The Atlantic Coast Observer Network - Virginia/North Carolina/South Carolina

http://www.genserva.com/acon

SUMMARY OF CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA 



OCTOBER 2012

...HURRICANE SANDY BRINGS HEAVY RAINS, FLOODING & GUSTY WINDS FOR MANY...
..TEMPERATURE AVERAGES NEAR NORMAL...

A quiet month for most until Hurricane Sandy moved parallel but offshore to the coastal sections of the three-state area. Fortunately, the storm remained well east of the lower middle Atlantic and southeastern coastal US shores. However, as the storm was massive in size, all three states were affected, mostly through the eastern coastal plains. Because of Sandy's very low central pressure and massive circulation, coastal areas from Cape Hatteras northward to Virginia received significant rainfall totals, gusty winds, and coastal flooding. Had the storm's center been closer to the coast, far more catastrophic conditons would have been experienced in our three-state area as seen when the storm turned northwest into the New Jersey and New York coastal areas. Of interest, our contributor Dave Lesher of Davis, West Virginia recorded just under 30" of snow on the backside of Sandy. His station is just west of the West Virginia/Virginia border. Our contributors have provided their station impact reports below. When you have time, do an Internet search to study the data and pictures from and impacts of this major superstorm, not to be forgotten by any of us in our lifetimes.


  • PRISM       The PRISM-CoCoRaHS Climate Portal (PRISM Portal for short) is a new CoCoRaHS data analysis tool developed at Oregon State University. This is an exclusive feature available only to CoCoRaHS participants. (ACON members: Now's the time to join if you haven't!) It helps connect our daily precipitation measurements (weather) to seasonal patterns, long-term averages and year to year variations (climate). This portal provides access to estimates of "normal" precipitation for any location in the contiguous United States. PRISM also provides estimates of total precipitation for each month and year since 1895. Please enjoy and use this great new feature. Visit this tool at http://cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=prismportal


  • CLIMATE WATCH MAGAZINE       Enjoy these articles, images, and videos at ClimateWatch Magazine from NOAA. Quite interesting articles with the current feature June wind shift a little something extra behind recent Arctic ice losses. Visit this online feature magazine at http://www.climatewatch.noaa.gov/Articles


  • FORECASTING: TODAY & YESTERDAY!       (from Kevin Shaw, ACON DC/MD/DE) - Pretty good, comprehensive article on forecasting today and yesterday, looking in at NCEP and NCAR, supercomputers, and other great stuff... http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/magazine/the-weatherman-is-not-a-moron.html?pagewanted=5&_r=1


  • NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS (NWR)       NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS (NWR) IS A NATIONWIDE NETWORK OF RADIO STATIONS BROADCASTING CONTINUOUS WEATHER INFORMATION DIRECTLY FROM THE NEAREST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. NWR BROADCASTS OFFICIAL WEATHER SERVICE WARNINGS, WATCHES, FORECASTS AND OTHER HAZARD INFORMATION 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK. WORKING WITH THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATION COMMISSION'S (FCC) EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM , NWR IS AN "ALL HAZARDS" RADIO NETWORK, MAKING IT YOUR SINGLE SOURCE FOR COMPREHENSIVE WEATHER AND EMERGENCY INFORMATION. IN CONJUNCTION WITH FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND OTHER PUBLIC OFFICIALS, NWR ALSO BROADCASTS WARNING AND POST-EVENT INFORMATION FOR ALL TYPES OF HAZARDS ¤ INCLUDING NATURAL (SUCH AS EARTHQUAKES OR AVALANCHES), ENVIRONMENTAL (SUCH AS CHEMICAL RELEASES OR OIL SPILLS), AND PUBLIC SAFETY (SUCH AS AMBER ALERTS OR 911 TELEPHONE OUTAGES). KNOWN AS THE "VOICE OF NOAA'S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE," NWR IS PROVIDED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE BY THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA), PART OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE. NWR INCLUDES MORE THAN 985 TRANSMITTERS , COVERING ALL 50 STATES, ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS, PUERTO RICO, THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, AND THE U.S. PACIFIC TERRITORIES. NWR REQUIRES A SPECIAL RADIO RECEIVER OR SCANNER CAPABLE OF PICKING UP THE SIGNAL. CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WHERE TO LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO IN YOUR AREA: NOAA RADIO - http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/nwrbro.htm


  • DROUGHT MONITOR    http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/    More information on drought can be found at NOAA's Drought Information Center http://www.drought.noaa.gov/


  • REMINDER   All National Weather Service station data listed herein is preliminary and may be subject to change.  The data has not been certified and cannot be used in legal actions.  Only reports certified by the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC can be used for these purposes.
    • ACON VA/NC/SC Station Extremes - OCTOBER 2012
    State
    Maximum Temperature
    Minimum
    Temperature
    Warmest
    Average
    Temperature
    Coldest
    Average
    Temperature
    Maximum
    Precipitation
    Minimum
    Precipitation
    Virginia
    88°
    Norfolk (ORF)
    30°
    Blacksburg
    Dulles
    62.5°
    Norfolk (ORF)
    Norfolk (FHC)
    51.6°
    Blacksburg
    11.63"
    Newport News
    1.30"
    Lynchburg
    North Carolina
    90°
    Elizabeth City
    35°
    Greensboro
    67.0°
    Cape Hatteras
    55.7°
    Asheville
    9.38"
    Cape Hatteras
    1.21"
    Charlotte
    South Carolina
    90°
    Florence
    38°
    Florence
    67.2°
    Charleston
    61.1°
    Greenville-Spartanburg
    2.43"
    Greenville-Spartanburg
    1.06"
    Charleston


    ( For an explanation of column headers in the following tables,
    please note the column denotations table below. )

    TEMPERATURE / WINDS/ ELEMENTS FOLLOWED BY
    PRECIPITATION / BAROMETRIC PRESSURE

    VIRGINIA | NORTH CAROLINA | SOUTH CAROLINA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    BCB 62.60 40.60 51.60 -0.70 78.0 24 30.00 30 0 0 2 0 80% 45 280 29 4.2 0 0 0 0 2 LWX 2400
    BRI 66.20 45.50 55.90 0.80 85.0 5 32.00 13 0 0 1 0 67% 1 0 0 0 0 LWX 2400
    CHT 67.10 48.20 57.70 1.70 81.5 24 33.70 13 0 0 0 0 80% 21 020 29 0.4 360 1 0 0 0 2 LWX 2400
    CHO 67.90 47.40 57.60 1.60 83.0 3,24 35.00 13 0 0 0 0 40 290 29 4.5   1 0 0 0 5 LWX 2400
    DAN 70.40 47.00 58.70 -0.80 84.0 3.24 36.00 21 0 0 0 0 69% 43 280 29 5.2 3 0 0 0 3 RNK 2400
    DCA 68.90 53.00 61.00 1.50 84.0 24 41.00 13 0 0 0 0 67% 61 310 29 7.7 0 0 0 0 2 LWX 2400
    IAD 66.80 46.70 56.80 0.80 81.0 5,24 30.00 13 0 0 1 0 63% 54 290 29 6.1 0 0 0 0 3 LWX 2400
    GAV 70.03 49.94 59.98 1.06 86.0 3 37.00 30 0 0 0 0 74% 32 203 29 1 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    HDV 66.70 48.00 57.40 -0.20 82.0 24 31.00 13 0 0 1 0 79% 19 270 29 270 0 0 0 0 2 LWX 2400
    LYH 67.60 45.00 56.30 0.10 83.0 24 35.00 21,22 0 0 0 0 74% 33 280 30 4.5 1 0 0 0 6 RNK 2400
    NPN 70.10 52.30 60.50 -0.20 85.5 3 40.60 31 0 0 0 0 42 250 29 1.6 230 2 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    FHC 69.17 55.83 62.50 0.40 86.4 3 40.30 31 0 0 0 0 79% 39 29 1.9 203 0 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    NOR 68.70 53.00 60.90 0.00 85.0 3 40.00 31 0 0 0 0 46 045 1 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    ORF 70.40 54.50 62.50 0.40 88.0 3 38.00 30 0 0 0 0 73% 52 040 28 9.6 0 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    POR 69.80 53.90 61.80 0.20 87.0 3 39.00 31 0 0 0 0 82% 39 250 29 3.7 350 2 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    CTR 69.70 48.20 58.90 0.60 84.7 3 35.90 31 0 0 0 0 83% 22 270 29 0.3 299 0 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    MEC 69.48 50.29 60.45 85.0 3 37.00 12,29,31 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    RIC 70.30 50.50 60.40 0.70 85.0 2,3 37.00 31 0 0 0 0 73% 40 230 29 6.9 0 0 0 0 1 AKQ 2400
    ROA 67.30 47.00 57.10 -0.60 83.0 24 37.00 30 0 0 0 0 67% 60 280 29 5.7 0 0 0 0 2 RNK 2400
    WAL 69.90 53.80 61.90 2.80 86.0 4 41.00 31 0 0 0 0 68 300 29 9.2 0 0 0 0 1 AKQ 2400
    WOO 63.90 48.00 56.00 -0.30 78.0 25 35.00 31 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 LWX 0800
    WSH 65.20 47.70 56.50 0.41 82.4 24 33.70 13 0 0 0 0 82% 27 070 29 0.4 090 2 0 0 0 0 LWX 2400
    Averages 68.10 49.38 58.75 0.49 83.80 36.15 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 74% 41.2 4.5 0.8 1.4
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    AVL 66.0 45.4 55.7 -0.70 78.0 23,24 36.0 30 0 0 0 0 72% 49 330 29 6.4 1 0 0 0 3 GSP 2400
    MRH 72.9 57.2 65.0 -0.40 84.0 4 46.0 22 0 0 0 0 54 360 28 8.9 0 0 0 0 0 MHX 2400
    CLT 71.6 48.9 60.3 0.00 83.0 6 36.0 31 0 0 0 0 68% 38 210 7 5.4 2 0 0 0 1 GSP 2400
    ECG 74.9 55.6 65.3 2.90 90.0 3 43.0 22 1 0 0 0 68% 52 360 28 8.9 1 0 0 0 2 AKQ 2400
    FAY 73.5 52.3 62.9 0.60 89.0 2 39.0 31 0 0 0 0 70% 37 270 29 7.0 2 0 0 0 2 RAH 2400
    GSO 68.6 49.2 58.9 -0.60 82.0 2 35.0 31 0 0 0 0 70% 46 290 29 6.6 2 0 0 0 3 RAH 2400
    HSE 73.4 60.7 67.0 1.20 83.0 4 48.0 30 0 0 0 0 74% 54 010 28 7.9 0 0 0 0 0 MHX 2400
    HKY 68.6 48.5 58.6 -0.70 81.0 24 38.0 31 0 0 0 0 37 310 29 3.9 3 0 0 0 4 GSP 2400
    LBT 74.3 51.7 63.0 -0.40 89.0 2 37.0 31 0 0 0 0 73% 38 310 29 5.4 1 0 0 0 3 ILM 2400
    EWN 74.1 54.6 64.4 0.30 87.0 3 40.0 31 0 0 0 0 76% 44 10 28 6.0 1 0 0 0 6 MHX 2400
    RDU 71.2 50.6 60.9 -0.30 88.0 2 37.0 31 0 0 0 0 72% 33 260 29 5.1 3 0 0 0 1 RAH 2400
    RAL 70.8 48.9 59.9 -0.90 86.0 2 38.0 22 0 0 0 0 25 19,29,30 1 0 0 0 0 RAH 2400
    ROX 69.0 49.4 59.6 1.50 85.0 24 36.0 24 2 0 0 0 77% 32 270 30 360 1 0 0 0 2 RAH 2400
    WHI                                               ILM 2400
    ILM 74.3 55.5 64.9 -0.30 85.0 4,6 42.0 31 0 0 0 0 74% 38 010,350 27,28 6.7 3 0 0 0 0 ILM 2400
    Averages 71.7 52.0 57.8 0.16 85.0 39.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 72% 41.2 6.5 1.5 1.9
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    AND 72.3 50.5 61.4 0.1 83 6 41 10 0 0 0 0   41 260 1 5.3 4 0 0 0 2 GSP 2400
    CAE 76.6 53.4 65.0 0.9 88 6 40 31 0 0 0 0 65% 37 310 29 5.0 0 0 0 0 1 CAE 2400
    CRE 74.5 55.3 64.9 -0.5 84 4,5 43 22,31 0 0 0 0 74% 45 030 28 6.4 3 0 0 0 4 ILM 2400
    CHS 77.1 57.2 67.2 0.3 88 2,7 41 31 0 0 0 0 36 350 27 7.3 1 0 0 0 1 CHS 2400
    FLO 75.5 54.1 64.8 0.5 90 2 38 31 1 0 0 0 68% 36 280 15 5.9 1 0 0 0 3 ILM 2400
    GSP 71.5 50.7 61.1 -0.5 83 6 41 31 0 0 0 0 70% 37 230 29 5.0 2 0 0 0 2 GSP 2400
    OGB 76.6 54.7 65.7 0.0 87 6 42 31 0 0 0 0 33 250 31 4.9 6 0 0 0 0 CAE 2400
    Averages 74.9 53.7 64.3 0.1 86.1 40.9 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 69% 37.9 5.7 2.4 1.9
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    TRI 66.4 44.7 55.6 -0.8 84 2 35 11 0 0 0 0 41 180 14 3.5 0 0 0 0 5 MRX 2400
    DAV 56.9 39.0 47.9 74 3 24 31 0 0 8 0 PBX 2400
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    BCB 1.72 -1.06 0.45 7 0.45 7 9 0 33.04         0.0 0.0 RNK 2400
    BRI 2.54 -0.50 0.93 18 0.93 18 9 0 35.54       0.0 0.0 30.370 13 28.980 30 29.910 LWX 2400
    CHT 8.63 5.38 3.98 29 4.48 29,30 13 3 34.74         0.0 0.0 30.539 13 28.693 29 29.954 LWX 2400
    CHO 4.37 1.26 1.44 2 1.45 1-2 11 2 33.25 30.380 13 28.620 29 LWX 2400
    DAN 1.92 -1.61 0.47 7 0.66 6-7 11 0 25.90         0.0 0.0 30.490 13 29.200 30 RNK 2400
    DCA 5.82 2.42 3.85 29 4.10 29-30 10 1 28.82         0.0 0.0 28.620 29 LWX 2400
    IAD 8.87 5.62 4.25 29 4.60 29-30 12 3 31.81         0.0 0.0 28.620 29 LWX 2400
    GAV 3.95   1.94 29 2.21 29-30 10 1 30.02         0.0 0.0 30.510 13 28.960 29-30 29.960 AKQ 2400
    HDV 9.21 5.10 4.73 29     14 3 32.81         0.0 0.0 30.530 13 28.680 29 AKQ 2400
    LYH 1.68 -1.43 0.35 29 0.44 28-29 11 0 26.53         0.0 0.0 30.520 13 29.100 30 RNK 2400
    NPN 11.63 7.35 4.49 29 4.70 28-29 11 3 68.55       0.0 0.0 30.490 13 28.990 29 AKQ 2400
    FHC 8.31 4.89 3.12 29 4.97 28-29 12 4 59.15       0.0 0.0 30.489 13 29.041 29 29.971 AKQ 2400
    NOR 10.16 6.39 4.20 29 4.20 29 10 3 49.15         0.0 0.0 AKQ 2400
    ORF 8.98 5.56 3.87 29 4.55 28-29 9 2 42.93         0.0 0.0 30.480 13 29.010 29 AKQ 2400
    POR 8.81 5.07 3.12 29 3.37 28-29 12 4 62.37         0.0 0.0 30.480 13 29.050 29 29.956 AKQ 2400
    CTR 3.22 -0.21 1.30 29 1.54 29-30 15 1 31.01         0.0 0.0 30.480 13 29.010 29 29.936 AKQ 2400
    MEC 4.30 2.35 28 3.21 28-29 8 1 34.99         0.0 0.0 30.210 13 28.910 29 29.750 AKQ 2400
    RIC 4.00 1.02 1.96 29 2.10 29-30 11 1 33.42         0.0 0.0 30.530 13 29.000 29 AKQ 2400
    ROA 1.30 -1.59 0.48 2 0.66 1.-2 8 0 29.72         0.0 0.0 30.520 13 29.160 30 RNK 2400
    WAL 10.40 7.23 6.58 29 6.97 28-29 10 2 44.62         0.0 0.0 30.490 13 28.630 29 AKQ 2400
    WOO 6.03 3.52 4.43 29-30 11 1 35.99         0.0 0.0 30.720 13 29.340 30 LWX 0800
    WSH 6.13 2.89 3.34 29 3.73 29-30 12 1 34.11         0.0 0.0 30.580 13 29.840 29 LWX 2400
    Averages 6.00 2.87 2.72 3.04 10.9 1.6 38.11 0.0 0.0 30.489 28.973 29.920
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    AVL 4.01 1.10 1.87 2 2.58 1-2 6 1 34.77         0.0 0.0 30.450 13 29.480 30 GSP 2400
    MRH 3.89 0.01 1.82 27 2.47 27-28 8 2 38.26         0.0 0.0 30.410 13 29.290 28 MHX 2400
    CLT 1.21 -2.19 0.37 1 0.45 6-7 7 0 27.53         0.0 0.0 30.470 13 29.440 30 GSP 2400
    ECG 5.43 2.36 2.06 28 2.12 28-29 13 2 43.56   30.470 13 29.120 29 AKQ 2400
    FAY 2.35 -0.86 1.38 9 1.38 8-9 9 1 35.53     0.0 0.0 29.300 30 RAH 2400
    GSO 2.44 -0.69 0.83 18 0.83 18 10 0 33.82       0.0 0.0 29.300 30 RAH 2400
    HSE 9.38 4.00 4.55 28 5.91 27-28 10 2 50.11       0.0 0.0     29.190 29 MHX 2400
    HKY 1.90 -1.65 0.85 15 0.82 15 5 0 34.46         30.460 13 29.370 30 GSP 2400
    LBT 1.35 -1.22 0.46 8 0.48 1-2 8 0 36.62         0.0 0.0 30.440 13 29.410 30 ILM 2400
    EWN 3.97 0.71 1.51 27 2.13 27.28 12 1 46.76         0.0 0.0 30.440 13 29.330 29 MHX 2400
    RDU 1.83 -1.42 0.55 29 0.60 29-30 10 0 45.12         0.0 0.0 29.300 30 RAH 2400
    RAL 1.89 -1.50 0.46 28-29 12 0 39.96     0.0 0.0 30.250 8 29.350 30 RAH 2400
    ROX 3.97 0.31 0.97 7 0.97 7 12 0 38.56       0.0 0.0 30.510 13 29.210 30 30.010 RAH 2400
    WHI                         ILM 2400
    ILM 4.39 0.50 1.54 27 2.05 27-28 11 1 39.97         0.0 0.0 30.420 13 29.400 29 ILM 2400
    Averages 3.43 -0.04 1.44 1.66 9.50 0.71 38.93 0.0 0.0 30.432 29.321
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    AND 1.99 -1.12 1.08 2 1.43 1-2 5 1 31.20       30.440 13 29.540 30 GSP 2400
    CAE 1.42 -1.75 0.44 8 0.44 8 8 0 35.35     0.0 0.0 30.420 13 29.520 30 CAE 2400
    CRE 1.89 -1.99 0.64 27 0.64 26-27 9 0 31.36 0.0 0.0 30.400 13 29.460 30 ILM 2400
    CHS 1.06 -2.69 0.84 8 0.84 8 5 0 36.89     0.0 0.0 30.360 13 29.530 29 CHS 2400
    FLO 1.75 -1.33 0.60 15 0.60 15 7 0 33.65 30.430 13 29.450 30 ILM 2400
    GSP 2.43 -1.01 1.68 1 1.68 1 6 1 29.20         0.0 0.0 30.450 13 29.480 30 GSP 2400
    OGB 1.70 -1.69 0.61 8 0.61 8 6 0 34.21 30.400 13 29.540 30 CAE 2400
    Averages 1.75 -1.65 0.84 0.89 6.6 0.3 33.12 0.0 0.0 30.414 29.503
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    TRI 2.95 0.85 0.84 2 1.24 1-2 8 0 41.61 T 29 1 0 T T 30.360 13 29.52 30 MRX 2400
    DAV 6.48 3.15 30 16 1 46.67 22.9 30 4 3 30.6 30.6 PBX 2400
    Averages
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED


    Virginia: Arlington - " OCTOBER 2012 WAS THE 12TH CONSECUTIVE MONTH IN WASHINGTON DC WITH A MONTHLY TEMPERATURE ABOVE THE 1981-2010 MONTHLY NORMAL...ALTHOUGH THIS MONTH WAS ONLY 1.5F DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 84F DEGREES ON THE 24TH TIED THE DAILY RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE ORIGINALLY SET IN 2001. MONTHLY RAINFALL OF 5.82 INCHES MADE THIS OCTOBER THE WETTEST MONTH IN WASHINGTON SINCE SEPTEMBER 2011...WITH 8.84 INCHES. IT WAS THE WETTEST OCTOBER SINCE OCTOBER 2007 WITH 6.55 INCHES. POST-TROPICAL STORM SANDY DUMPED 4.84 INCHES OF RAINFALL FROM THE 28TH-30TH. 3.85 INCHES OF RAINFALL ON THE 29TH SET A NEW DAILY RAINFALL RECORD AND IT WAS ALSO THE SECOND WETTEST OCTOBER DAY ON RECORD. ONLY OCTOBER 4TH IN 1877 HAD A WETTER OCTOBER DAY...WHEN 3.98 INCHES WAS MEASURED. THE MINIMUM SEA LEVEL PRESSURE...MSLP...RECORDED DURING SANDY AT DCA AIRPORT WAS 969.5 MB ON THE 29TH. UNOFFICIALLY...THIS READING IS THE SECOND LOWEST MSLP READING FOR WASHINGTON DC. THE ONLY LOWER MSLP MEASUREMENT WAS 966.5 MB DURING THE 13 MARCH 1993 SUPERSTORM. WHILE OFFICIAL WEATHER RECORDS EXTEND BACK TO 1871...PRELIMINARY MSLP DATA EXAMINED FOR THIS RECORD ONLY WENT BACK TO 1930. A 61-MPH WIND GUST WAS MEASURED AT DCA ON THE 29TH. A 60 MPH OR HIGHER WIND GUST HAS BEEN RECORDED AT DCA ON THREE CALENDAR DAYS SO FAR THIS YEAR...61 MPH ON 18 SEPTEMBER AND 70 MPH DURING THE JUNE 29 DERECHO. " - [ + + ] - Notes from NWS Sterling, VA

    Bridgewater - Clayton sends these additional notes: " Sandy didn't do any damage at our place. There was no flooding and no wind. North of here there was some flooding, and lots of snow on the mountains to the west. We have not had a measurable snow so far this fall. The precipitation for the year is now 1.71 inches above normal. " - [ + - ]

    Chantilly - Russ reports: " "Superstorm" Sandy began to impact our region on the 28th and was at her peak around 11pm on the 29th. Our immediate area received limited damage and, unlike the Derecho, the power faltered a few times but did not fail us. The main story at station CHT was the record storm rainfall of 5.47" and minimum sea level pressure of 28.693" The mean monthly temperature was 57.7° (+1.7°). The mean high temperature was 67.1° (-1.1°) and the mean low temperature was 48.2° (+4.4°). October temperature records set include a new low maximum temp on the 7th (52.6°) and 8th (51.5°). Precipitation was 5.38" above normal at 8.63", thanks to Sandy. A record 2.10" of rain fell on the 2nd and 3.98" on the 29th. A thunderstorm was observed on the 18th. Dense fog was observed on the 2nd and 3rd. *Please note, anemometer is currently partially obstructed from the North and East " - [ + + ]

    Dulles - from NWS Sterling (KLWX): " OCTOBER 2012 WAS THE 4TH CONSECUTIVE MONTH AT DULLES WITH A MONTHLY TEMPERATURE ABOVE THE 1981-2010 MONTHLY NORMAL...ALTHOUGH THIS MONTH WAS ONLY 0.8F DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. TWO DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE SET THIS MONTH. A HIGH MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 52F DEGREES ON THE 7TH BROKE THE OLD DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORD OF 54F DEGREES ORIGINALLY SET IN 2006 WHILE THE 51F DEGREES ON THE 8TH BROKE THE OLD DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORD OF 56F DEGREES IN 2000. A LOW TEMPERATURE OF 30 DEGREES ON THE 13TH BROKE THE OLD DAILY LOW TEMPERATURE RECORD SET PREVIOUSLY IN 1987 AND 1988. MONTHLY RAINFALL OF 8.87 INCHES MADE THIS OCTOBER THE WETTEST MONTH AT DULLES SINCE MAY 2009...WITH 10.26 INCHES AND THE WETTEST OCTOBER SINCE OCTOBER 2005...WITH 9.22 INCHES. THREE DAILY RAINFALL RECORDS WERE SET THIS OCTOBER. THE MOST NOTABLE DAILY RAINFALL RECORD OCCURRED WHEN POST-TROPICAL SANDY IMPACTED THE AREA. 4.25 INCHES OF RAINFALL FALLING ON THE 29TH WAS THE WETTEST OCTOBER DAY ON RECORD AND THE 8TH WETTEST OF ANY CALENDAR DAY ON RECORD AT DULLES. THE PREVIOUS WETTEST OCTOBER DAY WAS OCTOBER 1ST 1979 WHEN 4.06 INCHES OF RAINFALL WAS OBSERVED. THE MINIMUM SEA-LEVEL PRESSURE...MSLP...RECORDED DURING SANDY AT IAD WAS 971.5 MB ON THE 29TH. UNOFFICIALLY...THIS READING IS THE SECOND LOWEST MSLP READING FOR DULLES. THE ONLY LOWER MSLP MEASUREMENT WAS 968.4 MB DURING THE 13 MARCH 1993 SUPERSTORM. PRELIMINARY MSLP DATA EXAMINED FOR THIS RECORD WENT BACK TO 1961. " - [ + + ]

    Glen Allen - Lowell sends these additional notes: " October was a little warmer and wetter than average at the Glen Allen Station when compared to the four year average. The monthly mean temperature was 60.0°F, a +1.1°F departure when compared to the average. Only 2010 was warmer in the past four years. The minimum temperature on the 3rd of 72°F was the highest minimum ever recorded here in October. The 3.95 inches of precipitation for October at Glen Allen was only a +0.07 inch departure. The maximum temperature for October was 86°F on the 3rd and there were 8 days the maximum was 80°F or more. The lowest minimum temperature was 37°F recorded on October 30 and only 4 days the minimum was in the 30's. The highest dew point temperature for October was 76°F on the 2nd at 1705 that made it feel like a summer's day and a new record for October. The lowest dew point was 31.2°F on the 13th at 1416. The maximum wind gust was 32 mph from the SSW that occurred on the 29th at 2316 from Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy set a new record low barometric pressure reading in Glen Allen of 28.96 inches. Irene last year had a minimum pressure here of 29.20 inches. " - [ + + ]

    Herndon - Randy reports: " October was slightly below normal for temperature and well-above normal for precipitation. The temperatures ranged between a high of 82 and a low of 31. We received our first frost of the season on the 13th. We averaged 0.2 degrees below normal for the month. On the precipitation side, the month was 5.10" above normal with 9.21" measured. This is the first month this year that we have been above average in precipitation. We had a heavy rainfall early in the month and of course received very heavy rain associated with Hurricane Sandy at the end of the month. We received 6.23" of rain from "Sandy". We had no flooding in our neighborhood. We have now had 32.81" for the year which is now about 6.7" below normal for the year. " - [ - + ]

    Portsmouth - " OCTOBER 2012 WAS THE 2ND WETTEST IN THE OCTOBER DATABASE TO 1976. The top 5 wettest Octobers at this station include: 1) 11.60" 1999 2) 8.81" 2012 3) 8.30" 2005 4) 8.08" 1995 5) 6.87" 2002. STATION STORM REPORT - HURRICANE SANDY: Rainfall total (109-hour) ending 6PM EDT 10/30/12: 5.77" Max Wind Gust: 39mph from the WSW at 4:29PM EDT 10/29/12 Minimum Barometric Pressure: 29.042" or 983.48mb at 6:00PM EDT 10/29/12. October's average temperature (61.8°) was 0.2° ABOVE NORMAL. Precipitation was ABOVE NORMAL by 5.07" or 236% of normal relative to normal Octobers for the period from 1976 to 2011. Frontal passages occurred on the 1st (WARMFROPA), 6th, 11th, 15th, 18th(WARMFROPA), 20th, 29th. STATION RECORDS: 3rd - TEMPERATURE Maximum Minimum 73° [previous 71° 2007], 27th - WIND Gust 35mph [previous 30mph 1993], 29th - RAINFALL 3.12" [previous 1.80" 2003], 29TH - WIND Gust 39mph [previous 37mph 2006], 30TH - TEMPERATURE Minimum Maximum 47° [49° 1980] - [ + + ]

    Richmond - Lowell (GAV) takes a close look at end-of-month data from Richmond (RIC): " The Richmond data base recorded four records this month. The high minimum temperature of 74°F recorded on the 3rd tied with 1986 for the highest minimum ever recorded in 115-years in October. The October 8th maximum was 51°F a new 115 year record low maximum for the date; previous record was 53°F in 2000. On October 26th the minimum temperature tied the previous record high minimum for the date of 63°F set in 1971 & 1932. The rainfall on the 29th was 1.96 inches giving a new 125-year record for the date; the previous record was 1.81 inches in 1953. October was the 41st warmest in the past 115 years and the 35th wettest October in the past 125 years of Richmond records. Also only 5 years in the past 115 years recorded a lower maximum temperature than the 47°F maximum temperature on the 30th. They were 46°F in 1940, 45°F in 1936, 45°F in 2002, 45°F in 2011, 44°F in 1925 which was the lowest maximum on record in October for Richmond. Richmond was very fortunate not having damaging winds and flooding from Sandy, that was so devastating to New York and New Jersey. " - [ + + ]

    North Carolina:

    Fayetteville - from NWS Raleigh RAH: " THE LOW TEMPERATURE OCTOBER 2 AT THE FAYETTEVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT WAS 73 DEGREES. THIS BROKE THE OLD RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 71 DEGREES SET IN 1986. THE LOW TEMPERATURE OCTOBER 3 AT THE FAYETTEVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT WAS 74 DEGREES. THIS BROKE THE OLD RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 72 DEGREES SET IN 1927. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OCTOBER 8 AT THE FAYETTEVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT WAS 55 DEGREES. THIS BROKE THE OLD RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 57 DEGREES SET IN 2000. " - [ + - ]

    Greensboro - from NWS Raleigh RAH: " THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OCTOBER 8 AT THE PIEDMONT TRIAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 49 DEGREES. THIS BROKE THE OLD RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 53 DEGREES SET IN 2000. " - [ - - ]

    Raleigh - Bob adds these notes: " OCTOBER IS THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE MONTH WITH BELOW NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. RAINFALL WAS 1.5" BELOW NORMAL; HOWEVER, YEAR-TO-DATE PRECIPITATION IS STILL 4.51" ABOVE NORMAL. THERE WAS NO SEVERE WEATHER IN THE AREA DURING OCTOBER. " - [ - - ]

    North Whiteville - Christopher sends this note: " I will be back up and running reliably in the near future. I had to send the sensor suite and console back to Davis Instruments for repair! " -



    COLUMN DENOTATIONS:

    A  maximum mean temperature T total precipitation (inches)
    T1 departure from normal
    B  minimum mean temperature U maximum calendar day precipitation (inches)
    C  monthly mean temperature
    C1 departure from normal    		 U1 date of maximum calendar day precipitation
    D  maximum temperature V date(s) of maximum daily precipitation
    E  date(s) of maximum temperature V1 maximum 24-hour precip. & date(s)
    F  minimum temperature W number of days with precip. >= .01"
    G  date(s) of minimum temperature  X number of days with precip. >= 1.0"
    H  days with maximum temperature >=90 Y year-to-date precipitation (inches)
    I  days with maximum temperature <=32 Z maximum calendar day snowfall (inches)
    J  days with minimum temperature <=32 VRB Variable
    K  days with minimum temperature <= 0 1 date of maximum calendar day snowfall (inches)
    K1 average relative humidity 2 number of days with snowfall
    L  peak wind gust (miles per hour)  3 number of days with snowfall >= 1.0"
    M  direction of peak wind gust 4  total snowfall for month (inches)
    N  date(s) of peak wind gust  5 total snowfall for 2012-2013 season (inches)
    N1   average wind speed (miles per hour) 6 maximum barometric pressure (inches)
    N2 dominant wind direction 6A date of maximum barometric pressure
    O  number of days with thunder  7 minimum barometric pressure (inches)
    P  number of days with hail 7A date of minimum barometric pressure
    Q  number of days with glaze 8   average sea-level pressure
    R  number of days with ice pellets STN  Station
      NR not recorded
    R1 number of days with dense fog [1/4 mile and less visibility] (i) incomplete data
    S  local observation time for temps/precipitation (M) missing, if listed in data table
     ~ "about" E estimated
     +  additional indeterminate number of days CWA - NWS Office County Warning Area



    For Weather Headlines visit the National Weather Service Homepage
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    National Weather Service Web Sites & Current Email Addresses
    Within or Nearby the ACON VA/NC/SC Area Can Be Found At:

         NWS Washington/Baltimore, VA/MD
         NWS Wakefield, VA
         NWS Blacksburg, VA
         NWS Raleigh, NC
         NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC
         NWS Wilmington, NC
         NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
         NWS Columbia, SC
         NWS Charleston, SC
         NWS Morristown, TN

         National Weather Service Homepages

         National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC

    STATION / LOCATION (MILES & DIRECTION FROM MAIN POST OFFICE)/OBSERVER / YEAR RECORDS BEGAN / EMAIL ADDRESS:

      
    AKQ    Wakefield, VA NWS Wakefield Municipal Airport 36-58-53N 077-00-04W 33M  
    DCA    Arlington, VA Washington, DC, Reagan Washington National Airport 38-50-54N 077-02-03W 18M WSH   Washington, VA  David Yowell runamok@runamok.com
    BCB    Blacksburg, VA NWS Virginia Tech Airport 37-13N 080-25W   
      WOO  Woodstock, VA 5NW Lauck Walton 12/1/85 jwalton@shentel.net
       LDY Ladysmith, VA Danny Jessee 2003 STATION CLOSED 8/31/2010 danny@dannyjessee.com
    BRI     Bridgewater, VA Clayton Towers Ctowers19@aol.com WAL   Wallops Island, VA 37° 56'26" N 75° 27'47" W Wallops Flight Facility Airport
    CEN  Centreville, VA Paul Bassett 1985, 38° 50.9788' N LAT. 77° 25.6374' W LON. | Elevation 324' | m.psb@verizon.net AVL    Asheville, NC  Asheville Regional Airport 35-25-55N 082-32-15W 670M
    CHO   Charlottesville, VA  Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport ASOS  (Rappahannock County) 38-08-18N 078-27-21W 192M MRH    Beaufort, NC  Michael J. Field Airport 34-44-01N 076-39-38W 3M
    DAN  Danville, VA, Danville Regional Airport, 36-34-22N 079-20 10W 175M  CLT    Charlotte, NC NWS Charlotte/Douglas International Airport 35-12-48N 080-56-55W 220M
    IAD   Dulles - Washington-Dulles International Airport  38-56-05N 077-26-51W 93M   
    FCH    Falls Church, VA Erica Page 3/7/94 Windie1970@aol.com HKY  Hickory, NC 
    HAM    Hampton, VA 5NE Dave Kessel 1989 davidkessel@cox.net ECG  Elizabeth City, NC,  Coast Guard Air Station 36-15-47N 076 10-58W 11M
    LYH     Lynchburg, VA NWS Lynchburg Regional Airport 37-19-15N 079-12-24W 295M ILM     Wilmington, NC NWS New Hanover International Airport 34-16-06N 077-54-22W 9M
    CTR  Winterpock in Chesterfield County, VA Albert Arnold 06/03 FAY  Fayetteville, NC Fayetteville Regional Airport, 34-59-22N 078-52-48W 55M
      GSO   Greensboro, NC NWS Piedmont Triad International Airport 36-05-51N 079-56-37W 275M
    CHT   Chantilly, VA Russ Topping -  12/2006  russ.topping@gmail.com - new location December 2006 HSE    Cape Hatteras, NC  Mitchell Field 35-13-56N 075-27-21W 3M
    HDV    Herndon, VA  Randoplh W. Ashby, 3.3 SM South, Lat: 38.922127, Lon: -77.38015, Elev: 390'. Randolph_Ashby@Raytheon.com LBT    Lumberton, NC  Lumberton Municipal Airport 34-36-26N 079-03-36W 37M
    GAV - Glen Allen, Henrico County, VA - Lowell Koontz  8/1/08  wwkoontz@verizon.net EWN    New Bern, NC  Craven County Regional Airport 36-04-03N 077-02-50W 3M
      MON    Moncure, NC  Chatham County - Mac McIlwain mac.mcilwain@embarqmail.com
      RAL    Raleigh, NC 7NNW  Bob Woodson -  6/1/93 kf4mmm@qsl.net
    LKU     Louisa, VA 1N Joseph Bowers 1944 - NWS ID  44-5050-02 STATION CLOSED RDU   Raleigh-Durham, NC Raleigh-Durham International Airport 35-52-14N 078-47-11W 130M
    LOU     Louisa, VA 6S John Bullock (about 1970) STATION CLOSED ROX    Roxboro, NC 2SE Merriell A. Jay 1/93
         WHI   North Whiteville, NC Christopher Crawley 12/10 34.413744N / 078.751908W
    LYH     Lynchburg, VA NWS Lynchburg Regional Airport 37-19-15N 079-12-24W 295M ILM     Wilmington, NC NWS New Hanover International Airport 34-16-06N 077-54-22W 9M
    NEW    Newmarket, VA 2W Joyce Winfree STATION CLOSED 5/31/10 joywood@shentel.net CHS   Charleston, SC NWS Charleston Air Force Base 32-53-56N 080-02-26W 13M
    NPN     Newport News, VA 7N Gary Leonard -  6/91 GaryMLeonard@aol.com CAE    Columbia, SC NWS Columbia Metropolitan Airport 33-56-31N 081-07-05W 73M 
    NOR     Norfolk, VA 3NE Jim Fentress 6/1/77 FLO    Florence, SC Florence Regional Airport 34-11-16N 079-43-51W 44M
    ORF     Norfolk, VA 5NE 36-54-13N 076-11-31W 14M  1871 GSP   Greenville-Spartanburg, SC NWS Greenville-Spartanburg Airport 34-53-02N 082-13-15W 286M 
    POR     Portsmouth, VA 36.81° North 76.33° West 3S Bill Trotter -  7/1/76 wxr@cox.net CRE    North Myrtle Beach, SC Grand Strand Airport 33-48-42N 078-43-26W 10M
    MEC     Mechanicsville, VA Glen Martin 11/19/91 OGB   Orangeburg, SC  Orangeburg Municipal Airport 33-27-50N 080-51-13W 59M
    FHC    Norfolk, VA  Fred Heutte Center 36° 54'N 76° 16'W 01/01/03 fhcgarden@cox.net AND   Anderson, SC 
    RIC     Richmond, VA Richmond International Airport 37-30-40N 077-19-24W 50M TRI     Tri-cities, TN  (Bristol / Johnson / Kingsport), Tri-City Regional Airport 36-28-47N 082-23-56W 474M 
    ROA    Roanoke, VA Roanoke Regional Airport 37-19-01N 079-58-27W 362M DAV  Davis, WV Dave Lesher canaanwx@yahoo.com