Autumn, with its cool, crisp nights, warm wool sweaters, and endless amount of pumpkin-flavored foods, officially began with the autumnal equinox on Tuesday, September 22.
September 2020
September will bring cooler-than-normal temperatures, on average, which will linger through the month in most places, although temperatures for the month will average above normal in Florida, from the Intermountain region and Arizona westward to the Pacific, in Alaska and Atlantic Canada, and from the Prairies westward to the Pacific and northward to the Yukon.
September precipitation will be on the heavier side from southern New England southward to Georgia, from Pennsylvania southwestward to Louisiana, and in the Desert Southwest, southern Alaska, Atlantic Canada, Quebec, and portions of the Yukon and Northwest Territories. It will be near or below normal elsewhere.
October 2020
Just when an early winter seems inevitable, October will roll in with milder-than-normal temperatures nearly everywhere—actually, make that “much warmer than normal” temps in the eastern two-thirds of the United States. But enjoy it while it lasts: As the leaves begin turning color and floating to the ground, above-normal rainfall will visit the Deep South and Southeast and range northeastward to New England, as well as predominate from central California northward through the Pacific Northwest. Most other areas will be dry or nearly so.
Autumn temperatures will be above normal in Atlantic Canada, southern Ontario, the Prairies, British Columbia, and the Yukon and below normal elsewhere across the Canadian commonwealth. Precipitation will be below or near normal in Ontario and the Prairies and above normal in nearly all parts of the other Canadian provinces.
As far as the upcoming winter goes, we will be entering Solar Cycle 25, which is expected to bring very low solar activity. Although low levels of solar activity have historically been associated with cooler temperatures, on average, across Earth, we believe that recent warming trends will dominate in the eastern and northern parts of the United States in the coming winter, with below-normal average temperatures limited to the western portion of the nation. Temperatures will average above normal in most of Canada, except for Atlantic Canada and the Prairies, where below-normal temperatures are expected.
