Below-normal rainfall and above-average temperatures intensified drought conditions, broadening the geographic areas of drought across the U.S. in October 2022.
Those dry conditions were also felt along the Mississippi River, where some locations reported their lowest water levels in 10 years.
Here are more highlights from NOAA’s latest monthly U.S. climate report:
Climate by the Numbers
October 2022
The average October temperature across the contiguous U.S. was 55.3 degrees F, 1.2 degrees above the 20th-century average, ranking in the warmest third in the climate record.
Read more at NOAA
Image: Aerial photo from October 2022 of low river levels around Tower Rock on the Mississippi River at Grand Tower, Illinois. (Photo Credit: Reece Streufert/NOAA NWS Paducah)