What to expect this October in Eastern Pennsylvania

By: Ryan Fannock 

September 30, 2014

We kicked off Astronomical Fall back on Sept. 22, but it's felt a little more like Summer lately. In fact, this past weekend, much of the area saw temps in the lower 80's! The big question is whether or not our "Mild Autumn" will continue. Well, the first few days of October will definitely average out ABOVE normal, however, changes are on the way by Saturday. To give you an idea of what "normal" is like, I've listed averages across the area below:

           October 1st Averages:             

Scranton - High: 66 Low: 46

Hazleton - High: 62 Low: 43

Tamaqua - High: 69 Low: 43

Reading - High: 71 Low: 49 

Harrisburg - High: 70 Low: 50

Allentown - High: 69 Low: 47 

October 15th Averages: 

Scranton - High: 61 Low: 41

Hazleton - High: 57 Low: 38

Tamaqua - High: 64 Low: 38

Reading - High: 66 Low: 44 

Harrisburg - High: 65 Low: 44

Allentown - High: 64 Low: 41 

Below is a chart showing my thoughts from week to week regarding our temperatures 

CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW LARGER

What about Precipitation? 

I want to start out by discussing rainfall for the month of September. Below is a map of Eastern Pennsylvania. The top number, in each county, shows the amount of rain we received. The bottom number depicts the amount we were below normal. Example: In Schuylkill County, we received 1.5" during the entire month. That put us 3.1" BELOW average.

Dark Red Areas - Greater than 75% Below Normal
Red Areas - 51% to 75% Below Normal

CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW LARGER

Moving on to October...

Average Precipitation 10/1 through 10/31: 

Scranton - 3.34"

Hazleton - 3.77"

Tamaqua - 3.95"

Reading -  3.78"

Harrisburg - 3.33" 

Allentown - 3.88"

I do not expect a repeat of September, however, I am expecting rainfall to average out SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL. 

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