October temperatures soar
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Graphic courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminsitration According to data kept by the federal government since 1895, temperatures in October 2007 were the ninth warmest on record. The graphic above depicts extreme weather worldwide reported last month.

You weren't alone if you thought last month was a little warmer than usual.

According to data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), temperatures in October were the ninth warmest on record for the contiguous U.S., and especially warm in the Northeast, where five states had their warmest October on record.

The Pensacola Bay area saw temperatures as high as 90 degrees last month, according to the National Weather Service office website. The average temperature last month was 81.5 degrees.

The January-October 2007 U.S. temperature was the ninth warmest since national records began in 1895, according to scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The global surface temperature was sixth warmest on record for October.

Precipitation was above average across the U.S., but not enough to quench the drought plaguing many parts of the country. At the end of October, 35 percent of the contiguous U.S. remained in moderate-toexceptional drought, and unusually dry conditions contributed to destructive wildfires in southern California.

In the contiguous United States, the average temperature for October was 56.9 degrees. The Pensacola area saw an average temperature of just over 80 degrees.

Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island had their warmest October on record, and the Northeast overall its second warmest.

Based on preliminary estimates from the National Interagency Fire Center, more than 9.2 million acres had burned across the U.S. by October's end. The 2007 fire season was the second worst on record, exceeded only by the 2006 season, when 9.8 million acres burned.

Also in October, tornadoes erupted nearly every week, with the peak occurring during Oct. 17-19, when a record 87 twisters tore through the Midwest.

The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for October was the sixth warmest on record, 0.88 degrees above the 20th century mean. For the January- October year-to-date period, the global land surface temperature was tied with same period in 2005 for third warmest on record.

In Costa Rica, heavy rain that fell between Oct. 10 and 11 caused widespread floods that washed away over 800 homes and prompted a deadly mudslide. The mudslide was reported to be the worst weather disaster for Costa Rica in years, claiming more than 10 lives and burying hundreds of homes in the town of Atenas.

Tropical Storm Noel became the deadliest storm of the 2007 season and made landfall in Haiti on Oct. 29, with maximum sustained winds near 50 mph. The storm caused widespread floods, prompted landslides across the island of Hispaniola, and claimed more than 140 lives in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

NOAA and other federal and state agencies have formed an expert drought group that has created an early warning system to detect drought and raise public awareness about why drought occurs and its impact on humans and nature, called the National Integrated Drought Information System, or NIDIS, available on the Web at www.drought.gov.

NIDIS was created in response to extended drought conditions over the past decade, with strong advocacy from the Western Governors Association and other groups.