Summer continued during October. We just couldn’t get any real cold fronts to come through, yet much of the country experienced tastes of not only Fall, but Winter. But, with Summer like weather continuing here, we were way above normal in the temperature and the rainfall department.

The first week of October began with typical Summer like storms, then mid month we had heavy rain and even tornadoes from Tropical Storm Nestor. Finally, over the last few days of the month, some more thunderstorms formed during the afternoons. Because of the unusually high humidity, our mornings were in many cases 10 degrees above normal and our afternoon highs weren’t too far behind. 

Here is a look at the numbers…

Tampa
Average Temperature 81.2 (+4.9 degrees above normal)
Rainfall 6.94” (4.68 inches above normal)

Lakeland
Average Temperature 80.6 (+5.7 degrees above normal)
Rainfall 6.19” (3.31 inches above normal)

Bradenton
Average Temperature 82.7 (+6.4 degrees above normal)
Rainfall 3.38” (0.26 inches above normal)

Brooksville
Average Temperature 78.2 (+5.3 degrees above normal)
Rainfall 5.39” (2.66 inches above normal)

Clearwater
Average Temperature 82.1 (+5.1 degrees above normal)
Rainfall 7.81” (5.02 inches above normal)

St Petersburg
Average Temperature 81.6 (+4.3 degrees above normal)
Rainfall 7.17” (4.39 inches above normal)

Winter Haven
Average Temperature 82.2 (+6.5 degrees above normal)
Rainfall 4.54” (1.74 inches above normal)

Now as we move into November, this is our driest month of the year typically and we begin to see more frequent cold fronts. Our averages go from 81 and 64 on the 1st to 75 and 57 on the 30th.  This makes the average temperature for November 69.3 degrees.

The warmest November occurred in 1986 when the average temperature was 76.3; the coolest was in 1901 when the average was 61.4 degrees. November is normally very dry, but the wettest November on record was in 1963 with 6.12 inches of rain. The driest occurred in 1960 when only a trace of rain fell.

Right on cue, this morning a cold front has moved through and we will see a much cooler, more comfortable weekend ahead. Looking long range, we will warm up next week with some more humidity but another cold front looks to cool us down by about the 9th-10th. Enjoy the changes!