October is all wet

FARMINGTON — Farmington reported 7.5 inches of precipitation for the month of October heading into Thursday. That accounts for one of wettest Octobers on record, according to the National Weather Service in St. Louis.

“We are actually missing a couple of days for October so the total could be even higher than that,” said Scott Truett, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “Over the past 30 years the month of October has produced on average less than three inches of precipitation.”

Truett said Fredericktown reported 8.58 inches while Festus recorded 9.35 inches.

“All of these numbers will be going up by Saturday,” Truett said. “It looks like by Saturday we are looking at an additional 2-4 inches.”

He said the ground is already saturated and this latest front could produce thunderstorms and heavy rainfall at times.

“St. Francois County is under a flash flood watch through Friday,” Truett said on Thursday.

By this afternoon he expected the rain would lighten up, but linger on into Saturday. It should clear out Saturday afternoon just in time for Halloween trick-or-treaters.

“It’s been an extremely wet October,” Truett said. “It looks like the month is going to end just like it’s been throughout, rainy.”

Chris Cline is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at 573-431-2010, ext. 114 or at ccline@dailyjournalonline.com.