October 1
edit1976: Hurricane Liza, the third-deadliest Pacific hurricane on record, killed more than 600 people in northwestern Mexico.
October 2
edit1970: A weak but wet tropical depression began to drop heavy rain across the northeastern Caribbean Sea; particularly in Puerto Rico. Parts of the island would receive more than 40 inches (1,000 mm) of rain over the next week, the most on record for any tropical cyclone in the area.
October 3
edit1970: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was formed.
October 4
edit2013: An intense storm system dropped up to 58 inches (150 cm) of snow in western South Dakota, and spawned several significant tornadoes elsewhere in the central United States.
October 5
edit1851: The Yankee Gale came to an end after sinking 74 ships in three days, drowning 150 crew members.
October 6
edit2008: Tropical Storm Marco formed in the Bay of Campeche, Marco had tropical-storm-force winds extending only 11.5 miles (18.5 km) from the center of the storm, making it the smallest tropical cyclone on record.
October 7
edit2003: Hurricane Olaf made landfall near Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). No damage was reported.
October 8
edit1881: The deadliest typhoon in history destroyed the port city of Haiphong, Vietnam (then Dai Nam), killing around 300,000 people.
October 9
edit1804: A hurricane brought strong winds, heavy rain and, unusually, heavy snow to parts of the eastern United States.
October 10
edit2018: Hurricane Michael, the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the United States since Hurricane Camille in 1969, made landfall in Mexico Beach, Florida, destroying most of the town.
October 11
edit1846: A major hurricane made landfall near Havana, Cuba, killing hundreds of people.
October 12
edit1962: The Columbus Day Storm brought damaging winds of more than 100 mph (160 km/h) to a large area of the Pacific Northwest.
October 13
edit1998: Typhoon Zeb reached peak intensity east of the Philippines, with maximum sustained winds of 180 miles per hour (290 km/h). The storm would make landfall near Ilagan the next day, killing more than 100 people.
October 14
edit1982: Typhoon Nancy made landfall on Luzon, Philippines, killing more than 100 people.
October 15
edit1969: Hurricane Inga dissipated well southeast of Bermuda, 25 days after it formed. This made it the third-longest-lived tropical cyclone on record for the North Atlantic.
October 16
edit1975: GOES-1, the first Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite was launched to observe cloud patterns, surface temperatures, and other atmospheric trends best viewed from space.
October 17
edit1091: One of the earliest recorded tornadoes killed two people in London.
October 18
edit1906: A major hurricane struck southern Florida, killing more than 200 people.
October 19
edit1983: Hurricane Tico made landfall near Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, killing more than 130 people
October 20
edit2004: Typhoon Tokage made landfall on southern Japan, killing 95 people.
October 21
edit1638: A severe storm known as The Great Thunderstorm produced an occurrence of what may have been ball lightning in a church in Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor, England, killing four people.
October 22
edit2010: Cyclone Giri made landfall northwest of Kyaukpyu, Myanmar, killing 157 people.
October 23
edit1091: The London tornado of 1091, the earliest and possibly strongest know tornado in the history of the British Isles, hit downtown London, killing two people.
October 24
edit1988: The passenger ferry MV Doña Marilyn sank while sailing from Manila to Tacloban, Philippines during Typhoon Ruby, killing at least 77 passengers, though there were reports of almost 400 killed. The storm also killed more than 200 people elsewhere in the Philippines.
October 25
edit1921: A major hurricane made landfall near Tarpon Springs, Florida. As of 2018 this was the last major hurricane to hit the Tampa Bay area.
October 26
edit1978: Typhoon Rita made landfall over Luzon, Philippines, killing more than 300 people and leaving 200,000 homeless.
October 27
edit1959: An unnamed hurricane, the deadliest and one of the strongest ever to make landfall in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, struck Mexico near Manzanillo, Colima, killing around 1800 people.
October 28
edit1996: The extratropical remnants of Hurricane Lili struck Great Britain, causing ₤150 million in damage and killing two people.
October 29
edit1999: The strongest tropical cyclone on record in the North Indian Ocean made landfall in Odisha, India, killing nearly 10,000 people.
October 30
edit2010: Hurricane Tomas passed through the Windward Islands, killing 14 people. This was the latest on record that a hurricane has affected the area.
October 31
edit1994: American Eagle Flight 4184 encountered freezing rain while approaching O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois. The plane crashed after undergoing heavy icing, killing all 68 people aboard.