With autumn bursting all around, October turned out dry in the Northeast, according to climatologists from the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.

So dry, in fact, that the area-weighted monthly precipitation total of 1.81 inches represented 54 percent of the long-term normal (3.33 inches). For the Northeast, this month ranked as the 12th driest October in the last 103 years of records and the second driest in the last 15 years (with 1.14 inches of rain, 1994 is the driest in the last 15 years). Since records have been kept, October 1924 still reigns as the driest with an arid .44 inches of precipitation, according to Keith Eggleston, a climatologist with the center.

Maine was particularly dry, getting 1.33 inches of precipitation, or just 37 percent of its 3.55-inch normal precipitation. This gave Maine its eighth driest October in 103 years of record.

Portions of the mid-Atlantic coast received the most precipitation this month. Delaware reported 2.80 inches, or 87 percent of their 3.21-inch normal.

For this year's January through October period, the Northeast received 31.26 inches of precipitation, which was 3.4 inches below normal and nearly 14 inches less than the amount received during the same ten months last year. With 29.29 inches of precipitation, Maryland recorded its sixth driest January-October period. ( Maryland's record for this period is 19.84 inches, set in 1930.) Neighboring state Delaware recorded its seventh driest January-October periods, with 28.96 inches of precipitation. Delaware's driest January-October period was 1930 with 24.32 inches.

Temperatures averaged near or below normal throughout the northeastern United States in October. The first half of the month was unseasonably warm, as high temperatures peaked in the 70s and 80s. Following this, however, much colder air became entrenched for the remainder of the month. West Virginia was the only state to average slightly warmer temperatures than normal, with a state-average departure of 0.2 degrees. Vermont recorded the largest deviation from normal, averaging 43.2 degrees, or 3 degrees colder than the 30-year mean of 46.2 degrees.

New Weather Records

Maximum Temperature Records

City Date New Previous

City                          Date     New     Previous
Hartford, Conn. (tie)         6th     86¡      86¡  in 1990
Bridgeport, Conn.             6th     86¡      85¡  in 1959
Atlantic City AP, N.J. (tie)  6th     87¡      87¡  in 1951
Brookhaven, N.Y.              6th     85¡      83¡  in 1995
Bridgeport, Conn.             7th     78¡      77¡  in 1990
Beckley, W.Va. (tie)          7th     77¡      77¡  in 1963
Beckley, W.Va.                8th     81¡      75¡  in 1993
Caribou, Maine               10th     73¡      69¡  in 1955
Atlantic City marina, 
N.J. (tie)                   10th     85¡      85¡  in 1939

Minimum Temperature Records

City                          Date     New     Previous
Worcester, Mass.              2nd     33¡      34¡  in 1946
Bridgeport, Conn.             2nd     37¡      39¡  in 1992
Baltimore                     2nd     35¡      38¡  in 1899
Scranton, Pa.                 2nd     30¡      32¡  in 1958
Atlantic City, N.J. AP        2nd     32¡      34¡  in 1972
Allentown, Pa.                2nd     32¡      34¡  in 1958
Wilmington, Del.              2nd     34¡      36¡  in 1895
Newark, N.J.                  2nd     39¡      40¡  in 1938
Binghamton, N.Y. (tie)        2nd     30¡      30¡  in 1955
Buffalo, N.Y. (tie)           2nd     32¡      32¡  in 1975
Beckley, W.Va.               16th     29¡      31¡  in 1986
Baltimore                    23rd     28¡      31¡  in 1976
Pittsburgh (tie)             23rd     25¡      25¡  in 1976
Allentown                    23rd     24¡      25¡  in 1944
Atlantic City airport, 
N.J. (tie)                   23rd     27¡      27¡  in 1969
Parkersburg, W.Va.           23rd     21¡      24¡  in 1969
Huntington, W.Va.            23rd     23¡      25¡  in 1913
Beckley, W.Va.               23rd     18¡      24¡  in 1969
Charleston, W.Va. (tie)      23rd     24¡      24¡  in 1976
Newark, N.J.                 23rd     30¡      31¡  in 1969

Daily Snowfall Records (inches)

City                          Date     New     Previous
Caribou, Maine                26th     8.3     1.6 in 1962