Another Unusual Month
Submitted by Bill Caulfeild-Browne
At the Men’s Breakfast the other day one of my friends commented that my columns always seem to headline “another warm month”. Well, he’s right – and so am I. With the exception of June and July, which were essentially normal, every month this year has been distinctly warmer than its 20th century equivalent.
But I’m starting this column with the word “unusual” – because it was not only warmer, it was by far the warmest month of 2025 compared to the norm. The mean temperature was 11.8C, or 2.8C higher than one would expect. Still, it wasn’t a record. October 1920 hit 12.9C or 3.9C above normal.
The warmth was due to a preponderance of winds from the south, bringing lots of sunshine – the second sunniest October I have recorded. Rain was about normal at 80mm, 46mm of it in the period of the 19th to 22nd.
Tobermory was not alone. Early in the month the warmth covered the whole province, led by the north where Kapuskasing reached 29.7C. Our high was 25.2C.
The coolest week was the last, where Wiarton set a new record of -4.4C! Here on Big Tub we saw frost on roofs but the air temperature didn’t go below +1.2C. At the airport, away from the lake, the mercury did drop below freezing, to -1.4C.
All in all, it was a lovely October – and November has started out quite well too. The only problem is that despite a reasonably wet month, our very dry September caused many leaves, in some areas, to crinkle, dry and fall ahead of time. But we’re grateful for the warmth.
