NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY

NOVEMBER 2024

Oct. 27-Nov. 2: Dry weather lingered in much of the eastern U.S., with some locations in the middle and southern Atlantic States—excluding Florida’s peninsula—having not reported measurable rain since late September. Eastern dryness-related concerns included a locally elevated wildfire threat and a lack of topsoil moisture.

Dry weather continued in the East, record-shattering streaks without measurable rain stretched to 35 days by November 2 in locations such as Philadelphia, PA, and Wilmington, DE. Previous records had been 29 days (October 11 – November 8, 1874) in Philadelphia and 34 days (January 7 – February 9, 1909) in Wilmington. In Georgetown, DE, where measurable rain last fell on September 27, the 36-day dry spell broke the record of 34 days, set from October 17 – November 19, 2001. With rain having not yet reached much of the eastern U.S. by the end of the month, it became the driest October and month on record in numerous locations across the middle Atlantic States. Only a trace of October rain fell in Wilmington and Georgetown, DE; Trenton and Newark, NJ; and Philadelphia, PA—the first time on record in all five cities that a month featured no measurable precipitation. Many communities across the Plains, South, and Midwest were also on track for a record-dry October, until the end of the month. Lafayette, LA, received no measurable rain on 36 consecutive days starting September 25, but received 4.11 inches on the final day of October. Meridian, MS, had a completely dry October until 2.81 inches fell on the month’s final day. Still, late-month rain bypassed several Southern locations, with only a trace of October rain reported in Austin and College Station, TX; Atlanta, Augusta, and Macon, GA; and Columbia, SC.

3-9: Portions of the remainder of the eastern U.S. remained dry, as record-setting streaks without measurable rain reached 6 weeks in some locations. Additionally, there was an increase in Northeastern wildfire activity, especially late in the week. Meanwhile, much of the West experienced cool, dry weather, with notable exceptions.

rain and snow showers stretched from the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies, while heavy snow blanketed parts of the Southwest, extending as far east as the central and southern High Plains. In southern California, offshore winds fanned several blazes, including the Mountain Fire near Camarillo. Cooler-than-normal conditions dominated the West, with weekly temperatures averaging more than 10°F below normal in parts of Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. Conversely, weekly temperatures averaged more than 5°F above normal throughout the eastern half of the country, except in northern New England. Readings averaged at least 10 to 15°F above normal in a broad area stretching from the Gulf Coast northward into portions of the Great Lakes States. Early in the week, November temperature records were tied or broken in numerous Southern and Eastern locations, including Baton Rouge, LA (91°F on the 4th); Tallahassee, FL (89°F on the 5th); and Huntington, WV (86°F on the 5th). The record in Huntington had been on the books since November 7, 1938, when it was also 86°F. Numerous records were also broken, especially in the Northeast, for the warmest weather so late in the year. For example, Pittsburgh, PA (81°F on the 5th), tied a record for its latest 80-degree reading, previously set on November 5, 1948, with a high of 80°F. On November 6, the high of 81°F in Poughkeepsie, NY, set record for the latest reading above the 80-degree mark (previously, 82°F on November 2, 1950). At the height of the warm spell, elevated temperatures lasted through the night, or several nights, with locations such as Paducah, KY (71°F on the 4th), and Cape Girardeau, MO (70°F on the 4th) reporting minimum temperatures of 70°F or higher for the first time on record during November. Indianapolis, IN, notched consecutive minima of 63°F on November 4 and 5, twice tying a monthly record originally set on November 6, 1924. In Florida, Tallahassee posted lows of 75°F each day from November 6-8, tying a monthly standard month recently attained on November 2, 2015. During the second half of the week, unusual warmth lingered across the South. In southern Texas, Laredo collected consecutive daily-record highs (95 and 97°F, respectively) on November 3-4, followed by another record (93°F) on November 7. Elsewhere on the 7th, daily-record highs soared to 85°F as far north as Virginia locations such as Danville, Lynchburg, and Richmond. In contrast, chilly Southwestern weather led to consecutive daily-record lows (28 and 22°F, respectively) in Douglas, AZ, on November 7 and 8. Paso Robles, CA, posted a daily-record low of 30°F on the 8th.

10-16: Rain shifted eastward, following the previous week’s heavy precipitation across the nation’s mid-section. However, aside from locally heavy precipitation in the middle Atlantic States, significant rain bypassed the East. Consequently, an elevated wildfire threat plagued parts of the Northeast, with the Jennings Creek Fire near West Milford, NJ, charring nearly 2,300 acres of vegetation in Passaic County and more than 3,000 acres in neighboring Orange County, NY, after being sparked on November 8.

Significant pockets of drought persisted, however, on the northern Plains. Elsewhere, cool but dry weather favored late-autumn fieldwork—including cotton harvesting—in southern California and the Desert Southwest, while periodic storminess affected northern California Northwest. and the Precipitation in the Northwest helped to boost high elevation snowpack.

Near- or below-normal weekly temperatures prevailed from California to the central and southern Rockies, with readings averaging more than 5°F below normal in parts of California and the Great Basin. Below-normal temperatures also affected deeply snow-covered areas of the High Plains. In contrast, temperatures averaged at least 5°F above normal across the remainder of the Plains, extending eastward into the Midwest, Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, and much of the Southeast. Early in the week, record-setting warmth continued in parts of the South and East. On November 10, daily-record highs reached 90°F in Florida locations such as Punta Gorda and Winter Haven—and attained 93°F in Texas locations such as Corpus Christi and Victoria. Elsewhere in Texas, McAllen notched a record-setting high of 94°F for November 11, while Brownsville posted consecutive daily-record highs (91°F both days) on November 10-11. Meanwhile, Eastern daily-record highs for November 11 included 78°F in Washington, DC, and 74°F in Philadelphia, PA. Late-season warmth was slow to depart the Southeast, with record-setting highs for November 12 reaching 89°F in Naples, FL, and 82°F in Columbus, GA. In contrast, cold weather in the West led to a handful of daily record lows, including a reading of 5°F (on November 14) at Utah’s Kodachrome Basin State Park. By Sunday morning, November 17, daily-record lows in southern California eci[itation dipped to 28°F in Ramona and 36°F in Vista. The 19,904-acre Mountain Fire in Ventura County, CA, near Camarillo, was 98 percent contained by mid-November, but only after damaging or destroying 370 structures.

17-23: Precipitation was highly variable across the South, East, and Midwest. In some cases, Southern rainfall was enhanced by moisture loosely associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Sara. During the second half of the week, cooler conditions resulted in a transition from rain to snow in portions of the Great Lakes and Northeastern States, with significant accumulations of wind driven snow observed at higher elevations of the central Appalachians and some interior Northeastern locations. Despite the turn toward cooler weather, weekly temperatures averaged at least 10°F above normal in scattered locations in the Midwest, and more broadly from the upper Great Lakes region into northern New England. Readings averaged more than 5°F above normal across parts of the interior Northwest. In contrast, the coolest weather—relative to normal—affected southern California and the Southwest, where temperatures locally averaged more than 5°F below normal. Late in the week, cold air amassing in northwestern North America began to edge onto the northern High Plains, driving temperatures below normal. McAllen, TX, opened the week on November 17-18 with a pair of daily record highs (92 and 96°F, respectively). Elsewhere in Texas, record-setting highs for the 17th included 87°F in Beaumont-Port Arthur and 86°F in College Station. Temperatures broadly topped the 90-degree mark in Deep South Texas on November 18, when daily-record highs soared to 92°F in Brownsville and 91°F in Harlingen. Southern warmth expanded well beyond Texas on the 18th, when daily-record highs included 87°F in Hattiesburg, MS, and 83°F in Mobile, AL. In contrast, unusually cool conditions lingered in parts of the West. In southern California, for example, Ramona collected a pair of daily-record lows (28 and 27°F, respectively) on November 17 and 18. During the second half of the week, cooler air gradually overspread the central and eastern U.S., while mild weather briefly returned across parts of the West. Madera, CA, notched a daily record-tying high of 78°F on November 21. Two days later, on the 23rd, Bakersfield, CA, logged a daily-record high of 80°F. Other daily-record highs on November 23 across the West and High Plains included 76°F in Clayton, NM, and Winslow, AZ, along with 71°F in Colorado Springs, CO, and 61°F in Laramie,

Early-week rain across parts of the central and southern Plains led to November precipitation (through the 18th) reaching record-setting levels in Kansas locations such as Medicine Lodge (7.15 inches) and Wichita (6.99 inches). Previous records—both set in 1909—had been 7.06 inches in Medicine Lodge and 6.69 inches in Wichita. Daily-record precipitation totals for November 18 were set in many locations across the Plains and upper Midwest, including Dodge City (2.17 inches) and Medicine Lodge, KS (1.86 inches); Lincoln (1.72 inches) and Grand Island, NE (1.46 inches); Borger (1.63 inches) and Amarillo, TX (1.53 inches); Watertown (1.10 inches) and Sisseton, SD (1.07 inches); Sioux City, IA (1.63 inches); and St. Cloud, MN (1.13 inches). Soon, a rain-to-snow transition occurred in parts of the upper Midwest, with Fargo, ND, measuring precipitation totaling 1.57 inches from November 18-20, along with 3.4 inches of snow on the last 2 days of the event. Meanwhile, soaking Southeastern rains on November 19 led to daily-record totals ranging from 2 to 3 inches in locations such as McComb, MS (3.00 inches); Pensacola, FL (2.91 inches); New Iberia, LA (2.61 inches); Birmingham, AL (2.43 inches); and Columbus, GA (2.26 inches). During the mid- to late-week period, the focus for heavy precipitation shifted westward. On November 20, Santa Rosa, CA, experienced its wettest day of the 21st century to date, with a calendar-day sum of 6.92 inches. Santa Rosa’s previous wettest day in the last one-quarter century had been October 24, 2021, with 6.09 inches. Incredibly, Santa Rosa collected an additional 4.93 and 1.96 inches, respectively, on November 21 and 22, leading to a 3-day sum of 13.81 inches. During the same period, Ukiah, CA, received a 3-day total of 8.40 inches, aided by daily-record amounts of 3.27 inches on the 20th and 3.66 inches on the 21st. Elsewhere in California, Mount Shasta City (4.26 inches on the 21st) experienced its second-wettest November day behind only 4.37 inches on November 16, 1981. The Russian River at Guerneville, CA, rose 2.68 feet above flood stage on November 23 marking the highest crest in that location since February 27, 2019. Late in the week, a new round of storminess struck a little farther south, with record-setting rainfall totals for November 22 ranging from 2 to 4 inches in California locations such as San Rafael (3.57 inches), downtown San Francisco (2.97 inches), and downtown Sacramento (2.00 inches). Blue Canyon, CA, measured at least an inch of precipitation each day from November 20-23, totaling 8.07 inches, along with a peak wind gust to 63 mph on the initial day of heavy precipitation. Meanwhile, a separate storm system over the Great Lakes region led to widespread rain, snow, and wind. On November 21, daily-record snowfall totals included 3.2 inches in Indianapolis, IN; 2.5 inches in Beckley, WV; and 2.0 inches in Cincinnati, OH. Significantly higher totals occurred in the central Appalachians, with a volunteer observer near Davis, WV, receiving an event total of 19.4 inches. Farther north, November 21-22 snowfall totaled 12.5 inches in Scranton, PA, and 10.0 inches in Binghamton, NY. Scranton’s total of 10.7 inches on the 22nd marked its snowiest November day since November 25, 1971, when 18.5 inches fell.

24-30: Across parts of the northern Plains, however, the arrival of cold weather curtailed further development of a drought-affected wheat crop that was struggling with poor establishment. As the coldest air of the season settled across areas east of the Rockies, weekly temperatures averaged 10 to 20°F below normal from northern and eastern Montana into the upper Midwest. Cold air arrived later in the week in other areas, although readings still averaged at least 5°F below normal as far south as Nebraska and as far east as Wisconsin and northwestern Illinois. Elsewhere, lingering warmth from southeastern Arizona into western Texas led to weekly temperatures averaging at least 5°F above normal, while there was a gradual erosion of cold air across the remainder of the West. Early in the week, warmth shifted from the central and southern Plains into the Southeast. Daily-record highs for November 24 reached 78°F in Amarillo, TX, and 74°F in Chanute, KS. On the 25th, Del Rio, TX, noted its highest temperature of the month (tied with November 4), with the 90-degree reading setting a record for the date. Other Southern daily record highs for November 25 included 89°F in Victoria, TX, and 84°F in Baton Rouge, LA. On November 27, another surge of warmth—in advance of a cold front—resulted in daily-record highs of 83°F in Texas locations such as Waco and Dallas-Ft. Worth. Despite sharply colder weather late in the week, temperatures largely stayed above record setting levels for the end of November. For parts of the South, consistent warmth until very late in the month resulted in the warmest November on record in many locations from eastern Texas to western Florida. With a monthly average temperature of 70.2°F (7.8°F above normal), New Orleans, LA, shattered its November 1985 record of 67.3°F. November average temperature records from 1985 were also broken by at least 2°F in several Mississippi communities, including Greenwood (62.8°F), Vicksburg (64.0°F), and Gulfport (68.1°F). Baton Rouge, LA (69.1°F, or 9.7°F above normal), smashed its November 1919 standard of 66.5°F. It was also the warmest autumn on record in many of the same locations, with September-November average temperatures of 74.9°F in Baton Rouge; 73.5°F in Gulfport; 70.4°F in Vicksburg; and 69.6°F in Greenwood. 

 

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