
On October 24, a category 5 atmospheric river event brought 5.45 inches of rainfall to Sacramento, breaking the previous single-day precipitation record of 5.28 inches, set in 1880. Sacramento, CA, set a record of 211 days without measurable precipitation in 2021.The heavy rain triggered multiple landslides, yet helped partially snuff out the wildfire season and lessened the drought severity across this portion of the West. On October 24, a Category 5 (exceptional) atmospheric river event brought record rainfall to parts of central California. Conveyor belts of Pacific moisture, defined as atmospheric rivers, impacted much of the central West Coast from October 19-26.Drought intensity became less severe across much of the West, northern Plains, Oklahoma, portions of the Midwest and was nearly eliminated across Puerto Rico.

Drought conditions expanded and/or intensified across parts of the northern Great Lakes, Texas, central High Plains and emerged in portions of the eastern Carolinas. was in drought, a little more than what was observed at the end of September. Drought Monitor, approximately 48 percent of the contiguous U.S. Portage Glacier Visitors Center received nearly 20 inches of rain during the last three days of October with accumulations continuing into early November. Alyeska reported its wettest single day and 3-day period on record with 9.53 inches and 15.05 inches of precipitation, respectively. A late-month atmospheric river event transported ample amounts of moisture into south-central Alaska.

Despite the year-to-year downward trend in October sea ice extent, the average Chukchi Sea ice extent during October was the highest seen since 2001. Temperatures were above average across portions of the Alaskan Interior and North Slope and slightly below average across the Panhandle.

had daytime high temperatures that were below average. Delaware ranked third warmest for maximum temperatures in October, while much of the Great Lakes, Deep South and East Coast experienced above-average daytime high temperature for the month.

Temperatures were below average across portions of the West Coast and Southwest. Ohio and Maryland ranked warmest on record for October while Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine each ranked second warmest. Temperatures were above average from the Rocky Mountains to the East Coast.This ranked sixth warmest in the 127-year record. temperature was 57.0☏, 2.9☏ above the 20th century average. For October, the average contiguous U.S.
