BOSTON – Welcome to October. This is the quintessential New England month. No other region in the country has as much autumn feeling and beauty as we do at this time of year.
It is a month of rapid changes. Average temperatures drop significantly, with average highs in the 50s toward the end of the month.
We lose more than two minutes of daylight every day, and sunsets dip in the 5 p.m. hour mid-month.
CBS Boston
The first freezes and frosts typically arrive this month for most of southern New England. Thus the growing season comes to an end, at the earliest in the areas north and west of Boston and finally towards the Cape and Islands.
CBS Boston
When is peak foliage in New England?
This is the first month before leaves fall also throughout the region.
Colors are already peaking at the highest heights of the Green and White Mountains.
CBS Boston
As the days and weeks tick by in October, that wave of color moves south, almost all the way to the South Coast.
By Halloween, most of the leaves in the suburbs will be turning brown and many of the trees will be dead.
CBS Boston
Tropical activity is still high in October
October is also one of the peak months for tropical activity in the Atlantic Ocean. We are past the peak of the season, but typically the first few weeks are often marked by several storms still swirling around.
Currently there are no immediate threats to the country, but we have just passed the halfway point of said storms with the formation of Tropical Storm Kirk far out in the Atlantic Ocean.
CBS Boston
Astronomical events in October
Last but not least, October can be a great month for stargazing. We have already had a banner year in terms of astronomical events solar eclipse to a one-time event northern lights.
This month we get some promising meteor showers, another full supermoon, and finally the chance to see something Comet C/2023 A3 low on the western horizon!
CBS Boston
Venus will also appear increasingly prominent in the southwest after sunset.
Grab your Pumpkin Spice Latte and enjoy everything New England has to offer this month. If you take great photos, we’d love to see them and share them at Weather@wbztv.com
