Hudson Valley Town Sets 200-Year-Old Weather Record

October's weather has set a 200-year-old record for one Hudson Valley town.

As you may have noticed, it was pretty warm last month. October usually ushers in colder temperatures and can even bring the first snowfall of the year. But 2021 had other plans in store for the Hudson Valley, as temperatures remained mild and unseasonably warm.

According to the National Weather Service, Poughkeepsie's average October temperature was 58.2 degrees, which is six degrees above normal for the Hudson Valley during this time of year. A look at archived temperature records that have been kept since 1820 shows that this year's average temperature ties the warmest October ever recorded. In 2017 Poughkeepsie also saw an average of 58.2 degrees.

As far as precipitation goes, it was a wet October. The average rainfall was 1.48 inches above the average. While not enough precipitation to set a record in Poughkeepsie, Albany had 3.33 inches more rain than usual, making it the 10th wettest October in recorded history.

Other nearby towns saw exceptionally warm weather. Glens Falls experienced the eighth warmest October in history, while Albany had it's 5th hottest Halloween month.

The coldest October in Poughkeepsie occurred in 1987 and 1988 when the average was 45.5 degrees. The Hudson Valley's wettest year was in 2005 when we saw a whopping 17.59 inches of rain throughout the region.

So far, November isn't looking much colder than October. Temperatures in Poughkeepsie for the next 10 days show average high temperatures in the low to mid-50s with overnight lows rising above freezing after the next few nights. We'll have to wait to see if November will be another record-setting month for the Hudson Valley.