This month the third-coolest October statewide

It's adding up to a cool, wet autumn in a cool, wet year.

Through Wednesday, this month had been the third-coolest October statewide, and the sixth-wettest, according to Harry Hillaker, state climatologist. The pattern holds for Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and much of Eastern Iowa (see chart) after a remarkably dry September.

“The eastern two-thirds of the state basically had no rain for the first three weeks of September,” Hillaker said. “October's so wet it would push us above normal for rainfall for the state as whole.”

In Cedar Rapids, September was slightly cooler than normal but nearly three inches drier. Through TUES, October has been nearly 8 degrees cooler and 3 inches wetter than the month's average.

“September was just basically a pleasant month,” said Hillaker, “I wish we could've kept that going just a bit, or maybe just switched the months. That would've helped the crops a bit.”

Hillaker expects November to be cooler than usual, putting him at odds with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA's seasonal forecast, released Oct. 15, called for a warmer November based largely on recent years' experience.

Hillaker said the presence of El Nino, the periodic warming of central and eastern Pacific tropical waters, usually means a cooler late-fall period.

“I'd weight the El Nino tendency much more heavily,” he said. “I'd say a colder than normal month, but the official outlook is different.”