October 2014 Review - Jyväskylä

Jyväskylä's October in 2014 was a month of ups and downs. There was warmth early in the month before some of the coldest October temperatures of the past decade arrived. They quickly recovered though and the month ended very warm with three days above 10C. Despite the high daily maximums, low minimums assisted Jyväskylä in recording its second coldest October since 2003. There were no solid snowfalls but precipitation was above average.

The averages from the previous six Octobers can be seen below.

October averages at Jyväskylä Airport for the period 2009-2014

The Finnish Meteorological Institute recorded an overall October average for Jyväskylä of 2.8C. This is 0.8C below the 1981-2010 average of 3.6C. Since 2000 there have been six years with a below average figure. 2014's ranks as the fourth coldest of those. Most of Finland recorded a below average month. Only the south west of the country saw an average above normal. Rain distribution was a little different. The south and north saw totals well below average, but Central Finland, particularly the west coast stretching from Pietarsaari to Oulu with 140% of the average, was very wet.

A cold change that arrived in the middle of the month and lasted a week and a half was responsible for the lowest October temperatures seen in Jyväskylä since at least 2009. There were three days which dipped below -10C. Between 2009 and 2013 this happened only once; October 28 in 2012 saw a low of -10.1C. 2014's three below -10C measurements were led by the -13.6C recording on the 23rd. The day earlier saw a low of -11.0C and it dropped to -10.4C on the 18th.

The two lowest October daily maximums of the past six years were also seen last month. The 22nd didn't climb higher than -3.4C. The 23rd saw it reach -3.0C. The lowest such recording between 2009 and 2013 was the -2.0C reading from the 26th in 2012.

The highest temperature seen during the month was 12.9C on the 9th. This was the third warmest such figure since 2009. The highest minimum was also the third warmest. October 10 didn't see it go below 7.8C.

Some contrasting statistics for October this year compared to the previous five years include the fact that there were seven days that topped 10C. This was the equal second highest number of occurrences in the years since 2009. 2013 saw 10 days above the mark, while 2011 also saw the same number. Both 2011 and 2013 went on to record above average Decembers. On the other hand, there were also three days that remained in the negatives. This was the equal highest number of occurrences, along with October 2012. 2012 went on to record a cold November and December.

Daily minimums and maximums against rainfall at Jyväskylä Airport for October 2014

Rainfall measurements differed a bit between my recordings and those by the Finnish Meteorological Institute. I recorded 87.9mm for the month, while FMI records state 76mm fell. Either way, both readings were above last year's figure of 60mm, as well as the 1981-2010 average of 66mm.

Based on my recordings, the wettest day was October 19. A total of 26.4mm fell then. It was also the second wettest day of the year. That was one of 15 days that saw precipitation. There were two periods of five consecutive rain days; October 8 to 12, and October 25 onwards. The longest dry spell was six days; October 13 to 18.

Despite the high precipitation and low temperatures, there was very little snow at any point during the month. Snow on the ground was only seen a couple of times and it never got full coverage. Snow depths greater than a few centimetres are fairly rare for Jyväskylä in October, but 2010, for example, saw a snow depth of 10cm in the middle of the month.