October temperatures were the third coolest in the lower 48 states since record keeping began in 1895, the National Climatic Data Center reports.
The average October temperature of 50.8 degrees Fahrenheit was four degrees below the 20th century average. Preliminary data also indicates this was the wettest October on record with average precipitation across the contiguous United States reaching 4.15 inches, 2.04 inches above the 1901-2000 average.
Temperatures in the West were below normal throughout the entire region, the center said, except for a small pocket of northwest Oregon and limited portions of southern Arizona and southern New Mexico.
-- Scott Learn