MONTHLY SUMMARY: OCTOBER 1996 UPDATED: 11/24/96 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greetings! Don't forget... NO ENVELOPES!!! Please continue to send stamps for your postage! Thanks... Tropical storm Josephine is the highlight of weather across the lower Mid-Atlantic states and the coastal southeast US during October 1996. Please read about its impact on our observers in the notes below. Of great concern to South Carolina is the deficit of rainfall there for the year-to-date (10/31/96). Columbia is 14.20" below normal for the year with only 29.38"! For the month, dry spots in addition to Columbia and reports from our observers included: Greenville-Spartanburg, SC some 3.17" below normal; Asheville, some 2.9" below normal; and Tri-cities, TN, some 1.64" below normal! Haven't heard from Joyce Winfree; hope that it won't be long before her family gets back to normal. Wonder if she needs some donated weather instruments from those of us who have extra, non-collectibles? Sure was good to see Bob Keehn and his wife Evelyn at the IWW meeting in Tampa on the 6-8th of November. The meeting was quite enjoyable and, as always, offered some insights into meteorological study. At the meeting, I particularly enjoyed Tim Vasquez'- US Air Force meteorologist - report on Korean weather. Tim is also the programmer who brought us WeatherGraphix and Digital Atmosphere for our PCS. Have received, via e-mail, our first report of snowfall from Clayton Towers in Bridgewater, VA. Will save his report for November's print-out. Will have to change seasonal snow totals on data form to reflect new data for the new season. Speaking of e-mail, Dave Kessel of Hampton reports that he's working to get online by the first of the year. That's generally an excellent time to do so and to start a new database as we will be at my school in Chesapeake. Bill ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES FROM "AROUND THE LEAGUE"- Arlington - NWS Sterling, VA notes that, "With this month's cooler than normal performance, we continue an unusually long period of cool weather. For a full year now, every month- with the exception of June- has ranged from near normal to well below normal. The entire 12 month period averages just about two degrees below normal /1.93"/ a large departure for such a long period of time." Bridgewater - According to Clayton Towers, "Last month, we received 10.51 inches of precipitation. This month, only 1.81 inches was measured. What a contrast! However, we are still about 19 inches above normal for the year. Our first frost in Bridgewater occurred on the 5th. It was one of several light frosts that occurred during the month. So far, we haven't had a heavy, killing frost. Flowers are still pretty, and some of the things in the garden are still growing. On October 10, 1979, Bridgewater received 7 inches of snow. Since that date, there hasn't been a measurable snow during the month of October." Falls Church - Lowell Koontz reports that October's mean temp was « degree above normal. The month saw no freezing temperatures. The 37 degrees on the 4th and 12th was the highest minimum recorded for October since 1984 save the same temp in 1995. Rainfall was 0.98" above normal and was the 4th highest in the last 11 years keeping 1996 on track for a new yearly record rainfall total. Falls Church - Erica Page noted that October '96 was slightly cooler than average for Virginia. Fredericksburg - From Fredericksburg, Ken McKneely notes that his monthly outstanding event was the passage of the remnants of Josephine. He noted about 18 hours of rain with a total of 2.02 inches. Some gusty winds accompanied the passage. For the month, temps averaged slightly above normal, with highs below and lows above. Hampton - Wind damage on the 8th (NE 55 mph) resulting from the passage of the remnants of Josephine. Dave Kessel adds that temps were normal, although more rain fell than normally. Only "big" event was the north- easter of the 7th and 8th. Newport News - Gary Leonard noted that 4.52" of rain on the 8th set a new daily maximum station record. That topped his previous record of 4.58" on September 27th, 1985 during Hurricane Gloria's outer fringes. Norfolk - NWS Wakefield reported for Norfolk that the month was fairly wet, mostly the result of the remnants from Tropical Storm Josephine which transformed itself into the season's first nor'easter off the SE US coast. Storm total was 3.53". Portsmouth - The month began on the wet side with nearly 4" of rain from the remnants of Josephine moving northeast along the SE US coast. Winds were gusty with the passage of that system. Dry weather followed for much of the month except for the second largest rainfall on the 18th and 19th with 1.37". A warm spell towards month's end helped temps recover to near normal with the month ending just 0.1 degree below normal (mean temp) Rainfall was nearly 2 inches above the norm. Mechanicsville - Heavy rains and strong winds from Tropical Storm Josephine, says Glenn Martin. Some tree damage was observed. Richmond - NWS Wakefield notes that Richmond had a lot of rain which came in spurts mostly from Tropical Storm Josephine's remnants on the 8th and 9th. Roanoke - Wendell Prillaman noted that October was a warm, fairly dry month. The average monthly was 2.2 degrees above normal with precip some 2.09" below the average. Washington (VA) - Woodstock - Near normal temps and precip here, says Lauck Walton. The annual precip continues to grow toward what must be a 100 year record! Brevard - "After a month of record rainfall, October turned out to be a peep, not the lowest October on record, but the second lowest since 1990. The lowest October rainfall, 0.48", was recorded in 1991." (remarks from Bob Keehn) Henderson - George Stevenson noted that his site got what was left of Josephine on the 7th and 8th with 2.70" of rain. He added in a personal side note: "Bill... back during World War II my daddy worked in the Portsmouth Shipyard. Daddy and all folks came from Currituck County, NC. My Aunt lived on W. 26th Street in Norfolk. We went up there a lot. One time we went across the Chesapeake Bay to Cape Charles on the ferry. I was at Ocean View when World War II ended." Well George, this is a small world. My family (the Porters) on my grandmother's side lived on W. 27th Street in Norfolk. My great-grandfather was an architect and built much of the homes in the area in which your family and mine resided! The Norfolk Naval Shipyard (in Portsmouth which was once a part of Norfolk County) is still there and work on ships continues. The yard is also becoming a home port for 7 new naval ships. My station is about 2 miles southwest of the yard. I too rode the ferry between Norfolk/Virginia Beach to Cape Charles on summer trips to Chester, PA (now Media, PA) as a child. Your comment stirred some fond memories. And, Ocean View (last place mentioned in Martha Reeves' & the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Streets" ... 'Ocean View, me and you, uh dancing...'and a part of Norfolk) is still quite residential but, unfortunately, rather crime ridden. For you weather buffs, Ocean View has an land extension called Willoughby Spit created totally as a peninsula from upwelling sand during an early 20th Century hurricane. That spit is a half-mile or less wide and about three miles long. Thanks for stirring the memories George! Raleigh - At NWS RDU, a temp of 86 degrees on the 30th set a new record high. Precip was some 0.62" above the norm. Raleigh - "Precipitation for the month," according to Bob Woodson, "was +0.85" from normal. For the year, precipitation is an unbelievable 16.97" above normal!" Roxboro - Merriel Jay notes that "October was warm and dry with beautiful autumn colors. No major events to talk about other than autumn's beauty." Wilmington - The Port City noted another wet one with rainfall 3.37" above normal! 4.52" fell on the 7th and 8th. Despite the excessive monthly total, the month was fairly dry in that measurable precip fell on only 5 days. Ruby - October was mild to warm, reports Franklin Hancock. There was a good amount of rain but it came mostly at one time. "Josephine" contributed largely to this amount early in the month. Tri-cities - The mean temperature was just over 1 degree below normal with precipitation running 1.64" below normal. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- UPDATED MEMBERS' E-MAIL ADDRESSES: (posted by permission) BRE Bob Keehn Bob_Keehn@juno.com BRI Clayton Towers Ctowers@rica.net POR Bill Trotter wtrotter@pen.k12.va.us 71470.1535@compuserve.com wtrotter@whro.org RAL Bob Woodson woods@pipeline.com CEN Paul Bassett III pbassett@nmaa.org WSH David Yowell runamok@juno.com FCH Erica Page erica@erols.com -----------------------------------------------------------------------------