NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

 

NOVEMBER 2017

 

1-4: The Northern precipitation—including widespread snow—boosted soil moisture in areas still experiencing drought. Cold air moved into the Plains but prior to that frigid reading, Great Falls, MT, had received 11.1 inches of snow from November 1-3.  Much (7.4 inches) of Great Falls’ snow fell on the 1st, representing the snowiest 24-hour November period in that location since November 8-9, 2012, when 14.0 inches accumulated.  Elsewhere in Montana, snowfall during the first 4 days of November totaled 12.5 inches in Bozeman; 8.6 inches in Billings; and 6.5 inches in Helena.  Snow also spread eastward across the nation’s northern tier, resulting in daily-record totals in locations such as St. Cloud, MN (4.0 inches on November 3), and Rhinelander, WI (4.3 inches on November 4).  On November 4, International Falls, MN, reported a daily-record precipitation total of 0.60 inch, in the form of 6.0 inches of snow.  Meanwhile, selected daily record precipitation totals in the Northwest included 0.56 inch (on November 3) in Klamath Falls, OR, and 0.46 inch (on November 4) in Laramie, WY.  Farther east, the week had opened with a powerful storm lashing the Northeast.  Record setting rainfall totals for October 29 included 4.02 inches in Islip, NY; 3.86 inches in Newark, NJ; 3.33 inches in Williamsport, PA; 3.00 inches in Bridgeport, CT; and 2.51 inches in Worcester, MA. 

 

5-11: Early in the week, heavy showers and locally severe thunderstorms swept across the lower Midwest.  During the afternoon and evening of November 5, as many as two dozen tornadoes were reported from southern Illinois to northwestern Pennsylvania.  One EF-2 tornado, with maximum winds estimated at 120 mph, struck the community of Celina in Mercer County, OH, resulting in eight injuries.  Later, another EF2 twister, with winds of more than 130 mph, cut a 39-mile path from near Eaton, Delaware County, IN, to just west of Celina, OH.  Elsewhere in Ohio, daily-record rainfall totals for November 5 were set in Dayton (3.57 inches) and Columbus (1.72 inches).  On November 6, daily-record amounts reached 2.04 inches in Parkersburg, WV, and 1.72 inches in Nashville, TN.  Heavy rain lingered in Tennessee into November 7, when daily-record totals included 2.85 inches in Crossville and 1.76 inches in Nashville.  The 2-day total in Nashville climbed to 3.48 inches.  Meanwhile, unsettled weather persisted in the Northwest.  Spokane, WA, netted a daily-record snowfall (3.2 inches) on the 5th, and received 7.2 inches from November 3-6.  Seattle, WA, also collected a daily record snowfall (0.4 inch) for November 5.  Meanwhile, snowfall in Montana during the first 6 days of November totaled 14.5 inches in Bozeman, 12.7 inches in Great Falls, and 12.1 inches in Billings.  Later, rain mixed with some snow fell across Texas as colder air arrived.  Dalhart, TX, reported 2.3 inches of snow on November 78.  Late in the week, snow squalls developed downwind of the Great Lakes, while storminess returned to the Northwest.  In Michigan, Sault Sainte Marie measured a daily-record snowfall (5.0 inches) for November 9.  A day later, record-setting precipitation totals for November 10 included 0.47 inch in Ontario, OR, and 0.26 inch in Stanley, ID.

 

12-18: Heavy precipitation fell in the Midwest. Weekly rainfall totaled 1 to 3 inches or more across much of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, but little or no precipitation fell in the upper Midwest.  A broader area, reaching into the mid-South and the middle and northern Atlantic States, received generally light rain, causing only minor fieldwork delays.  Meanwhile, precipitation fell throughout northern and central California and the Northwest, boosting high-elevation snowpack; benefiting falls own crops; and helping to alleviate the effects of a hot, dry summer.  However, some Northwestern rangeland and pastures will likely need additional time, into the 2018 growing season, to exhibit full recovery from last summer’s heat and drought. Early in the week, a high wind event accompanied wet weather in the Northwest.  On November 13, wind gusts were clocked to 64 mph in Hoquiam, WA, and 57 mph in Astoria, OR.  Meanwhile, locally heavy rain dampened southern Texas, where McAllen collected a daily-record sum (2.19 inches) for November 13.  At mid-week, wet weather continued in the Northwest, while the first of two significant precipitation events affected the Great Lakes region.  On November 15, Redding, CA, received 1.83 inches of rain, while daily-record totals in Michigan included 1.77 inches in Sault Sainte Marie and 1.46 inches in Alpena.  Northwestern precipitation spread farther inland on November 16, when daily record amounts reached 0.98 inch in Lake Yellowstone, WY; 0.81 inch in Reno, NV; and 0.64 inch in Pocatello, ID.  With that rain, Reno secured its wettest calendar year on record; the 13.40-inch total through November 16 was 225 percent of normal, surpassing 13.23 inches during all of 1983.  On November 17, rain and high elevation snow moved farther southeastward across the West, accompanied by more high winds.  In Colorado, a wind gust to 102 mph was reported on November 17 at Monarch Pass, while Gothic received 11 inches of snow.  Salt Lake City, UT, measured a daily-record rainfall (0.92 inch) for November 17.  By the 18th, heavy rain erupted across the lower Great Lakes States, while thunderstorms spawned at least a half-dozen tornadoes in Kentucky and Tennessee.  Record-setting rainfall totals for November 18 reached 2.96 inches in Fort Wayne, IN; 1.99 inches in Detroit, MI; and 1.72 inches in Lincoln, IL.  It was also Fort Wayne’s wettest November day on record, eclipsing 2.53 inches on November 29, 2011.

 

19-25: Early-week precipitation fell from the lower Great Lakes region into the Northeast, resulting in daily-record totals for November 19 in locations such as Caribou, ME (0.77 inch), and Watertown, NY (0.69 inch).  Windy weather and snow showers trailed the rain, with Albany, NY, reporting a daily-record (westerly) wind gust to 56 mph on the 19th.  A trace of snow fell on November 20 at Central Park in New York City, tying a daily record.  Meanwhile, heavy precipitation spread from the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies, accompanied by high winds.  On November 20 in western Montana, a wind gust to 93 mph was reported by an automated weather station in Glacier County, south-southwest of Browning, while a gust to 82 mph was clocked in Chouteau County, near Fort Benton.  Farther west, Quillayute, WA, collected a daily-record rainfall total (2.54 inches) on November 21.  Quillayute also received measurable rain each day from November 19-25, totaling 8.74 inches.  Periods of rain in northern Florida led to daily-record totals in locations such as Jacksonville (1.68 inches on November 21) and Gainesville (2.53 inches on Thanksgiving Day, November 23).

 

26-30: Significant precipitation was again limited to the Northwest, although rain and high elevation snow briefly spread as far south as northern and central California.  Nearly all other areas, including the Plains, Midwest, Southwest, and East, received little or no precipitation.  Across a vast area stretching from the Southwest into the middle and lower Mississippi Valley, as well as portions of the Atlantic Coast States remained dry.

 

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