Statewide for Maryland, 2021 was the warmest October on record, dating back to 1895 in the climate archives. There are unofficial reports of valley temperatures in Garrett County getting below freezing during the month but none of the official stations got any lower than 33°F. (as of this posting), occurring on 10/20/2021 at the COOP station “Sines Deep Creek,” which is located on the Youghiogheny River, just northwest of the Deep Creek Lake dam at an elevation of 2,040 feet (about 400 feet below lake level). This would be the first time that any official station in the entire state failed to reach ≤32F. by the end of October, dating back to at least 1895. 

 

The October 2021 statewide Average Maximum, Minimum, and Mean Temperatures for Maryland (all temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit):

• Average Mean of 63.3°, ranked #1 (tying with 2007)
• Average Maximum of 72.4°, ranked #4
• Average Minimum of 54.1°, ranked #1

 

The Top-5 Warmest Statewide October Averages for Maryland

Rank	Average Max. Temp.	Year	Average Min. Temp.	Year	Average Mean Temp.	Year
1	74.4°	2007	54.1°	2021	63.3°	2021
2	73.1°	1941	53.2°	1971	63.3°	2007
3	72.9°	1947	52.4°	1919	62.0°	1919
4	72.4°	2021	52.3°	2007	61.6°	1984
5	72.2°	1963	52.2°	1984	61.4°	1971, 1941

 

Maryland’s Climate Regions, by Counties:

• 1. Southern Eastern Shore: Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester
• 2. Central Eastern Shore: Caroline, Talbot, and Dorchester
• 3. Lower Southern: Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s
• 4. Upper Southern: Anne Arundel and Prince George’s
• 5. Northern Eastern Shore: Kent and Queen Anne’s
• 6. Northern Central: Baltimore City, Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Harford, Howard, and Montgomery
• 7. Appalachian Mountain: Allegany and Washington
• 8. Allegheny Plateau: Garrett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 2021 Rankings by Maryland Climate Region

Mean Temperatures 

#1 Warmest:

• Central Eastern Shore with 65.2°
• Lower Southern with 65.7°
• Upper Southern with 64.8°
• Allegheny Plateau with 56.6° (tying 1919)

 

#2 Warmest: 

• Southern Eastern Shore with 65.5°, behind 65.9° (2007)
• Northern Eastern Shore with 64.0°, behind the 64.1° (2007)  
• Northern Central with 62.2°, behind 62.7° (2007) 
• Appalachian Mountain with 60.2°, behind 60.6° (2007) 

 

Maximum Temperatures

#2 Warmest:

• Central Eastern Shore with 74.7°, behind 76.0° (1976)

#3 Warmest:

• Southern Eastern Shore with 74.6°, behind 76.0° (2007) and 75.2° (1942)
• Lower Southern with 74.6°, behind 76.3° (1941) and 75.9° (2007)
• Upper Southern with 74.1°, behind 75.4° (2007) and 74.4° (1941)

#4 Warmest:

• Northern Eastern Shore with 73.3°, behind 74.7° (2007), 74.0° (1947), and 73.9° (1941)

#5 Warmest:

• Northern Central with 71.4°, behind 73.9° (2007), 72.9° (1947), 72.5° (1963), and 72.2° (1941)

#14 Warmest:

• Appalachian Mountain with 69.8°, the warmest being 73.8° (1963)
• Allegheny Plateau with 65.2°, the warmest being 69.2° (1963 and 1947)

 

Minimum Temperatures

#1 Warmest:

• Central Eastern Shore with 55.6°, #2 at 55.3° (1971)
• Lower Southern with 56.7°, #2 at 55.8° (1971)
• Upper Southern with 55.5°, #2 at 54.8° (1971)
• Northern Eastern Shore with 54.8°, #2 at 54.0° (1971)
• Northern Central with 53.0°, #2 at 51.7° (1971)
• Appalachian Mountain with 50.7°, #2 at 48.9° (1984)
• Allegheny Plateau with 48.0°, #2 at 46.7° (1919)

#3 Warmest:

• Southern Eastern Shore with 56.4°, behind 57.3° (1971) and 57.1° (1919)

 

Baltimore – October 2021 Temperature Rankings

(as recorded at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (see Note 2, below)

• Average Mean Temperature: 64.7°, ranked #3, behind 65.1° (1941) and 64.9° (1947)
• Average Maximum Temperature: 74.2°, ranked #2 (tying 1941), behind 74.9° (2007)
• Average Minimum Temperature: 55.2°, ranked #8, the warmest being 56.9° (1949)

 

 

Source:

1. NOAA National Centers for Environmental information, Climate at a Glance: Statewide Time Series, published November 2021, retrieved on November 6, 2021 from; http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/
2. National Weather Service – Baltimore/Washington: https://www.weather.gov/lwx/
3. Maryland Climate Region Map from the Northeast Regional Climate Center (NRCC): http://www.nrcc.cornell.edu/regional/tables/tables.html

 

Notes:

1. Statewide & Climate Region data is created through the National Centers for Environmental Information’s “Climate at a Glance” website around the 5th day of each month and is subsequently updated as new data becomes available, therefore the data and rankings, shown above, could vary in future months with subsequent data. 
2. Data for Baltimore includes downtown locations (71/1871-7/1950), then Friendship/Baltimore-Washington International Airport (8/1950-Present). The differences in the weather instrument siting between the urban location and the airport often results in large temperature differences but the National Weather Service/National Centers for Environmental Information’s official long-term historical archive for Baltimore is maintained in this record.
3. The Maryland Climate Regions as determined by the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). 

 

Cover Photo courtesy of the “Allegheny Mountains Weather” Facebook page – Autumn colors above Muddy Creek Falls (Swallow Falls State Park), Garrett County, Maryland.