This October was only the 19th wettest on record at the airport, but it was 1.79 inches above normal and a significant change from the rest of the year.
Even with the help that October brought, Southeast remains drier than normal for the year.
While Juneau benefitted from a wet October, Ketchikan received only 62 percent of its normal rainfall in October and is 29 inches below normal for the year.
“Still, the situation over the southern Panhandle is somewhat better than it was in September,” the Weather Service wrote in its monthly update, before concluding, “However, portions of the southern Panhandle remain in a severe drought and significant impacts to communities located there persist.” October finished as the fourth-warmest in Juneau’s recorded history, averaging 45.5 degrees.
The warmest day ever recorded in October came on Oct. 1 this year, when the thermometer read 63 at the airport.
Elsewhere in Southeast, Yakutat had its warmest October ever, averaging 46.5 degrees.
(The old record was 45.9, set in 1980.)
Skagway had its third-warmest October.
The winter’s first snowfall arrived Nov. 1, and 3.2 inches have been recorded through Monday morning at the airport.
The coldest temperatures of the winter will arrive Tuesday night, when clear skies will allow temperatures to dip into the teens in the Mendenhall Valley and the low 20s downtown.