Geary County Extension Agent Chuck Otte said October was cold, the third coldest October on record. And it snowed. Not an every October occurrence but not unheard of either. All in all, it was a somewhat odd month!

The average daily high during October was 61.6 which is 6.1 degrees below normal. The average overnight low as 39.7, 4.3 degrees below normal. This gave us a monthly mean temperature of 50.7 which was 5.1 degrees below normal. This is the third coldest October on record (since 1948). The coldest October was in 2002 when it was a chilly 49.1 degrees. This record was tied in 2009 when it also reached 49.1.

The hottest October on record was in 1963 when we had a sizzling monthly mean temperature of 69 degrees. The highest temperature for October was 88 degrees on the 1st. The coldest temperature was on the 30th and 31st with a low temperature of 15 degrees. There were five records set and two tied during October. The low of 29 on the 11th broke the record low of 32 for that date set in 1948. The low of 15 on the 30th broke the record low of 20 for that date set in 1991. The low of 24 on the 28th and 15 on the 31st tied the record low for those dates.

Average October precipitation is 2.62 inches with virtually all of that usually falling as rain. Milford Lake received 2.53 inches of precipitation and Junction City 2.50 during the month. The majority of that fell in the first week of the month. Year to date Milford Lake has received 38.24 inches of precipitation and Junction City 36.57 inches. Normal annual rainfall through October is 30.58 inches. We did have one half inch of snow recorded on the 31st. The long term average snowfall for October is one tenth of an inch.

With a low of 30 degrees on the 11th the growing season came to an end. This gave us a growing season (number of days from the last 32 degrees, or colder, temperature in the spring to the first 32 degrees, or colder, temperature in the fall) of 182 days. Since 1951 we have had an average annual growing season of 188 days. However, over the last 30 years the average growing season has been 192 days.

November weather usually serves as a reminder that winter is on the door step! With rapidly decreasing minutes of daylight, average daily highs drop from 61 on the 1st to 48 on the 30th. Overnight lows drop from a cool 39 degrees on the first of November to a frosty 25 by month’s end. Precipitation also continues to decline as we head into our seasonal dry period. Average liquid precipitation for November is 1.55 inches.