GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

NOVEMBER 2022

NORTH AMERICA

Significant cold is spreading widely across North America this weekend, having already affected northern and western parts so far this week.  During the night of 9 November, temperatures across central and western provinces of Canada, as well as many western states of the US, plummeted to at least 10C (18F) below normal, with some parts of Canada seeing temperatures as low as 20C (36F) below normal. Temperatures fell below zero across a large swathe of North America, from northern parts of Arizona and New Mexico up to much of Canada. Minimum temperatures of as low as -25C (-13F) to -30C (-22F) were recorded across many parts of western Canada. This weekend the cold will become extremely widespread and expand southwards and eastwards into eastern parts of the US as cold air plunges southwards on the west side of a north-eastward-moving area of low pressure. One location that is likely to see dramatic temperature changes as the frigid conditions continue into next week is Austin, Texas.  On Thursday, the city in southern Texas saw maximum temperatures into the high 20s celsius, but on Saturday will see maximum temperatures struggle to reach into the mid-teens.

UNITED STATES

At least two people have died and dozens more are injured after tornadoes ravaged parts of Texas, ARKANSAS and Oklahoma.  Several twisters caused property damage and physical injury across the various states on Friday. Tornado warnings had still been in effect as of late Friday in parts of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.  An early report from the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center found that nine tornadoes formed in Texas, four in Arkansas and one in Oklahoma, CNN reported.  Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced on social media that a 90 year old man was killed near the town of Idabel. A spokesperson for the state’s Department of Emergency Management, said the man’s body was found at his home. More than 60 homes were destroyed and 100 houses “affected” by the fit of extreme weather, officials told media.

The emergency declaration authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief in 11 counties hit by the lake-effect snowstorm on Friday and Saturday.   Neighbors Stephan Davis, left, and Star Haynes playfully spray one another with their snowblowers in the Elmwood neighborhood of Buffalo at the weekend. Photograph: Libby March/AP

The New York governor, Kathy Hochul, thanked Biden for granting her request for emergency aid, after she called on the national guard to help clear what she called an “epic snow event” in which the early season storm dumped what is typically a month’s worth of snow over the weekend.

More than 2,500 flights into or out of U.S. airports were delayed as of late Sunday morning during the post-Thanksgiving travel rush as severe weather, including rain, heavy winds and snow, swept through major cities.  Nearly 55 million people were expected to travel 50 miles or more from their homes this Thanksgiving weekend — “a 1.5% increase over 2021 and 98% of pre-pandemic volumes,” according to AA. In addition to the 2,564 flights delayed as of 2:30 p.m. ET, 63 U.S. flights had been canceled, according to FlightAware.com.  Wind advisories were in place Sunday for about 14 million people across the Ohio Valley and Southeast, including Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; and Asheville, North Carolina.  A wind gust of 53 mph was reported early Sunday morning in Kentucky. Gusts this afternoon will range from 25 to 35 mph.  On Sunday morning, rain pounded the Southeast, mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes regions, threatening morning travel for cities such as Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Nashville, Tennessee, and Charlotte, North Carolina.  This cluster of rain will continue to move to the Northeast, bringing the heaviest downpours to New York City, Washington, D.C., and Boston early to mid-afternoon Sunday.

The National Weather Service recorded 77in by Saturday in Orchard Park, home to the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, and 72in in Natural Bridge, a hamlet near Watertown off the eastern end of Lake Ontario.  The storm forced the Bills to move Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns to Detroit. More snow fell overnight on Sunday in some areas, but it stopped by daybreak on Monday. Schools remain closed.  The snowstorm was the worst in New York state since November 2014, when some communities south of Buffalo were hit with seven feet of snow over the course of three days.

Snow began falling in Buffalo and other parts of New York state Thursday as the area braced for a major winter storm that could bring as much as 4 feet of snow to the city.  Buffalo declared a state of emergency, and Gov. Kathy Hochul did the same for 11 counties in the western and northwestern part of the state near Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.  “This is a life-threatening storm,” Hochul said at a news conference, adding that state officials were prepared to conduct rescues.  Erie County, home to Buffalo, issued a driving ban.  "Only those authorized for emergency travel are to drive," County ExecutiveMark Poloncar tweeted, adding that the ban would be re-evaluated Friday.  The heaviest snow for the Buffalo area was expected Thursday night through Friday night, the National Weather Service said, when snow could fall at a rate of more than 3 inches per hour.  By early Friday the snow had begun piling up. West Seneca, a city adjacent to Buffalo, recorded a foot of snow by shortly after midnight, the National Weather Service said.  Commercial traffic was banned on parts of some major state roads, including the New York State Thruway, also known as Interstate 90. Sunday’s NFL game between the home team Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns was moving to Detroit.

CANADA

Significant cold is spreading widely across North America this weekend (12^th-13^th), having already affected northern and western parts so far this week.  During the night of 9 November, temperatures across central and western provinces of  Canada, as well as many western states of the US, plummeted to at least 10C (18F) below normal, with some parts of Canada seeing temperatures as low as 20C (36F) below normal.  Temperatures fell below zero across a large swathe of North America, from northern parts of Arizona and New Mexico up to much of Canada. Minimum temperatures of as low as -25C (-13F) to -30C (-22F) were recorded across many parts of western Canada.

This weekend the cold will become extremely widespread and expand southwards and eastwards into eastern parts of the US as cold air plunges southwards on the west side of a north-eastward-moving area of low pressure.

TROPICAL

A rare late-season hurricane is expected to hit Florida, after the Sunshine state dealt with the impact of Hurricane  Ian a month ago.  Tropical Storm Nicole is expected to make landfall in eastern Florida this week. As the storm continues to strengthen, it is expected to make landfall as a category 1 hurricane on Thursday morning, reported CNN citing the National Hurricane Center (NHC).  Heavy rainfall, coastal flooding, gale force winds and riptides will impact eastern Florida and the south-east US,” CNN meteorologist Robert Shackelford said. The storm threat left much of Florida’s Atlantic coast under a storm surge warning. And a spokesperson for the NHC in Miami warned that Nicole’s effects would be felt far out from where it makes land, as the system has “a very large cyclonic envelope”. Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, ordered a state of emergency for 34 counties in central and eastern Florida as Nicole approaches, the Tampa Bay Times reported.  “While this storm does not, at this time, appear that it will become much stronger, I urge all Floridians to be prepared and to listen to announcements from local emergency management officials,” DeSantis said in a statement.  DeSantis’s statement added: “We will continue to monitor the trajectory and strength of this storm as it moves towards Florida.”