Rain finally swept across the South-eastern and mid-Atlantic states during the second half of October, denting year-long precipitation deficits. Beneficial showers also fell in parts of the Northeast. Farther west, however, a marked drying trend affected the south-central and southwestern United States. It is not unusual for these regions to turn toward fall dryness during the evolution of La Nina, which involves a cooling of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. In Southern California, several days of hot, windy weather beginning the weekend of the 20th-21st fanned more than a dozen major wildfires. In contrast, unusually heavy rainfall soaked the eastern Plains and the upper Midwest. Numerous October rainfall records were broken, particularly in South Dakota and Nebraska, despite a late-month drying trend. Significant rain and high-elevation snow fell in parts of the Northwest.
展开▼
