...1492... Columbus made landfall on San Salvador Island under clear skies. Fortunately, he met no hurricanes on the first voyage through March of 1493, although the "Santa Maria" was wrecked on a reef off of Cuba.
...1780... Solano's Storm prevented the Spanish admiral from attacking Pensacola, Florida.
...1920... At Newport, Rhode Island the heat index peaked at 80 degrees, setting a record for the date.
...1934... A severe windstorm lashed the northern Pacific coast. In Washington State, the storm claimed the lives of 22 persons, and caused 1.7 million dollars damage, mostly to timber. Winds, gusting to 87 mph at North Head WA, produced waves twenty feet high.
...1944... The remnants of Hurricane # 11 passed between Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island on the 21st and 2nd. Newport, Rhode Island recorded rain totals of 2.20 inches and a low barometer of 29.45 inches.
...1957... The second in a series of unusual October storms hit southern California causing widespread thunderstorms. Santa Maria was drenched with 1.13 inches of rain in two hours. Hail drifted to 18 inches in East Los Angeles. Waterspouts were sighted off Point Mugu and Oceanside. (20th-21st)
...1987... Cold arctic air continued to invade the central U.S. Eleven record lows were reported in the Great Plains Region, including lows of 12 degrees at Valentine NE, and 9 degrees at Aberdeen SD. Temperatures warmed rapidly during the day in the Southern and Central Plains Region. Goodland KS warmed from a morning low of 24 degrees to an afternoon high of 75 degrees.
...1988... Joan, the last hurricane of the season, neared the coast of Nicaragua packing 125 mph winds. Joan claimed more than 200 lives as she moved over Central America, and total damage approached 1.5 billion dollars. Crossing more than 40 degrees of longitude, Hurricane Joan never strayed even one degree from the 12 degree north parallel.
...1989... Unseasonably cold weather continued to grip the south central and southeastern U.S. Twenty cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including Calico AR with a reading of 26 degrees, and Daytona Beach FL with a low of 41 degrees. Squalls in the Great Lakes Region finally came to an end, but not before leaving Marquette MI buried under 12.7 inches of snow, a record 24 hour total for October.