NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

 

NOVEMBER 2014

 

1-8…As the week began; snow blanketed the southern Appalachians and developed in New England. November 1-2 snowfall totaled 18 inches atop Mt. Mitchell, NC, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River, and 12 inches at Newfound Gap on the NC/TN border in the Great Smoky Mountains. Farther north, daily record snowfall totals for November 2 in Maine included 12.0 inches in Bangor and 10.1 inches in Caribou. Elsewhere in New England, a trace of snow fell on November 2 in Boston, MA, and Providence, RI. High winds accompanied the Northeastern storm, with a gust to 63 mph clocked on November 2 in Nantucket, MA. Meanwhile, heavy precipitation overspread the Northwest, where Quillayute, WA, collected a daily-record rainfall (4.20 inches) for November 3. Precipitation also reached portions of the High Plains, where record-setting totals for November 3 included 0.74 inch (including 3.1 inches of snow) in Cheyenne, WY, and 0.59 inch (1.1 inches of snow) in Scottsbluff, NE. By November 4, heavy rain arrived in parts of Texas, where record-setting daily amounts reached 2.01 inches in Lubbock and 2.48 inches in San Angelo. Lubbock’s November 3-4 rainfall climbed to 2.89 inches. Rain lingered for several days in parts of southern and eastern Texas, resulting in additional daily record totals in locations.

Remnant moisture from a former eastern Pacific hurricane contributed to heavy showers in the southwestern or south-central U.S. This time, Hurricane Vance largely dissipated before reaching the Pacific Coast of Mexico. However, the interaction between Pacific tropical moisture and a North American cold front led to rainfall totals in excess of 2 inches across parts of Texas, and produced at least an inch of rain as far east as the Tennessee Valley. In areas of the southern Plains that had trended dry in recent weeks, the early- November rainfall promoted winter wheat establishment. Little or no precipitation fell across the remainder of the country, except for some heavy showers in the Pacific Northwest.

 

16-22…Widespread precipitation occurred early in the week and again toward week’s end across the South, East, and lower Midwest. Much of the early week precipitation fell as snow, leaving just over half of the contiguous U.S. covered by shallow to moderately deep snow on November 17-18. Downwind of the Great Lakes, extremely heavy but localized snow caused travel disruptions. Weekly rainfall totaled 2 inches or more from eastern Texas to the southern Appalachians. Farther west, cold, dry weather dominated the nation’s midsection until week’s end, when heavy rain (locally 2 inches or more) developed across portions of the southern Plains. The rain provided beneficial moisture for rangeland, pastures, and winter grains, but mostly bypassed the High Plains. Elsewhere, widespread rain and snow showers developed after mid-week across northern California and the Northwest. The precipitation continued to chip away at long-term drought in northwestern California and the interior Northwest, but did not reach into southern California or the Southwest. Somewhat heavier snow blanketed the Ohio Valley on November 17, when daily-record amounts reached 4.9 inches in Cincinnati, OH, and 3.3 inches in Louisville, KY. On the same date, heavy rain lingered along the northern Atlantic Coast, resulting in daily record totals at New York’s Central Park (1.54 inches) and Providence, RI (1.50 inches). By November 18, heavy snow downwind of the Great Lakes led to a daily record total of 9.6 inches in Grand Rapids, MI. Buffalo, NY, received a weekly snowfall of 16.9 inches, aided by a daily record sum of 7.6 inches on November 19. Much heavier snow fell downwind of Lake Erie just south of Buffalo, where weekly totals of at least 5 to 6 feet were common in parts of Erie and Wyoming Counties. Through week’s end, November snowfall records had already been established in locations such as Rhinelander, WI (23.9 inches), and Grand Rapids, MI (29.0 inches). Toward week’s end, rain and snow arrived in the Northwest, accompanied by high winds. A wind gust to 82 mph was clocked on November 21 at Sea Lion Caves near Florence, OR. Daily record precipitation totals included 0.70 inch (on November 21) in Omak, WA, and 0.57 inch (on November 22) in Stanley, ID.

Meanwhile, late-week mountain snowfall totals of 1 to 2 feet or more were common from the Pacific Northwest to the northern and central Rockies. Elsewhere, heavy rain returned to the South, where record setting amounts for November 22 totaled 2.80 inches in Wichita Falls, TX, and 1.79 inches in Tallahassee, FL.

 

23-30…Widespread rain fell across the eastern one-third of the U.S. early in the week, followed by a transition to snow showers in the Midwest. In addition, a pre-Thanksgiving storm produced heavy precipitation, including some snow, in the East. Weekly rainfall totaled 2 inches or more in the Southeast. Precipitation was especially heavy, locally totaling 4 inches or more, in the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies. In northern

California, late-week showers provided little relief from historic drought.

Widespread rainfall accompanied the early week Southern and Eastern warmth. On November 23, daily record precipitation amounts reached 3.37 inches in Lake Charles, LA; 2.49 inches in Macon, GA; and 2.43 inches in Greenville-Spartanburg, SC. Heavy rain also extended into the Midwest, where record-setting totals for November 23 included 1.91 inches in Indianapolis, IN, and 1.16 inches in Grand Rapids, MI. Precipitation lingered across Michigan into November 24, when record-setting totals reached 1.04 inches in Muskegon and 1.01 inches in Lansing. Meanwhile, Midwestern precipitation changed to snow, leading to record-setting amounts for November 24 in Wisconsin locations such as Madison (5.3 inches) and La Crosse (2.2 inches). Farther south, heavy rain developed across parts of Florida, resulting in daily-record totals for November 25 in Daytona Beach (6.22 inches) and Tampa (3.63 inches). By November 26, an East Coast storm produced additional heavy rain, along with locally more than a foot of snow from the eastern slopes of the central Appalachians northeastward into Maine. Daily-record rainfall totals for the 26th reached 2.85 inches in Ft. Myers, FL, and 1.79 inches in Norfolk, VA. Meanwhile, record-setting snowfall amounts for November 26 reached 10.3 inches in Concord, NH; 9.6 inches in Albany, NY; 5.3 inches in Worcester, MA; and 4.9 inches in Allentown, PA. Snow squalls returned to the Great Lakes region, resulting in a daily-record total of 11.0 inches (on November 27) in Alpena, MI. In addition, November snowfall records were broken in locations such as Marquette, MI (53.0 inches), and Rhinelander, WI (32.4 inches). During the mid- to late-week period, several rounds of precipitation pushed inland across the Northwest, accompanied by locally high winds. Billings, MT, measured daily-record snowfall totals (6.2 and 4.4 inches, respectively) on November 26 and 29. Elsewhere in Montana, record-setting snowfall totals for November 29 included 6.1 inches in both Helena and Great Falls. Meanwhile in Wyoming, peak wind gusts on November 29 were clocked to 64 mph in Buffalo and 63 mph in Lander.

 

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.jimmunleywx.com