November 2016 Characterized By Soggy Second Half
November 2016 was the seventeenth month in a row that was warmer than average (+2.1 degrees) - extending what was already a record streak. But the month's stand-out feature was rain. After a very dry first two weeks (just 0.06" of rain), the second half of the month received more than five inches of rain. On 11/15 1.81" fell, which at the time was the biggest rainstorm of the year; then two weeks later that amount was surpassed when 2.20" fell on 11/29, a record for the date. Not only was this the biggest rainstorm in nearly two years (since 12/9/14, when 2.54" fell), it was the rainiest day ever between Nov. 21 and Dec. 9. And although 2.20" of rain is not an extreme amount (e.g., 7.40" fell in Nov. 8, 1977 and 5.60" on the very same date in Nov. 1972), it just happened to fall during a relatively "quiet" time of the year as far as major storms are concerned. With 5.41" measured, November 2016 was the wettest November in ten years (when 7.34" fell) and the fourth wettest since 1990.
Some other observations:
- Temperatures during the month ranged from 34° to 72°. Since 2000 only four other Novembers have had a reading of 72° or warmer. As for cold temperatures, this November was the seventh since the turn of the century not to see a reading of 32° or colder (average date for the first 32-degree reading is 11/18; the latest date for this reading is 12/21 in 1998).
- The high of 66° on Election Day (11/8) was the warmest reading for a Presidential election since 1940 (when the high reached 71°). Election Day followed by two days the running of the NYC Marathon, which had nearly perfect conditions as skies were sunny and temperatures in the 50s for the bulk of the race. Breezy conditions (20-25 mph gusts) was the only fly in the ointment.
- Thanksgiving Day was overcast and on the raw side, with a high/low of 48/38. Rain stayed to the north and south in the morning, sparing the Thanksgiving parade, but later in the afternoon light showers dampened the sidewalks (but amounted to just 0.03").
- This was the second month in a row with a wet second half. Thru the first eleven months of 2016 there have been twelve storms that produced and inch or more of precipitation. Of these, eleven occurred in the second half of their respective months. The only one in the first half was the year's first one-inch rainstorm, on 1/10.
We've now gone 7 full months since the last day that was 10 degrees below average, November 20th was 8 degrees below average.
The lat day that was 10 degrees or more below aveage was May 1st (216 Days ago!).
Posted by: Biebs | 12/02/2016 at 12:26 PM