NOAA
REPORTS U.S. COOLER AND WETTER THAN AVERAGE IN OCTOBER;
U.S.
Temperature Highlights
Temperatures in October 2006 were below average across 24 states, concentrated from the Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes and into the Northeast, while above-average temperatures occurred in only Texas and New Hampshire. It was
the sixth warmest October on record in Alaska, with temperatures 6.8
degrees F (3.8 degrees C) above the 1971-2000 average. Despite the October
warmth, January through October was the coolest such year-to-date period
since 1999 for Alaska. October precipitation in Maine was second wettest on record with 7.83 inches, Louisiana third wettest with 10.38 inches of precipitation. Fourteen states ranked among their top ten wettest Octobers on record. The January through October period was the second driest on record for Florida and eighth driest for Georgia, resulting in an expansion of drought conditions in those states. Wetter-than-average conditions across the Southwest and parts of the South during October allowed for some improvement in drought in these regions. However, severe-to-extreme drought remained across parts of Arizona, Oklahoma to South Texas, areas of the northern High Plains, the northern Rockies and northern Minnesota.
Drier-than-average conditions across the far West contributed to the continuation of a very active wildfire season. By early November, more than 9.4 million acres, mostly in the continental U.S., had burned since the beginning of the year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. This exceeds the previous record for an entire year, set in 2005 when 8.7 million acres burned, much of it in Alaska. A major U.S. incident during October was the Esperanza fire in southern California, which consumed more than 40,000 acres and claimed five lives. Global
Highlights In 2007 NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, celebrates 200 years of science and service to the nation. Starting with the establishment of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA. The agency is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects. Relevant Web Sites NOAA Drought Information Center Media
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