MONTHLY WEATHER OBSERVATIONS
LAVALE MD
OCTOBER 2002
OBSERVER NATE MULLINS

*Observations for this month taken by Steve and Sara Mullins & David Drewery.*

Special Observations:  F=fog, T=thunder, H=hail,
S=sleet, G=glaze, DW=damaging winds
Observation time for this station is midnight.

	Temperature, °F		Precipitation, In.		
				Liquid	Solid	7am
	24-hour		Temp	Rain	Snow/	Snow
Date	Max	Min	at Obs	Equiv	Ice	Depth	Special Obs.

1	76	54
2	75	56
3	80	57					F,T
4	76	64		 .05			F
5	75	51		   T			
6	64	46					F
7	63	49
8	68	39
9	56	40	
10	58	48		 .67			F
11	60	51		 .84			F
12	65	57		 .03			F
13	67	44		 .03			F
14	52	39		  			F
15	62	35		 .45			F
16	56	38		 .75			F
17	68	46					F
18	60	35
19	62	40		 .04
20	54	44
21	55	37
22	62	32
23	57	36
24	47	42		 .02			F
25	43	40		 .78			F
26	60	44		 .10			F
27	52	46
28	47	43		 .05
29	42	36		1.43			F
30	40	35		 .22			F
31	44	35					F

AVG	59.5	43.8	SUM	5.46"	 0.0" 	  -	 	
EXT	80	32 	MAX	1.43"	  -	  -
Date	3	22 	DATE	29	  -	  -
*=Also occurred on earlier dates

Special Note:  The data for this month is *preliminary*.

Mean Monthly Temperature:  51.7 F
Mean Temp at Obs Time:  N/A
Number of days with:
	Fog:  17  
	Ice Pellets:  0   	
	Glaze:  0  	
	Thunder:  1 	
	Hail:  0 	
	Damaging Winds:  0	

NOTES AND/OR SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

3rd:  Warm high 80F, thunderstorms this evening to the W & N but dissipated as they crossed the mountains.
4th:  Few showers this evening, .05" fell.
8th:  Cold low 39F this morning.

RAIN
10th:  Steady rain all day long, mostly light.  Total .67" fell by midnight.
11th:  Steady rain all day again, tapered off this evening, .84" total.
12th:  Drizzle/light rain overnight .03" fell, dense fog.
13th:  Light AM rain/drizzle another .03".
15th:  Rain began late this afternoon and continued through this evening .45" fell by midnight.
16th:  Rain continues from the Nor'Easter was moderate overall, ended around 4pm, total .75" for the day.
19th:  Cloudy, gusty winds, couple showers .04" fell.

22nd:  The first freeze of the year, low 32F this morning.
24th:  Cloudy all day, drizzle on and off this afternoon and low clouds/fog, .02" rain.
25th:  Drizzle this morning, steady rains began this afternoon and continued through the evening.  Rain was moderate and at
       times heavy, total by midnight .78".
26th:  More showers overnight .10" fell, ended early with dense fog.

COLD RAIN - MOUNTAINS GET SLAMMED BY EARLY SEASON ICE STORM
29th:  Cold steady rain began this morning and was moderate and at times heavy throughout the day.  Rain tapered to drizzle 
       by evening with dense fog especially on the mountians.  Total rain 1.43".  Almost all the rain froze on contact at
       elevations above 2000 feet and caused a devastating ice storm in the Frostburg and Garrett County areas.
30th:  Light rain, fog and drizzle overnight, freezing drizzle at higher elevations.  Drizzle continued throughout the day 
       and tapered off this evening, another .22" fell.

SUMMARY OF OCTOBER'S WEATHER:

Temperatures for the month were moderate, an average of 51.7 F.  Precipitation was well above average with 5.46", the first
time we've had above-average precipitation in October since 1995.  The ice storm in the mountains on the 29th was quite an
unusual event--because many leaves were still on the trees, it had caused even more damage than it normally would have.

Additional notes/records

4th: Record high min 64 F
29th: Record low max 42 F
30th: Record low max 40 F

October 2002 had the 5th lowest October average maximum temperature of 59.5 F.