Midwest Overview - October 9-15, 2002

Most of the Midwest experienced a dry, cool week. The exception to the dry weather was the Ohio Valley south through Kentucky, where one to three inches of rain fell as a trough of low pressure anchored over the region October  9-11 (Figure 1). Lesser amounts of rain fell in the upper Midwest as a series of cold fronts moved through. October precipitation is still well below normal from eastern Illinois through Indiana and Ohio (Figure 2). The generally dry weather across most of the Midwest was welcomed by agricultural producers. Harvest activities, which are running later than normal in many areas due to late spring planting, continued at full speed the last half of the week. Temperatures this week were generally near to below normal from Indiana west, and near normal in Ohio and Michigan. The warmest weather occurred in Kentucky, which remained south of the frontal boundaries most of the week (Figure 3). A strong cold front swept across the Midwest on October 13, producing some light showers and bringing the coldest air of the season into the region. The growing season came to end across much of the central Midwest on October 14 as morning low temperatures dropped into the mid 20s as far south as central Illinois and Indiana (Figure 4).

As the rain moved out of the Midwest on October 11, high pressure ridged down over the Great Lakes, producing a northeast to southwest flow of air over Lake Michigan. On the morning of October 11 dense fog developed along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Wisconsin. The resulting zero visibility was the primary cause of a 45-car pileup on Interstate 43, which parallels the shoreline in Sheboygan County. Ten people were killed and 38 people injured in the fiery crash.