NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY
OCTOBER 2021

3-9: Scattered showers in Montana and the Dakotas provided limited and localized relief from a protracted drought. Meanwhile, widespread, locally substantial precipitation fell in drought-affected sections of the Southwest and Intermountain West,
extending northward from Arizona. With colder air arriving late in the week, snow began to blanket some Western peaks. Precipitation also fell in the Pacific Northwest, but several areas—including parts of California and the interior Northwest—
remained mostly dry. Elsewhere, widespread rain fell across the eastern one-third of the U.S., except northern New England. Persistent Southeastern rain, associated with a slow-moving disturbance that resulted in local flooding, totaled 4 to 8 inches or
more in several locations from western Florida into the southern Appalachians. In the eastern Corn Belt, spotty totals exceeding 2 inches.

As the week began, locally heavy showers swept into parts of the East. In New York, record-breaking rainfall amounts for October 3 included 1.84 inches in Buffalo and 1.22 inches in Rochester. The following day, Mount Pocono, PA, received a daily-record
sum (2.05 inches) for October 4. Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia collected a record-setting amount (2.36 inches) for October 5. Farther south, daily-record amounts for the 5th reached 2.44 inches in Muscle Shoals, AL, and 2.43 inches in
Charleston, SC. Crossville, TN, collected a record-setting sum of 2.52 inches for October 6. Columbus, GA, received 7.64 inches from October 4-7, aided by a 5.24-inch total on the 4th. For Columbus, that represented the wettest October day on record,
surpassing 5.12 inches on October 8, 1894. Impressively heavy rain also fell in Macon, GA, where the October 4-7 total was 6.38 inches. Heavy Southeastern showers lingered through October 7, when Knoxville, TN, reported a dailyrecord sum of 2.39 inches.
Subsequently, the focus for heavy precipitation shifted westward. On October 8-9 in Utah, 24-hour precipitation topped an inch at Silver Lake – Brighton (1.85 inches); Logan (1.29 inches); and Pine View Dam (1.16 inches). In California, record-setting
rainfall totals for October 8 included 0.55 inch in Vista, 0.40 inch in Fresno, and 0.36 inch on Palomar Mountain. Other late-week developments included an increase in Midwestern rainfall and a non-tropical low-pressure system east of the Carolinas
contributing to unsettled weather in the mid-Atlantic. Midwestern daily-record totals reached 2.23 inches (on October 9) in Watertown, SD, and 1.00 inch (on October 8) in Grand Rapids, MI. In North Carolina, October 9-10 rainfall totaled 5.69 inches on
Cape Hatteras and 4.96 inches in Raleigh-Durham. Raleigh-Durham’s rain fell entirely on the 9th, representing the wettest day in that location since October 8, 2016, when 6.45 inches fell.

10-16: A winter-like storm system crossing the West and the northern Plains delivered substantial, drought-easing precipitation to some areas, including the Dakotas, southern and eastern Montana, and the Intermountain region. Early-season snow (locally 1
to 2 feet or more) blanketed portions of the Intermountain West, extending as far east as the Black Hills. Meanwhile, the storm’s trailing cold front—interacting with remnant tropical moisture associated with former eastern Pacific Hurricane Pamela—
contributed to heavy showers and locally severe thunderstorms. Some of the heaviest rain, locally 2 to 4 inches or more, extended northward from the western Gulf Coast region across the east-central Plains and southern Corn Belt.

stormy, windy weather soon turned to the West. By late October 11, several wind gusts above 60 mph were clocked in southern California, including 68 mph at the Mount Laguna Observatory. On October 12, gusts to 70 mph were recorded at Fort Stanton, NM,
and Sierra Vista, AZ. By mid-week, high winds shifted to the north-central U.S., where gusts in South Dakota reached 69 mph in Philip and 64 mph in Rapid City. Significant high-elevation snow accompanied the western storminess. West Yellowstone, MT,
received 9.5 inches of snow in a 48-hour period on October 11-13. Calendar-day totals for October 12 in Wyoming included 8.2 inches in Casper and 7.3 inches in Lander. Casper’s 3-day (October 11-13) snowfall was 12.7 inches. In South Dakota’s Black
Hills, storm-total snowfall exceeded 20 inches in Deadwood and several neighboring communities. Similar highelevation snowfall totals were reported in parts of Wyoming and southern Montana. Meanwhile, rainfall totaled 2.15 inches in Rapid City, SD, on
October 12-13, mainly due to a daily-record sum of 1.63 inches on the first day of the event. By October 13, daily-record amounts in North Dakota included 1.60 inches in Minot, 1.57 inches in Dickinson, and 1.47 inches in Bismarck. Farther south, the
interaction between remnant tropical moisture and a cold front delivered daily-record amounts on the 13th to Fort Smith, AR (4.56 inches), and San Antonio, TX (2.64 inches). Over a 6-day period (October 10-15), San Antonio received 5.37 inches. Rain in
the western Gulf Coast region lingered into October 14, when Corpus Christi, TX, collected a daily-record amount (2.28 inches). Late in the week, heavy showers swept into the eastern one-third of the U.S.; daily-record totals included 1.96 inches (on
October 15) in Fort Wayne, IN; 1.80 inches (on October 15) in Memphis, TN; and 1.54 inches (on October 16) in Saint Johnsbury, VT. Late-week precipitation also arrived in the Pacific Northwest, where Quillayute, WA, measured a record-setting total (2.89
inches) for October 15.

October 19 featured a significant precipitation event unfolding across the northern Intermountain West. In Wyoming, daily-record totals reached 1.67 inches in Lander and 1.21 inches in Casper. In addition, Casper received 5.0 inches of snow on October 19-
20, boosting its month-to-date total to 17.7 inches. By October 20, record-setting rainfall totals in South Dakota included 0.92 inch in Aberdeen and 0.84 inch in Sisseton. Later, the first in a series of Pacific storms arrived along the West Coast on
October 21, resulting in daily-record amounts in Baker City, OR (0.59 inch), and the San Francisco Airport (0.44 inch). Baker City reported another daily-record total (0.54 inch) on October 22. Record-setting totals for the 22nd were also set in
locations such as Alturas, CA (0.60 inch); Pendleton, OR (0.56 inch); and Pasco, WA (0.34 inch). With 1.82 inches from October 22-24, Klamath Falls, OR, saw its year-to-date precipitation increase from 3.63 to 5.45 inches (from 48 to 71 percent of normal)
. Much heavier precipitation arrived in the West on October 24. Elsewhere, late-week rain erupted in parts of Missouri, where record-setting amounts for October 24 reached 2.90 inches in Joplin and 2.68 inches in Springfield.

24-30: A potent, early-season storm struck northern California and neighboring areas on October 24-25, delivering record-setting precipitation amounts and providing some drought relief. However, the storm also sparked flash flooding and triggered several
debris flows, especially on hillsides scarred by recent wildfires. The Western storm later shifted eastward, producing widespread precipitation across the eastern half of the country. Some of the heaviest rain, 2 to 4 inches or more, fell from parts of
the Midwest into the Northeast. Back-to-back rounds of high winds, heavy rain, and coastal flooding affected portions of the middle and northern Atlantic States. Some rain also fell in the South, although higher amounts (2 inches or more) were mostly
limited to areas along and near the Gulf Coast. However, several areas remained dry, or nearly so, throughout the week.

October 24 was the wettest calendar day on record in several northern California communities, including Blue Canyon (10.40 inches; previously, 9.33 inches on December 22, 1964), Santa Rosa (7.83 inches; previously, 5.66 inches on February 26, 2019), and
downtown Sacramento (5.44 inches; previously, 5.28 inches on April 20, 1880). Sacramento’s longest dry spell on record, 211 consecutive days (March 20 – October 16) without measurable rain, had just ended the previous week. The Sacramento Airport
also experienced its wettest day on record, with 5.41 inches (previously, 3.77 inches on October 13, 1962). October daily rainfall records originally set during the same October 1962 storm were broken on October 24 in California locations such as Santa
Rosa (7.83 inches) and Napa (5.35 inches). Similarly, October calendar-day rainfall records from October 13, 2009, were eclipsed in many other California towns and cities, including Kentfield (11.09 inches), San Francisco’s downtown and airport sites (
4.02 inches), and downtown Oakland (4.28 inches). Kentfield’s October rainfall total of 20.37 inches was more than ten times the normal value and smashed the 1962 monthly record of 12.97 inches. In the western Great Basin, Reno, NV, also experienced
its wettest October day (1.88 inches on the 24th) and wettest October (3.14 inches) on record. Reno’s previous records had been 1.46 inches (on October 13, 1962) and 2.65 inches (in 2010), respectively. Western precipitation shifted southward and moved
farther inland by October 25, when daily-record totals topped an inch in Nevada locations such as Elko (1.17 inches), Ely (1.05 inches), and Reno (1.03 inches). Dailyrecord amounts for the 25th in southern California reached 1.28 inches in Santa Maria
and 0.96 inch in Santa Barbara. Peak wind gusts on October 25 in western Washington included 56 mph in Bellingham, 51 mph in Olympia, and 50 mph in Seattle. Salem and Astoria, OR, both clocked wind gusts to 57 mph on October 24. In northern California,
landslides on hillsides scarred by the Dixie Fire closed State Route 70 in Butte and Plumas Counties. Meanwhile, locally heavy showers erupted across the Midwest. The 24th was the wettest October day on record in Quincy, IL, with 4.69 inches (previously,
4.46 inches on October 12, 1969). Midwestern daily record totals for October 24 topped 2 inches in Des Moines, IA (2.91 inches), and Omaha, NE (2.28 inches). By October 26, heavy rain in the Northeast resulted in daily-record totals in several New York
locations, including Islip (4.47 inches), JFK Airport (3.24 inches), and Binghamton (2.49 inches). The following morning, winds along the Massachusetts coastline were clocked to 80 mph or higher in communities such as Duxbury, Dennis, and Wellfleet.

Elsewhere on the 27th, the former Western powerhouse storm reached the nation’s mid-section and began to produce heavy rain, including daily-record amounts in Sioux City, IA (1.70 inches), Lincoln, NE (1.62 inches), and Watertown, SD (1.41 inches). On
October 29-30, storminess returned across parts of the East. On the 29th, the worst tidal flooding since Hurricane Isabel (September 19, 2003) occurred on the Chesapeake Bay at Annapolis, MD, and the Potomac River in Washington, DC. The water level on
Solomons Island, MD, rose to a record high, edging the September 2003 high-water mark by 0.37 foot. On October 30, daily-record rainfall totals included 2.78 inches in Portland, ME, and 1.28 inches in Atlantic City, NJ. The last full week of the month
began with a warm spell in progress across the South and East. Consecutive daily-record highs occurred on October 24- 25 in Shreveport, LA (90 and 91°F), and Longview, TX (90 and 92°F). Shreveport tied October 25, 1931, for its third-latest 90-degree
reading on record, behind only October 29 and 30, 1937.

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