You may have heard of "Dry January", a month when people challenge themselves to abstain from alcohol and reflect on their consumption habits.
But what about "Dry October"? That's what tens of millions of Americans in the eastern US are going through now whether they want to or not.
A persistent weather pattern, with strong high pressure parked over the eastern half of the country, has left some major metropolitan areas bone-dry so far this month.
New York City, Philadelphia and Atlanta are three such locations yet to see a drop of rain through the first 3 weeks of October.
With high pressure still firmly in control, there may not be an opportunity for significant rain in these areas over the coming week.
Right now, the Big Apple only has a low risk of a shower late Wednesday night with a passing front. Aside from that, their outlook is dry. Philly and Atlanta are both forecast to stay dry for the coming week.
Of course, Atlanta got heavy tropical rain in September as Helene came through. So, they are good on rainfall right now.
For Hampton Roads, we are in good shape. But our October has been and continues to be quite dry.
Since the first of the month, Norfolk International Airport has received .06" of rain, which leaves us 2.64" below average.
With no good chances for significant rain in the coming week to ten days, October 2024 is shaping up to be one of the driest on record.
We had heavy rain early in the year, but since Sept. 1 we have been 3.62" below average.
We are not currently in drought, so it looks like will be okay with this "Dry October" as long as we don't follow it up with a "No-Rain November!"