A relatively warm October, along with expanding drought conditions across the Lower Mississippi Valley, helped drop water levels to historic lows along parts of the Mississippi River, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Nov. 8 in a report.
Warm temperatures and lack of rainfall resulted in the expansion of drought coverage and intensity across parts of the Mississippi Valley, leading to record-low water levels along parts of the Mississippi River for the second year in a row.
The low water levels caused barges and ships to run aground during one of the busiest times of the year to ship grain and created saltwater intrusion concerns in southern Louisiana.
The U.S. also confirmed a record 25 disasters in the first 10 months of the year - the largest number for any year since NOAA has kept track of these events - 129 years.
The average October temperature across the contiguous U.S. was 56.1 degrees F, 2.0 degrees above the 20th-century average, which ranked as the 18th-warmest October.
Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas each ranked warmest on record for 2023.
U.S. precipitation for the year was 25.50 inches - 0.14 inch above average - ranking in the middle third of the January-October climate record. (Work Boat 11/08/23)
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