Big cities where October is mild and dry enough to be outside all day. 28 places with a guide of their own in North America were scored in October, and 8 rate Good or better. The six below lead, spread across the region.
The shortlist
- 188 · IdealSanta MonicaCalifornia, United States
Midday in October feels like 22°C under mostly clear skies, which rates 88, Ideal, for easy outdoors. Good weather here runs from April to mid December, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid October on the map.
- 273 · GoodParadiseNevada, United States
A typical midday in October feels like 21°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 73 over the stretch. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid October.
- 371 · GoodAtlantaGeorgia, United States
Rated 71 (Good) for easy outdoors in October: midday feels like 21°C, with partly cloudy skies. See mid October on the map.
- 467 · GoodMyrtle BeachSouth Carolina, United States
Midday in October feels like 23°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 67, Good, for easy outdoors. Open it on the map at mid October.
- 559 · GoodNashvilleTennessee, United States
A typical midday in October feels like 20°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 59 over the stretch. See mid October on the map.
- 659 · GoodLowerNew Jersey, United States
Rated 59 (Good) for easy outdoors in October: midday feels like 17°C, with partly cloudy skies. Open it on the map at mid October.
How this list is worked out
The data
Every figure comes from a decade of weather-station observations, blended into one typical year and read at midday, local solar time. Scores here are averaged in October; a city missing a reading for any part of that stretch is left out rather than scored on part of it.
The rating
Easy outdoors: A comfortable feels-like gates the score — best 16–26 °C for an easy day out (strolling, sitting out, sightseeing). Dryness matters most; strong wind knocks it back. Sun is a bonus, not required. A place is also left out when its typical readings contradict its own rating, for example a high score alongside frequent rain.
The spread
To keep one warm corner from filling the list, entries are at least 150 km apart, no more than three sit within 1,000 km of each other, and no more than three come from one country unless the list would otherwise run short.
Only places that draw visitors
Towns and cities with plenty of hotels, guest houses and holiday lets nearby for their size, or a great many of them in all, counted from Overture Maps Places, an open dataset. That keeps out places the weather favours but nobody travels to. Where two places share one resort or city, the one a visitor would name is kept.
The dotted links open the map at that place and time of year, on the same layer. The map remembers the time of day you last chose there; set it to midday to see these exact numbers.