The past October has global warming advocates scratching their heads as record lows became the norm across the country.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that, on average, the mainland US was the third coolest on record. Average temperatures were 4 degrees Fahrenheit below the long term average. Average rainfall was 4.15, twice the long term average of 2.04 inches.

October 2009 featured an active weather pattern that reinforced cold spells well below normal in all regions except the Southeast which held near normal temperatures for the month.

The following statistics were made available on the NOAA website:

Oklahoma recorded its coldest October on record while the month ranked in the top five coldest ever for Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming

Florida was the only state to record an above normal temperature average in October and it was also the sixth month that the state had above normal temperature averages.

The nationwide average precipitation of 4.15 inches nearly doubled the long-term average. This was the first month since December 2007 that no region in the United States recorded below normal precipitation.

Iowa, Arkansas, and Louisiana recorded their wettest October while only Florida, Utah, and Arizona had below normal precipitation.

About 45 percent of the contiguous United States had moderately-to-extremely wet conditions at the end of October, according to the Palmer Index. This is the largest such footprint since February 2005.

Moderate-to-exceptional drought covered 12 percent of the contiguous United States, the second-smallest drought footprint of the decade, based on the U.S. Drought Monitor. Major drought episodes in California and South Texas improved significantly. Drought conditions, however, emerged across much of Arizona.

Two major snow storms hit the Upper Midwest and the western Plains states. By month’s end, 13.6 percent of the nation was under snow cover, according to NOAA’s National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center.

Cheyenne, Wyo., tallied 28 inches of snow in October, making this the city’s snowiest October on record. North Platte, Neb., recorded 30.3 inches of snow, making October 2009 the snowiest month ever for the city.