October heat 2nd worst on record in US, more than 5,000 records broken
October was the hottest month on record in hundreds of U.S. cities and several states. The record heat brought record drought, which led to wildfires.
Record-breaking drought is widespread across the Northeast, but why? AccuWeather’s Geoff Cornish explains.
The month of October was an unusually hot month by a wide margin in most of the United States, with impressive records set across the nation. With an average temperature of 59 degrees Fahrenheit, nearly 5 degrees above normal, NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) says that October 2024 was the second-hottest year on record for the United States.
Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas had never been warmer in October.
More than 5,000 daily records broken
A whopping 5,503 daily high temperature records were broken at all weather stations in October, and another 2,008 were tied records according to NCEI. That's more than twice the daily records from September and the highest number of daily records broken since December 2021. Records were broken in every state, including Puerto Rico, Alaska and Hawaii.
Nearly 500 cities have never been hotter in October
Even more impressive, 488 stations tied or broke their October high temperature records, mostly in the Plains and Southwest. Only one county out of 3,144 in the Continental U.S. reported an October temperature below normal: Brunswick County, North Carolina.
Phoenix, which has kept records going back 91 years, hit 113 degrees on Oct. 1, 6 degrees above their previous record for the month. San Jose, California, with 131 years of weather records, spiked to 106 degrees on Oct. 2, besting their previous October record of 101 in 1987.
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
The US had the second-driest October
The near-record warmth came with little rain, with the nation also ranking second driest. New Jersey and Delaware have never been drier in October, leading to a significant wildfire risk in the East that persisted into November.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, on Oct. 29, a new record was set with over 78% of the American population living in areas classified as abnormally dry or in drought, marking the highest percentage since records began in 2000.
Hot Halloween
The eastern half of the country experienced an unusually warm Halloween, with 505 daily high temperature records broken on Oct. 31, including Corsicana, Texas. Rising to 99 degrees, Corsicana blew away its previous record high for the date of 89 degrees in 1950.
Climate change contributed to the records
Climate Central's Climate Shift Index indicated that stations in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Florida had the highest number of days with temperatures at least three times more likely due to climate change.
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