Union-Bulletin

WALLA WALLA -- Although October eased out on a sunny note Sunday, it still left behind plenty of puddles and leaf-covered lawns.

The first full month of autumn brought a fair share of rainy, gusty days that delivered 2.14 inches of precipitation, a mark .37 inches above normal, according to the National Weather Service. The two wettest days were Oct. 10, when a downpour dropped .61 inches, and Oct. 24, when another storm brought .55 inches.

Overall there were 12 days with measurable rainfall of .01 inches or more and 19 days with zero or trace amounts of rain. Total precipitation so far this year is now 13.21 inches, 2.31 inches below normal, according to the weather service.

In terms of temperature, October started off warm but cooled down quickly. The highest temperature, 82 degrees, came Oct. 1 and daytime highs dropped quickly afterwards staying in the 60s and 50s for the rest of the month. The coolest night came Oct. 17, when the mercury dropped to 36 degrees.

Windy days were also the norm with gusts exceeding 10 mph recorded on all but a few days. The peak wind gust was of 41 mph Oct. 4 as measured at Walla Walla Regional Airport.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center, the outlook for this month calls for near-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation.

Normal highs for Walla Walla in November are about 53 degrees at the start of the month falling to around 46 at the end. Normal lows range from about 38 degrees to 34 degrees at night. Normal precipitation is 2.85 inches based on a 30-year average.

Andy Porter can be reached at andyporter@wwub.com or 526-8318. Check out his blog at blogs.ublabs.org/randomthoughts.