October weather in full swing

Temperatures this Sunday morning dipped into the low 50s and will climb back into the upper 70s by mid-afternoon. October weather has asserted itself in a big way, with mostly dry and pleasant conditions continuing throughout the upcoming week (with one exception). The bad news is that local drought conditions will worsen without more consistent rainfall.

This month also features an accelerating loss of daylight hours. Sunrise - in Clarksville - on October 1st occurred at 7:10 a.m., and by Halloween that time will slide to 7:37 a.m. Meanwhile sunsets will go from 6:57 p.m. to 6:18 p.m. at month's end as the calendar date drifts further away from the September equinox. Temperatures follow that trend of lesser daylight, cooling as the month progresses. The average first frost and freeze dates across eastern Virginia are shown here:

As mentioned above the sole exception to this week's dry conditions will arrive Tuesday night through Wednesday in the form of a cold front pressing across the Appalachians. Precipitation totals look to register only a quarter-inch in most local rain gauges, which won't put a dent in the dryness. However, this boundary will open to door to more cool Canadian air, dropping temperatures by the end of the work week 10-15 degrees below early week readings.