NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

 

NOVEMBER 2019

 

3-9: In advance of a late-week surge of cold air, rain of amounts locally 1 to 2 inches or more fell from the southern Plains into the Ohio Valley.  Periods of rain also affected the Southeast and the western Gulf Coast region.  Meanwhile, snow fell across the North, mainly from the northern Plains into the Great Lakes region.  The most significant accumulations occurred at mid-week, when 2- to 6-inch totals were common across the northern Corn Belt.  Precipitation also fell in the Northeast, although heavy rain was generally confined to coastal New England.

 

Rain grazed the coastal Carolinas on November 5, when daily record totals included 1.40 inches in New Bern, NC, and 0.92 inch in North Myrtle Beach, SC.  Farther west, mid-week snow blanketed portions of the Great Lakes States.  Record-setting snowfall totals for November 6 reached 6.2 inches in Muskegon, MI; 4.5 inches in La Crosse, WI; and 4.1 inches in Rochester, MN.  Meanwhile, rain developed across the south-central U.S.  In Texas, daily-record totals for November 7 included 1.76 inches in Abilene and 0.71 inch in San Angelo.  On November 6-7, Midland, TX, received exactly an inch of rain.  Two-day (November 6-7) rainfall topped 2 inches in locations such as Harrison, AR (3.46 inches); Tulsa, OK (2.75 inches); and West Plains, MO (2.14 inches).  In contrast, a record-setting streak without measurable precipitation in Saint George, UT, reached 145 days (June 18 – November 9) and counting.

 

10-16: Snow preceded and accompanied a blast of cold air across the northern Plains, Midwest, and mid-South. In the Corn Belt region. Snow fell in advance of the blast of cold air. Havre, MT, received 7.7 inches of snow on November 9-10, aided by a daily-record sum (4.7 inches) on the latter date. On the 11th, Detroit, MI, experienced its snowiest November day on record. Detroit’s 8.5-inch total eclipsed the former mark of 6.2 inches, set on November 15, 1925. Elsewhere, record-setting snowfall totals for November 11 included 8.7 inches in Buffalo, NY; 8.6 inches in Flint, MI; 6.0 inches in South Bend, IN; 4.7 inches in Springfield, IL; 3.4 inches in Milwaukee, WI; and 2.9 inches in Des Moines, IA. In New York, Rochester received 16.7 inches of snow from November 11-13. In northern Maine, Caribou netted a daily-record snowfall (6.8 inches) on November 12. Elsewhere on the 12th, Southern snowfall totaled 1.7 inches in Knoxville, TN, and 1.2 inches in Jackson, KY. Meanwhile, late-week rainfall spread from southern Texas into the Southeast. From November 11-14, rainfall in Harlingen, TX, totaled 2.69 inches. Similarly, rainfall in Fort Lauderdale, FL, reached 4.58 inches from November 13-15. Jacksonville, FL, collected a recordsetting rainfall total (3.16 inches) for November 15. In Georgia, daily-record amounts included 4.04 inches (on November 16) in Savannah and 2.32 inches (on November 15) on Saint Simons Island. Savannah received 5.35 inches from November 14-16.

 

17-23: The Southwest’s most significant storm since spring 2019 delivered drought-easing precipitation in the southern Great Basin and parts of the Four Corners States. Heavy precipitation also fell in southern California. Despite the increase in Western storminess, above-normal temperatures continued. In addition, above-normal temperatures (5 to 10°F above normal in many areas) returned across the Plains, following a mid-November cold blast. Farther east, another round of rain further eased or eliminated any remaining pockets of Southeastern drought. The rain, which totaled 1 to 2 inches or more across the interior Southeast.  Early-week precipitation in the Pacific Northwest resulted in a daily-record total (2.09 inches) for November 17 in Quillayute, WA. Two days later, widespread precipitation developed across the Southwest. A record-setting, 155-day streak without measurable precipitation finally ended in Saint George, UT, as 1.29 inches fell in a 24-hour period on November 19-20. Elsewhere in Utah, Bryce Canyon Airport netted 1.85 inches in a 48-hour period from November 19-21. In northern Arizona, Flagstaff received 2.37 inches (6.6 inches of snow) on November 20-21. The 20th was a particularly wet day in several desert locations, including Kingman, AZ (0.83 inch), and Las Vegas, NV (0.67 inch). From November 19-21, totals in southern California reached 2.67 inches in Campo and 2.14 inches in Ramona. Meanwhile, heavy snow briefly affected northern New England, where Caribou, ME, reported a daily-record total (5.5 inches) for November 19. The National Weather Service office in Grand Forks, ND, achieved its wettest year on record when precipitation totaled 0.34 inch (1.0 inch of snow) on November 20. Prior to this year, Grand Forks’ wettest year had been 2016, when 31.27 inches fell. Through November 23, Grand Forks’ year-to-date total of 31.47 inches was 151 percent of normal. Late in the week, light snow fell across parts of the High Plains, while rain developed in the Southeast. On November 21-22, snowfall totaled 0.5 inch in Dalhart, TX. Later, record-setting rainfall totals for November 23 included 2.64 inches in Knox

 

24-30: A pair of Thanksgiving Week storms snarled holiday travel and resulted in a variety of weather hazards, including snow, rain, and high winds.  Snow blanketed higher elevations of California, the Great Basin, the Intermountain West, and the Southwest, while heavy showers sparked local flooding in valley locations.  However, significant precipitation bypassed much of the Northwest.  Both storm systems also produced wind driven snow across portions of the northern Plains and upper Midwest.  Meanwhile, weekly rainfall totals reached 2 to 4 inches or more across the lower Ohio Valley and parts of the interior Southeast.  Little rain fell, however, across the Deep South, leading to further intensification of short-term dryness from southern Texas to peninsular Florida.  Early in the week, a storm system departed the Northeast.  However, lingering precipitation on November 24 resulted in daily-record totals in Hartford, CT (1.27 inches), and Augusta, ME (1.06 inches).  Two days later, a storm developed across the nation’s mid-section.  In Nebraska, record setting snowfall totals for November 26 included 8.2 inches in Grand Island, 7.1 inches in Hastings, and 6.5 inches in Norfolk.  Peak wind gusts on the 26th in those locations reached 46, 48, and 47 mph, respectively.  Rochester, MN, received 6.8 inches of snow on November 26-27, accompanied by a northerly wind gust to 50 mph on the latter date.  In Michigan, Marquette reported its wettest November day on the 27th, with a 3.02-inch total (previously, 2.18 inches on November 6, 1988).  Marquette also received 16.4 inches of snow on the 27th.  Elsewhere in the Great Lakes region, November 27 featured daily-record precipitation totals in Alpena, MI (1.79 inches), and Rhinelander, WI (1.15 inches).  Farther south, peak wind gusts on the 27th were clocked to 63 mph in St. Louis, MO, and 56 mph in Dayton, OH.  Meanwhile, a new storm arrived in the West.  Along the Oregon coast, a wind gust to 106 mph was recorded on the 26th on Cape Blanco.  Elsewhere on November 26, gusts reached 66 mph in Montague, CA, and 64 mph in Amarillo, TX.  In northern California, Mt. Shasta City collected a daily-record total of 1.63 inches on November 26.  In southern California, Camarillo received 1.91 inches on November 27-28.  Record setting totals topped an inch in southern California locations such as Long Beach (2.18 inches on November 28), Riverside (1.44 inches on November 28), and Santa Barbara (1.08 inches on November 27).  Elsewhere in California, the wettest November on record occurred in Needles (2.69 inches; previously, 2.20 inches in 1905), while the snowiest November was reported in Bishop (6.8 inches; previously, 3.9 inches in 1964).  All of Bishop’s snow fell on November 27-28.  It was also the wettest November on record in Douglas, AZ (4.62 inches; previously, 3.35 inches in 1994), aided by a 2.19-inch deluge on the 27th.  The only wetter November day on record in Douglas occurred on November 11, 1994, when 2.35 inches fell.  Meanwhile, Flagstaff, AZ, reported precipitation totaling 2.95 inches (and 16.8 inches of snow) from November 28-30.  High winds again swept eastward, with Trinidad, CO, reporting a gust to 75 mph on November 29.  Elsewhere, late-November snow blanketed the North, while heavy showers swept across the South and lower Midwest.  Record-setting rainfall totals for November 30 reached 3.98 inches in Muscle Shoals, AL; 3.01 inches in Louisville, KY; and 2.91 inches in Evansville, IN.  In South Dakota, record-setting snowfall totals for November 30 included 14.5 inches in East Rapid City and 14.3 inches in Aberdeen.  East Rapid City also clocked a peak wind gust to 59 mph.  In Duluth, MN, precipitation on November 30 – December 1 totaled 1.40 inches, in the form of 21.7 inches of snow.

 

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