Forecasters say October precipitation is too hard to call

By on Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

PENDLETON – The Climate Prediction Center has looked into its crystal ball and basically has no idea what the outlook for precipitation is for the month of October.

“For precipitation, we’re looking at equal chances of below, near, or above normal,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Camden Plunkett said.

The forecasters are, he added, more certain that October’s temperatures will run above normal this month.

The month will grow colder. October high and low temperatures average 71 and 44 degrees at the start of the month. They drop to 56 and 35 degrees by October 31st. The normal precipitation for October is 1.09 inches and the first snowfall is a tenth of an inch. That snow normally occurs by Oct. 27. There already was snow at higher elevations last month. Plunkett said that the majority of that snow has either melted or dried due to winds.