Lancaster weather in October

In October, Lancaster sees average daytime highs of 64°F and overnight lows near 45°F, with 3.1 in of precipitation across 9.4 wet days and about 10.9 hours of daylight. It is the 6th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 70°F in the first days to 58°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in October, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 36 min at the start of October to 10 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, October is Lancaster's 4th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Lancaster's year-round climate.

Daytime high
64°
6th warmest
Overnight low
45°
7th coldest
Precipitation
3.1 in
9.4 wet days
Daylight
10 h 54 min
6:47 AM – 5:43 PM
Cloud cover
56%
4th clearest
Wind
7 mph
7th windiest
Solar energy
3.22 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.8
out of 10

Lancaster is city in Fairfield County, Ohio, United States.

Density
812/km²
people per km²
Founded
1800

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in October

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 70°F in the first days to 58°F by the end.

A typical October day in Lancaster reaches about 64°F in the afternoon and slips back to 45°F overnight — a 19°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 52°F and 76°F. Set against its neighbours, October runs about 12°F cooler than September and about 13°F warmer than November.

20°40°60°80°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
17151
27051
37050
47050
56949
66949
76849
86848
96748
106747
116747
126647
136546
146546
156546
166445
176445
186344
196344
206244
216243
226143
236143
246042
256042
266042
275941
285941
295841
305840
315840

How October really feels in Lancaster

Once humidity and wind are folded in, October averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 0 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
0
wind chill below the day's low

October sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Lancaster weather by month

How October compares with the rest of the year at a glance. October is the 6th-warmest and 12th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan37° / 23°3.611.25.69.50.0
Feb41° / 25°3.1104.410.40.2
Mar51° / 33°4.311.62.611.72.3
Apr63° / 44°4.712.60.5135.0
May72° / 53°4.713.6014.26.1
Jun80° / 62°4.312.2014.86.1
Jul83° / 66°3.811.8014.55.5
Aug83° / 64°3.210.2013.66.1
Sep76° / 57°3.28.3012.37.1
Oct64° / 45°3.19.40.210.95.8
Nov51° / 35°3.39.519.82.6
Dec41° / 28°3.610.53.29.20.2

Cloud cover in October

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in October.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of October, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 51%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15446
25446
35446
45446
55347
65446
75347
85347
95248
105347
115248
125149
135149
145149
155050
165050
174951
184951
194852
204753
214654
224654
234555
244555
254555
264456
274456
284456
294456
304456
314456

Chance of precipitation in October

Any precipitationSnow

Lancaster gets around 3.1 in of rain and snow over 9.4 wet days in October, the driest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 30% and peaks near 33% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1280
2270
3270
4270
5270
6270
7270
8280
9280
10280
11290
12290
13290
14300
15300
16310
17310
18320
19320
20330
21331
22331
23331
24331
25331
26331
27331
28321
29321
30312
31312

Humidity in October

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of October feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, October lands in the dry band about 83% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
16816124
26916114
37015114
47115104
5731593
6731593
7751483
8751483
9761473
10781372
11791362
12801262
13821251
14831151
15851041
16851041
1788930
1888930
1988930
2090820
2190820
2291720
2391720
2492620
2593610
2693610
2793610
2893610
2994510
3094510
3194510

Wind in October

Winds average 7 mph in October.

Across October, daily wind ranges from about 6 mph on the calmest days to 7 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
16calm
26calm
36calm
46calm
56calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in October

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 36 min at the start of October to 10 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 78 minutes over October. Sunrise moves from 6:32 AM to 7:04 AM, and sunset from 6:07 PM to 5:24 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
111.66:326:07
211.56:336:05
311.56:346:04
411.56:356:02
511.46:366:00
611.46:375:59
711.36:385:57
811.36:395:56
911.26:405:54
1011.26:415:53
1111.16:425:51
1211.16:435:49
1311.16:445:48
1411.06:455:46
1511.06:465:45
1610.96:475:43
1710.96:485:42
1810.86:505:41
1910.86:515:39
2010.86:525:38
2110.76:535:36
2210.76:545:35
2310.66:555:34
2410.66:565:32
2510.66:575:31
2610.56:585:30
2710.57:005:29
2810.47:015:27
2910.47:025:26
3010.47:035:25
3110.37:045:24

Solar energy in October

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in October, about 3.22 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.61 kWh/m² to a high of 6.19 kWh/m² in June across the year — October's 3.22 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
13.9Moderate
23.8Moderate
33.8Moderate
43.8Moderate
53.7Moderate
63.7Moderate
73.6Moderate
83.6Moderate
93.6Moderate
103.5Moderate
113.5Moderate
123.4Moderate
133.4Moderate
143.3Moderate
153.3Moderate
163.2Moderate
173.2Moderate
183.1Moderate
193.1Moderate
203.0Moderate
213.0Moderate
223.0Moderate
232.9Moderate
242.9Moderate
252.8Moderate
262.8Moderate
272.7Moderate
282.7Moderate
292.7Moderate
302.6Moderate
312.6Moderate
Planning a trip in October

Is October a good time to visit Lancaster?

Our two travel scores rate October for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

5.8
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
2.1
Beach & pool
6th-best month of the year

October is a reasonable time to visit Lancaster for sightseeing.

What to pack for Lancaster in October

From October's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In October, Lancaster sees daytime highs around 64°F and nights near 45°F. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Lancaster in October

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in October peaks around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Lancaster peaks around June 20 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 20UV 9Dec 23UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Air quality in Lancaster in October

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where October falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Lancaster is worst in July — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.3× the cleanest month (October, 7 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1117 µg/m³Oct 247 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan9Good
Feb11Good
Mar11Good
Apr11Good
May14Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul17Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct7Good
Nov7Good
Dec8Good
Location & terrain

Where is Lancaster?

Lancaster sits at 39.7°N, 82.6°W, 879 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Pickerington, 14 mi away.

Topography around Lancaster

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Lancaster.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Lancaster has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 390 ft around an average of 889 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 548 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 925 ft.

The land around Lancaster is covered by trees (45%), grassland (26%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 2 miles, trees (42%), cropland (36%) and grassland (20%) within 10 miles, and trees (55%) and cropland (27%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
390 ft
10 miles
548 ft
50 miles
925 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
October weather nearby: Pickerington 14 mi · Pataskala 20 mi · Reynoldsburg 20 mi · Whitehall 23 mi · Gahanna 26 mi · Newark 26 mi · Columbus 27 mi · Grove City 29 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Lancaster (39.7137°, -82.5993°, elevation 879 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).