
The cause of the rain will be another cold front. This is still 5 to 6 days away, so we'll keep you updated through the next week on CBS4 and cbs4qc.com.
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| Rain through 9PM September 28th, 2013 |
While we didn't receive a beneficial rain this time around, there are promising signs of a good rain by the end of next week. Here's WPC's outlook valid through next Sunday.
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| WPC shows over an inch of rain possibly across the are through next Sunday. |
Friday, September 27, 2013
Weekend Rain Chances
On Thursday, Anthony showed you the updated drought conditions for eastern Iowa and western Illinois, and they showed little improvement. We do have a chance of rain later Saturday afternoon with a passing cold front.
As you can see, the QCA is under the 0.25" to 0.50" area. I am leaning toward the low end of the stick on this one. We won't have much forcing or instability to deal with as the cold front treks through the area, but with ample moisture available we will still manage to get anywhere from a tenth to a quarter of an inch of rain.
As far as our rainfall deficit goes, we are running 1.95" below average for the month of September, and a deficit of 5.79" since June 1st. However, with the abnormally wet spring, we still run a surplus of 3.50" for the entire year.
Looking beyond Saturday---another cold front will bring rain next Thursday & Friday, bringing a cool down next weekend. Of course, that's still a week away and leaves plenty of time for fine-tuning. We'll take what we can get!
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| QPF (Quantitative Precipitation Forecast) from the Weather Prediction Center ending 7PM Sunday |
As far as our rainfall deficit goes, we are running 1.95" below average for the month of September, and a deficit of 5.79" since June 1st. However, with the abnormally wet spring, we still run a surplus of 3.50" for the entire year.
Looking beyond Saturday---another cold front will bring rain next Thursday & Friday, bringing a cool down next weekend. Of course, that's still a week away and leaves plenty of time for fine-tuning. We'll take what we can get!
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Another Record High?
We've set and/or tied several record highs over the last month in the Quad Cities, and we'll be fairly close to another record on Friday! The record high for Friday is 90, set back in 1990. We'll more than likely fall a little short of that, but there's been no shortage of record breaking weather over the last month...check out all these records!
August 28th - 97° - broke the old record
August 30th - 98° - tied the old record
September 9th - 99° - tied the old record
September 10th - 97° - broke the old record
September 14th - 39° - tied the record low
September 19th - 93° - tied the old record
That's right - 5 record highs tied or broken and a record low tied for good measure, all since August 28th!
Drought Conditions Worsen This Week
The updated U.S. Drought Monitor report just came out today and it shows that a moderate and severe drought is still taking place across much of Illinois and Iowa.
In western Iowa, conditions have even worsened to the "extreme drought" category. That covers 2% of the state. Meanwhile, the "severe drought" coverage has dropped about 5% over the past week, but 79% of the state is now experiencing a "moderate drought", up 6% from last week.
In Iowa, 95% of the state is still "abnormally dry".
Across the Mississippi River in Illinois, 87% of the state is "abnormally dry", which is up 6% over the past week.
41% of the state is in a "moderate drought" and the area covered by a "severe drought" increased from 10% to 15% this week.
While rain is expected across Iowa and Illinois Saturday and Saturday night, amounts are only expected to be around one-quarter to one-half of an inch.
Needless to say, next week when these numbers are updated, the drought will likely worsen.
CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples
In western Iowa, conditions have even worsened to the "extreme drought" category. That covers 2% of the state. Meanwhile, the "severe drought" coverage has dropped about 5% over the past week, but 79% of the state is now experiencing a "moderate drought", up 6% from last week.
In Iowa, 95% of the state is still "abnormally dry".
Across the Mississippi River in Illinois, 87% of the state is "abnormally dry", which is up 6% over the past week.
41% of the state is in a "moderate drought" and the area covered by a "severe drought" increased from 10% to 15% this week.
While rain is expected across Iowa and Illinois Saturday and Saturday night, amounts are only expected to be around one-quarter to one-half of an inch.
Needless to say, next week when these numbers are updated, the drought will likely worsen.
CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Is It Too Early To Snow???
High temperatures since autumn started Sunday have been in the 70s. The highs today through Saturday will likely be in the 80°-83° range, which is about ten degrees above average. It was much different this week last year.
By this time in 2012, we already had our first "Freeze Watch" (the blue shading) and a record low of 30° on September 24th.
This September, the coldest temperature, officially, in the Quad Cities is 39° back on the 14th.
If that doesn't put a chill in you and make you thankful that it's still nice and warm out there, it was on this date back in 1942 that the Quad Cities experienced its early measurable snowfall on record of 0.1"!
While only 0.1" accumulated in the Quad Cities, some parts of Iowa saw up to 4" of snow!
Rain is possible Saturday and Saturday night, but no snow is in the CBS4 7-or-10-day forecast.
CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples
This September, the coldest temperature, officially, in the Quad Cities is 39° back on the 14th.
If that doesn't put a chill in you and make you thankful that it's still nice and warm out there, it was on this date back in 1942 that the Quad Cities experienced its early measurable snowfall on record of 0.1"!
While only 0.1" accumulated in the Quad Cities, some parts of Iowa saw up to 4" of snow!
Rain is possible Saturday and Saturday night, but no snow is in the CBS4 7-or-10-day forecast.
CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples
Monday, September 23, 2013
Folklore Forecast For the Next Three Months
If you believe in folklore or if you just find it interesting, the weather late last week and this past weekend may tell us what to expect in October, November, and December.
We just experienced "Ember Days", a religious period that occurs four times a year that includes fasting and prayer.
It's said that the weather on September 18th will tell us what kind of weather to expect in October; the weather on September 20th forecasts November's weather; and December's weather is based on September 21st weather.
If that's the case, here's what you can expect based on folklore.
October would be very warm and wet, November would be dry with average temperatures, and December would be colder than normal and dry.
Again, this is folklore and not an actual forecast.
CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples
We just experienced "Ember Days", a religious period that occurs four times a year that includes fasting and prayer.
It's said that the weather on September 18th will tell us what kind of weather to expect in October; the weather on September 20th forecasts November's weather; and December's weather is based on September 21st weather.
If that's the case, here's what you can expect based on folklore.
October would be very warm and wet, November would be dry with average temperatures, and December would be colder than normal and dry.
Again, this is folklore and not an actual forecast.
CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Autumn is Here!
Fall officially began today (Sunday 9/22) at 3:44pm. That time is the exact moment the sun's rays were shining directly over the Equator, giving equal sunlight to both the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere. This occurs when the Earth's 23.5° axis is tilting neither toward or away from the sun. This is where seasons come into play! When the axis points toward the sun, we have Summer. When Earth's axis points away from the sun, we have Winter. When it is pointing neither toward or away, you have your Vernal (Spring) and Autumnal (Fall) Equinox (appx. equal day & night). For more on the Autumnal Equinox, click here.
From now until December 21st, the hours of daylight will be getting shorter, which means the temperature will be getting cooler. I put together a graphic showing the averages for the first and last day of Fall, as well as the average first day of frost in the Quad Cities.
While temperatures usual cool during Fall, the first full week of the new season will feature a gradual warm up, with temperatures near 80° by the end of the week. Catch your full forecast online anytime at www.whbf.com/weather.
From now until December 21st, the hours of daylight will be getting shorter, which means the temperature will be getting cooler. I put together a graphic showing the averages for the first and last day of Fall, as well as the average first day of frost in the Quad Cities.
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| High temperatures on average drop 41° over the next three months, while lows cool 34°! |
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