000 NOUS42 KMLB 050115 PNSMLB FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141-144-147-091800- PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 800 PM EST WED NOV 4 2009 ...ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND CONTINUED DRY WEATHER WERE OBSERVED DURING OCTOBER 2009 ACROSS EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA... OCTOBER 2009 WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR ITS RECORD BREAKING HEAT AND BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE AREA. DESPITE THE INFLUENCE OF A COUPLE EARLY SEASON COLD FRONTS INTO CENTRAL FLORIDA...MOST OF THE MONTH WAS DOMINATED BY A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WHICH KEPT TEMPERATURES WARM AND DRIER CONDITIONS IN PLACE. AVERAGE TEMPERATURES STARTED OUT SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL DURING THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF OCTOBER DUE TO A COOLER AIRMASS THAT BUILT IN BEHIND A COLD FRONT. HOWEVER A WARMER AIRMASS QUICKLY TOOK OVER WITH AVERAGE TEMPERATURE DEPARTURES RANGING FROM 4 TO 8 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL AND SEVERAL HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDS BROKEN OR TIED THROUGH MID MONTH. A STRONGER COLD FRONT THEN MOVED IN ON THE 17TH AND BROUGHT MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES...AROUND 12 TO 17 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL...ACROSS CENTRAL FLORIDA. IN FACT ON THE 18TH DAYTONA BEACH...ORLANDO...MELBOURNE...AND VERO BEACH ALL OBSERVED THEIR LOWEST MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE ON RECORD. ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES THEN BUILT IN AGAIN FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH WITH SEVERAL RECORD HIGHS EITHER TIED OR BROKEN ONCE AGAIN. TEMPERATURE DEPARTURES FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH RANGED FROM 1.7 DEGREES (MELBOURNE) TO 2.6 DEGREES (DAYTONA BEACH) FAHRENHEIT ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS THE AREA. BOTH DAYTONA BEACH AND ORLANDO HAD THEIR 8TH WARMEST OCTOBER ON RECORD...WHILE MELBOURNE OBSERVED THE 9TH WARMEST AND VERO BEACH THEIR 6TH WARMEST. SOME OTHER HEAT RELATED RECORDS OF NOTE. VERO BEACH HAD 16 DAYS WHERE THE HIGH TEMPERATURE WAS 90 DEGREES OR BETTER. THIS WAS WELL ABOVE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 6 DAYS IN 1980. DAYTONA BEACH ALSO HAD A NEW RECORD WITH 7 DAYS...ORLANDO AT 11 DAYS TIED FOR THIRD HIGHEST AND MELBOURNE AT 5 DAYS TIED WITH 2006 FOR THE MOST 90 DEGREE OR BETTER HIGH TEMPERATURE. THE FRONTS THAT MOVED THROUGH CENTRAL FLORIDA DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER BROUGHT LITTLE IN THE WAY OF PRECIPITATION AND DAILY AFTERNOON SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WANED AS WE HEADED INTO THE CLIMATOLOGICAL START OF THE DRY SEASON. ORLANDO ACTUALLY ENDED UP NEAR NORMAL IN TERMS OF PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER. THIS WAS DUE TO A DAILY RECORD BREAKING LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN EVENT ON THE 10TH THAT BROUGHT 2.68 INCHES TO ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...WHICH IS 96% OF THE MONTHLY NORMAL PRECIPITATION. OTHERWISE MOST OF THE AREA REMAINED QUITE DRY WITH LOCAL CLIMATE SITES REPORTING RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES BELOW NORMAL FOR THE MONTH. VERO BEACH ONLY REPORTED 0.48 INCHES DURING OCTOBER MAKING FOR THEIR DRIEST OCTOBER ON RECORD. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS DRIEST OCTOBER ON RECORD OF 0.75 INCHES SET IN 1962. MELBOURNE HAD ITS 5TH DRIEST OCTOBER ON RECORD WITH ONLY 0.74 INCHES OF RAINFALL AND DAYTONA BEACH HAD THEIR 11TH DRIEST ON RECORD WITH 1.44 INCHES OF RAINFALL. BELOW IS A LIST OF OBSERVED PRECIPITATION TOTALS AND RAINFALL STATISTICS FOR SELECT SITES ACROSS EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2009: STATION OCTOBER 2009 30 YEAR DEPARTURE PERCENT OF RAINFALL NORMAL FROM NORMAL NORMAL DAYTONA BEACH 1.44" 4.48" -3.04" 32% (DAB) ORLANDO 2.85" 2.73" 0.12" 104% (MCO) MELBOURNE 0.74" 4.76" -4.02" 16% (MLB) VERO BEACH 0.48" 5.04" -4.56" 10% (VRB) CLERMONT 0.34" 2.40" -2.06" 14% (CLRF1) DELAND 0.61" 4.09" -3.48" 15% (DELF1) SANFORD 0.07" 3.56" -3.49" 2% (SFNF1) TITUSVILLE 0.42" 4.29" -3.87" 10% (TITF1) OKEECHOBEE 0.13" 3.62" -3.49" 4% (OKEF1) STUART 2.33" 6.29" -3.96" 37% (STRF1) $$ WEITLICH/DIETZMANN