Temperature: (See Figure 1)
Temperatures for the month of October varied spatially throughout the Southern Region, but generally exhibited a pattern with warmer temperatures in the eastern half of the region and cooler temperatures in the western half of the region. Parts of west-central and extreme western Texas experienced temperatures 4 to 6 degrees F (2.22 to 3.33 degrees C) below normal. Parts of southern, southwestern, western, central, and northern Texas as well as extreme western, western, and southwestern Oklahoma experienced temperatures 2 to 4 degrees F (1.11 to 2.22 degrees C) below normal. Most of Louisiana and Mississippi, parts of eastern and southeastern Texas, southern, western, central, and eastern Tennessee, and parts of southern, eastern, central, and northwestern Arkansas experienced temperatures 2 to 4 degrees F (1.11 to 2.22 degrees C) above normal. Parts of southern Arkansas, northwestern and southeastern Louisiana, and southern and eastern Mississippi experienced temperatures 4 to 6 degrees F (2.22 to 3.33 degrees C) above normal. Parts of southeastern Louisiana experienced temperatures 6 to 8 degrees F (3.33 to 4.44 degrees C) above normal. The statewide monthly average temperatures were as follows: Arkansas – 62.50 degrees F (16.94 degrees C), Louisiana – 70.70 degrees F (21.50 degrees C), Mississippi – 67.30 degrees F (19.61 degrees C), Oklahoma – 60.30 degrees F (15.72 degrees C), Tennessee – 60.80 degrees F (16.00 degrees C), and Texas – 65.40 degrees F (18.56 degrees C). The statewide temperature rankings for October were as follows: Arkansas (forty-eighth warmest), Louisiana (fourteenth warmest), Mississippi (twenty-first warmest), Oklahoma (thirty-fourth coldest), Tennessee (thirtieth warmest), and Texas (forty-first coldest). All state rankings are based on the period spanning 1895-2018.
Check again.
Precipitation: (See Figure 2)
Precipitation values for the month of October varied spatially across the Southern Region. Parts of southern Texas and west-central Mississippi received 25 percent or less of normal precipitation. Parts of southern, western, and extreme western Texas, northeastern Arkansas, central and southeastern Louisiana, northeastern and northwestern Tennessee, and central, southwestern, and northern Mississippi received 50 percent or less of normal precipitation. In contrast, parts of eastern and northern Tennessee, southern Mississippi, central, eastern, and northwestern Arkansas, southern, southeastern, and northwestern Louisiana, southeastern, southern, northern, and central Oklahoma, and eastern, southern, northern, and western Texas received 150 percent or more of normal precipitation. Parts of southern and southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, northwestern Arkansas, southern, northern, western, and extreme western Oklahoma, and eastern, southern, western, central, and northern Texas received 200 percent or more of normal precipitation. Parts of western and extreme western Oklahoma as well as central, northern, western, and part of eastern Texas received 300 percent or more of normal precipitation. The state-wide precipitation totals for the month were as follows: Arkansas – 5.03 inches (127.76 mm), Louisiana – 5.07 inches (128.78 mm), Mississippi – 2.46 inches (62.48 mm), Oklahoma – 6.64 inches (168.66 mm), Tennessee – 3.42 inches (86.87 mm), and Texas – 6.86 inches (174.24 mm). The state precipitation rankings for October were as follows: Arkansas (twenty-fifth wettest), Louisiana (twenty-second wettest), Mississippi (fifty-ninth driest), Oklahoma (seventh wettest), Tennessee (forty-seventh wettest), and Texas (first wettest). This was the second consecutive month where Texas recorded its wettest month on record and the third consecutive month where a state in the Southern Region reported a top-10 wettest month. All state rankings are based on the period spanning 1895-2018.
Drought (see Figure 3) and Severe Weather:
• At the end of October, drought conditions continued to improve across the Southern Region. Extreme drought classifications were no longer present in the region, a change from the beginning of the month. Severe drought classifications were present across extreme western Texas, while moderate drought classifications were present in parts of extreme western and northern Texas as well as northeastern Oklahoma. There were no drought conditions in Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas; however, there were some small patches of abnormally dry conditions. • In October, there were a total of 231 storm reports across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. There were 62 tornado reports, 20 hail reports, and 149 wind reports. Mississippi tallied the most wind reports (52) while Texas tallied the most tornado (21) and hail (17) reports. Texas tallied the most reports total (78) while Tennessee tallied the least (0). • On October 4, 2018, a wind gust of 71 mph (114.26 kph) was reported near Plains, Texas. • On October 5, 2018, a wind gust of 61 mph (98.17 kph) was reported near White River Lake, Texas. • On October 6, 2018, a wind gust of 73 mph (117.48 kph) was reported in Grove, Oklahoma. • On October 7, 2018, there were 6 tornado reports, with 4 reports in Oklahoma and 2 reports in Texas. No injuries were reported. • On October 8, 2018, a wind gust of 72 mph (115.87 kph) was reported near Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. Also, a tornado briefly touched down in an open field near McCamey, Texas. • On October 9, 2018, several tornadoes were reported across Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Cars were overturned and roof and structural damage was reported, but no injuries were reported. • On October 12, 2018, a wind gust of 69 mph (111.05 kph) was reported near McCamey, Texas. • On October 13, 2018, there were 8 tornado reports in Texas. Two EF-0 tornadoes were confirmed, one near Brady, Texas and the other near Beckville, Texas. No injuries were reported. • On October 14, 2018, lemon and baseball sized hail was reported near Hatchel, Texas. • On October 31, 2018, there were 7 tornado reports and 75 wind reports across Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. One person was killed and two were injured after a tree fell on a car near Port Gibson, Mississippi. A tree fell on a mobile home near Bogalusa, Louisiana, trapping residents inside, while trees were reported to have fallen on a mobile home near Baton Rouge, Louisiana and on a house near New Orleans, Louisiana. A wind gust of 65 mph (104.61 kph) was reported in Biloxi, Mississippi, while a wind gust of 62 mph (99.78 kph) was reported at Eugene Island, Louisiana. A wind report near Garden Ridge, Texas indicated winds were strong enough to snap a large, live oak tree at the trunk.
