A heightening contrast in temperature between North and South is the primedriver behind October's weather trends.Ever cooler, more frequent outbreaks of cold out of Canada spell first killingfrost for roughly one-third of the nation including heavily populated areas ofthe midsection to the Northeast.
Early autumn storms tracking mostly over the northern tier of states bring areturn of windy days following their relative absence during summer.
Even the least weather-wise of people cannot help but sense the shorteningdays. Not only does daylight shorten noticeably, shadows lengthen and days dim.
This becomes obvious on one of those rainy October days, when a dull, graydimness hangs over the land.
October is noteworthy for its memorable hurricanes, among which is Wilma, themost intense hurricane ever measured. Yet, while it is an important month fortropical weather, tropical cyclone frequency falls off sharply between thestart and end of the month.
Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews
