The stretch of warm Octobers continued for 2021

Did October feel abnormally warm and humid compared to what you may think a typical October should?

Well, it was another one for the record books in Central Florida as one of the warmest on record.

Temperatures finished well above normal in Orlando, Sanford, Leesburg and Daytona Beach.

Orlando and Leesburg’s October finished in one of the top five warmest on record. Both cities finished around three degrees above the monthly normal temperature.

This October fell right behind 2019, the warmest October on record for Orlando, and October 2020.

Last year, October tied with 1985 for the third warmest on record in the City Beautiful.

Sanford also experienced one of its top 10 warmest Octobers on record.

The only spot of the five main observation sites to experience near-average temperatures was Melbourne.

Rainfall was pretty meager for most of the month until some cold fronts brought heavy downpours back to parts of Central Florida.

The biggest rainfall deficits were along Central Florida’s east coast.

Daytona Beach and Melbourne finished more than two inches drier than average.

Our east coast is a spot that has seen abnormally dry conditions return to the drought monitor.

Meanwhile, inland spots like Orlando, Leesburg and Sanford experienced near-average or above-normal rainfall for October.

However, most of the rain in these spots came during the last week of the month when a couple of cold fronts brought a wider coverage of rain.

The winter forecast projects La Niña to keep most of Florida warmer and drier than average through the start of spring.

So rainfall may become even tougher to come by for parts of the region through the next several months.

November tends to be the driest month on average for Orlando, Leesburg and Sanford.

All three cities tend to average less than two inches of rain.

It is also one of the drier months for Daytona Beach and Melbourne.

Recent forecast outlooks are calling for drier-than-normal or near-average rainfall for this month.