Saturday’s Almanac (10/05/2024)

It was yet another very warm day across the Weather First area today! So warm, in fact, that we were just a few degree’s shy of the record high temperature in Rochester!

The average high for October 5th is around 64F for Rochester, with today’s high reaching 82F-83F. High temperatures today were only 2F-3F shy of reaching the record high temperature of 85F, which was set in 1938.

The average overnight low for October 5th is 42F for Rochester, with today’s low making it down to 49F. The record low on this date for Rochester is 20F, which was set back in 1935.

We have only received a trace of precipitation for the month of October so far at the Rochester Airport, which is 0.01″. Mason City has not received any precipitation for the month of October so far. Seasonally, Rochester has only received 0.78″ of rain since September 1st, with Mason City only receiving 0.43″ of rain since September 1st.

Most of southeastern Minnesota and northern Iowa are nearing drought like conditions as of October 3rd. With dry weather in the forecast the next week and a half, we will likely continue to add to the rainfall deficit that has been growing since September 1st.

In terms of yearly precipitation, Rochester is still 2.23″ of rain above average for yearly precipitation at this time. It is likely that by the end of October though, we will be below average in terms of yearly precipitation given that there is no rain in sight through mid October. Mason City is 2.5″ of rain below the yearly average, and this will likely continue to grow as we progress through the month of October.