By the numbers: Austin's October weather recap, La Niña outlook
Roberto Villalpando
After a mostly rain-free and unusually hot October, here's a by-the-numbers breakdown of the weather for the month and the outlook for rest of autumn:
3.88 inches: Normal rainfall for October, based on 30 years of National Weather Service climate data. Usually, October is the third wettest month for the Austin area, said Eric Platt, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
0.35 inches: Total rainfall in October 2020, recorded at Austin's main weather station at Camp Mabry.
"That's definitely below normal. That's well below normal," Platt said.
27: Number of days in October this year without measurable rainfall. But this year did not see even an inch of rainfall in October. La Niña, a cooling of ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific near the equator, might inspire a new local motto: Keep Austin Arid. The phenomenon can alter weather patterns in the northern hemisphere and, depending on the season, make Central Texas warmer and drier than normal.
85%: Chance that the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center gives for La Niña to continue into the winter months.
69%: Portion of Lake Travis currently full, as of Friday, according to the Lower Colorado River Authority. The water elevation at the Austin-area's largest reservoir was about 660 feet above mean sea level, which was about 6.4 feet below the historical average for November.
67.8%: Portion of Texas in drought or abnormally dry conditions, according to the latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Travis and Hays counties are abnormally dry, which is less severe than the moderate drought in Williamson, Bastrop and Caldwell counties.
Rain that fell during the spring, including a whopping 7.84 inches in May, and some rain in September has kept Travis County from dipping too far into drought.
But November, December, January and February are typically dry months for the Austin area, Platt said.
"The ground moisture is what will start to hurt as time goes on and we don't get rainfall," he said, noting that fall crops can suffer from a lack of water.
71.8 degrees: Average temperature for October 2020. Although much of the month was unseasonably warm, a series of cold fronts in late October brought the average temperature back down to within 0.6 degrees of the normal monthly average.
99 degrees: Highest temperature at Camp Mabry last month, recorded on Oct. 11. The heat shattered that day's old record of 96 set in 1926.
14: Number of days temperatures went above 90 degrees in October.
6: Number of days temperatures went below 50 degrees in October. That's actually more often than they did in March this year.
39 degrees: Lowest temperature at Camp Mabry last month, recorded on Oct. 28, when the strongest cold front of the season so far whipped through Austin.