New York City Weather Archive

November 2017 Was A Relatively Tranquil Weather Month

November 2017 featured two weather highlights.  The first was the flash-freeze of Nov. 10 and 11.  After eight weeks of very mild autumn weather that began in mid-September (including the warmest October on record), Arctic air moved in on Nov. 10, ushering in the earliest reading of 25° since 1976.  The lows on the 10th and 11th were both records - the first back-to-back record lows since August 1994.  The month's second noteworthy aspect was minimal rainfall.  With just 1.58", November was the driest month since March 2016, the driest November since 2001 and the fifth driest since 1970.  Nearly half of the month's rain fell on 11/7, when 0.70" was measured, mostly during the evening.  November's rainfall deficit was in contrast to a late October nor'easter that produced New York's greatest rainfall in more than three years (3.28" on 10/29-30).

 

Temperature-wise the month was 1.1 degrees below average, but it was the average low that made the month below average overall as it was 2.5 degrees below average while the high was close to average. The first and last six days were nearly five degrees milder than average while the period from Nov. 7 thru 24 was five degrees colder than average.  Only five days had highs of 60° or milder - the typical number is nine.  However, it was the chilliest November since 1959 to have two or more days with highs in the 70s.  (In recent history the fewest number of 60° highs was in 1962, when there was just one; the most is sixteen, in 2005, 1999 and 1979.)  Besides Nov. 10, 11 and 12, Thanksgiving Day (11/23) was the only other day during the month to have a low of 32° or colder.

 

 

Here are links to previous November recaps:

November 2016

November 2015

 

 

 

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.

 

 

A beautiful mid-November Saturday in Greenwich Village, Hudson River Park.

 

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Today in New York Weather History: November 7

1963

Beginning late on Nov. 5 and continuing through early afternoon today a nor'easter dumped 4.30" of rain, with nearly three inches falling today (a record for the date, which still stands).  This deluge followed a near rain-free October, its 0.14" making it the second driest month on record.  Furthermore, the amount of rain from this storm was greater than what fell in any month in 1963, and it prevented this year from becoming the driest on record.

 

1977

One of New York's greatest rainstorms began in the morning and continued through the afternoon of Nov. 8.  The first wave of rain that moved through today, largely between 9AM and 5PM, amounted to 1.79".  However, the steady downpours that made this a historical storm would fall the next day.

1995

The 0.68" of rain that fell between noon and 10PM was the first rain on this date in 15 years.

2012

Just nine days after the region was raked by hurricane Sandy's high winds and record storm surge, a nor'easter lashed the area.  It moved far enough off the coast to pull cold air into the region, changing the rain to snow by 2PM.   4.7" fell (4.3" of it today), making this the earliest 4-inch snowfall on record (the previous record was in 1989 when 4.7" fell on Nov. 22-23).  This was just the fifth snowfall of one-inch+ to occur in November in the past 40 years - and the first since 1997.  It was also the largest accumulation of the calendar year, topping the 4.3" that fell on Jan. 21. 

 

2015

The day's high temperature was reached shortly before 2AM - 72°.  This made it the fifth day in a row with a high in the 70s.  The temperature then slowly fell throughout the day, but it was still a mild 53° at midnight.  During the first week of November the high/low averaged 70/56 -11 degrees milder than average and more typical of late September.

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As Seen on TV ...

On occasion I've been asked to give my viewpoint about weather events on New York TV station WPIX.  PIX-11 news reporter James Ford came across my blog and has contacted me seven times to provide my historical perspective.  What's made it easier for both of us is the fact that PIX's office is down the street from my office on 42nd St.)  Here are the appearances I've made (so far) including links to each:   

 

 

Nov. 10, 2014.  In my first appearance I was asked to comment about an approaching Arctic front that would drop temperatures to more than 10 degrees below average between the 13th and 22nd. At its coldest, the high/low on Nov. 19 was 36/22, eighteen degrees below average.

 

Jan. 8, 2015. Talking about another Arctic air mass (which had me wearing earmuffs).

 

Feb. 16, 2015. Here I am in front of my apartment building (it was President's Day) commenting about the coldest February since 1930.  As you can tell by the pained expression on my face, it was very cold, with a wind chill of 5 below zero at the time of the interview.

 

May 6, 2016.  Commenting about the cool, damp and overcast conditions during the first week of May.

 

July 22, 2016.  And here I am in front of Penn Station (my train to Lancaster, PA was leaving in 15 minutes) giving my perspective about a heat wave that I thought was over-hyped.

 

 

March 14, 2017 - I was asked to comment about the snowstorm that brought "only" 7.6" of snow rather than the 12-18" that was predicted (the storm produced a lot of sleet) and on the admission by the National Weather Service that it knew this was going to happen but decided not to lower snow totals.

 

July 13, 2017 - On the 40th anniversary of the Blackout of 1977 I was asked to provide some perspective about the heat wave that coincided with the event (which was one of the City's most intense).

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November 2015 - New York's Mildest November on Record

Another warm weather trophy was placed in 2015's trophy case as November pushed aside November 2001 to become the mildest on record - by 0.1 degree.  It follows the warmest September, third warmest August and second warmest May.  Although the month's average high was 0.5 degrees cooler than November 2001's, it pulled ahead with an average low that was 0.6 degrees milder.  (The last day of the month was a nail-biter with a cooler than average high/low of 47/33.)  This November was 11.4 degrees warmer than average during the first week of the month while November 2001 was the reverse, experiencing its most unseasonably warm period during the final week of the month, averaging 13.6 degrees warmer than normal. 

 

Besides the mild temperatures both months were on the dry side, with November 2015 picking up 2.01" of rain and 2001, 1.36".  (Average amount is 4.02".)   All but 0.07" of 2015's rain came from two storms while much of 2001's came from one rain event.  

 

The chart below provides a side-by-side comparison of November 2015 and 2001:  

2015    2001 Mean Temperature           52.8      52.7 Average High                    59.3      59.8 Average Low                     46.2      45.6 Highest Temp                     74°       75° Coldest Temp                     32°       34°  Highs of 60°+                     14         15 Days w/Mean Temp 10°+    7          8     Above Average Days w/Below Average        5          7     Mean Temp    Total Precipitation            2.01"     1.36" Days of Precipitation            6         6

 

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Snow in November

Measurable snow has fallen in November in New York, on average, once every three years (the last time was in 2014).  And Novembers with a snowfall of an inch or more have occurred once every five years.  However, over the years the likelihood of having snow in November has decreased.  Between 1869 and 1912 an inch of snow fell in November once every three years, and in between 1913 and 1955 it fell once every four years, but since 1956 an inch or more of snow has fallen just once every ten years.  Here are some more findings:

 

• Snow in November isn't an indicator of a snowy winter.  In the 49 winters with November snowfalls just one out of four had snowy winters (40 inches or more).  Of the 19 winters with 50" or more snowfall, ten didn't have measurable snow in November.  And fourteen winters that saw snow in November ended up with less than 20 inches of snow. 

• Three winters had their most snow in November: 1882-83 (14.0"); 1938-39 (12.8") and 1989-90 (4.7").  However, the snowiest November on record, 1898's 19.0", wasn't the snowiest month that winter as 25.3" fell in February 1899.  

• The highest concentration of November snowfalls occurred in the twelve-year span between 1871 and 1882 when measurable snow fell in eight of them.  This was followed closely by the ten years between 1931 and 1940 when snow fell in seven of the years.  By far the longest stretch of years without measurable snow in November was the 15-year period between 1997 and 2011.

• Seven Novembers had more than one snow event; all but one were in the 19th century.  The outlier was November 1938.

• Finally, measurable snow has fallen in October in four years.  In three of those years snow also fell in November.  The only year without a November snowfall was in 2011.

 

LAST 10 NOVEMBERS W/SNOW
	Snow (in Inches)
	November	Winter Total
2014	0.2	50.3
2012	4.7	26.1
1996	0.1	10.0
1995	2.9	75.6
1989	4.7	13.4
1987	1.1	19.1
1978	2.2	29.4
1977	0.2	50.7
1974	0.1	13.1
1967	3.2	19.5

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Autumn Warm Spells - When Summer Keeps Hangin' On

Although the general public often refers to warm spells in the fall as "Indian Summer," most occur before the first frost arrives (which, compared to the suburbs, comes weeks later to Manhattan/Central Park).  This analysis goes back to 1950 and looks at warm spells that have occurred mostly in October and November (with some beginning in late September).  For my purposes I focused on those that were at least four days in length.

 

 

LENGTHIEST

Two-thirds of the years since 1950 have had warm spells of four or more days (including the past seven years, 2010 thru 2016).  Sixteen years had two or more, with 1953 experiencing four.  There have been ten warm spells that lasted ten days or more, the most recent being in the autumn of 2006.  The lengthiest was twenty-one days, which has occurred twice, in 1959 and 1984.

 

MOST ABOVE AVERAGE

There have been thirty-nine warm spells in autumn that averaged ten degrees above average or more (based on daily mean temperature).  The five-day heat wave of Sept. 22-26, 1970 was the most above average, +18 degrees, with four of the five days experiencing highs in the 90s. 

 

LENGTHIEST AUTUMN WARM SPELLS
(SINCE 1950)
		# of	Average		Degrees
Year	Dates	Days	High	Low	Above
1959	Sept 21-Oct 11	21	81	65	+11
1984	Oct 11-31	21	70	57	+ 8
1973	Sept 27-Oct 15	19	74	57	+ 6
1995	Oct 2-14	13	76	58	+ 7
1986	Sept 23-Oct 4	12	79	64	+ 8
1979	Nov 18-28	11	65	52	+14
1994	Oct 30-Nov 9	11	69	52	+ 9
1990	Oct 6-15	10	80	65	+13
2006	Nov 8-17	10	63	53	+10
1970	Oct 6-15	10	74	60	+ 9
WARM SPELLS WITH GREATEST DEPARTURE
FROM AVERAGE
		# of	Average		Degrees
Year	Dates	Days	High	Low	Above
1970	Sept 22-26	5	90	72	+18
1950	Oct 29-Nov 2	5	79	58	+17
1979	Oct 20-23	4	81	65	+16
1991	Nov 19-23	5	67	54	+16
1954	Oct 10-15	6	82	64	+15
1961	Nov 3-6	4	73	59	+15
1963	Oct 24-27	4	79	57	+15
1979	Nov 18-28	11	65	52	+14
1971	Oct 26-Nov 3	9	72	60	+14
1975	Nov 2-10	9	72	57	+14
2007	Oct 3-9	7	82	66	+14

 

 

 

 

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New York Weather History: November (1970 - 2018)

Highlights:  Nor'easter on Thanksgiving Day 1971 grounds balloons at the Macy's parade; huge rainstorms flooded the tri-state area in 1972 and 1977; AM low of 17° on Nov. 30, 1976 is the coldest reading in November since 1938; 80° on Nov. 15, 1993; Veteran's Day snowstorm of 1987; AM low of 18° on Nov. 21, 1987; Thanksgiving Day snowstorm of 1989; early snowstorm of Nov. 7-8, 2012 covered NYC with 4.3" of snow less than two weeks after Sandy; November 2015 became mildest on record, edging out Nov. 2001 by 0.1 degree.

 

To read about highlights from each day during the month:

November 1

November 2

November 3

November 4

November 5

November 6

November 7

November 8

November 9

November 10

November 11

November 12

November 13

November 14

November 15

November 16

November 17

November 18

November 19

November 20

November 21

November 22

November 23

November 24

November 25

November 26

November 27

November 28

November 29

November 30

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Today in New York Weather History: November 30

 

1929 

Today's frigid high/low of 23/12 made this New York's coldest day in November in the 20th century (based on mean temperature); these temperatures would be well below average even in the dead of winter.

 

1941

Today's high and that of the previous three days: 61-60-59-58.  (Highs at the end of November are typically in the upper 40s.) 

1962

Today was the only day in November with a high in the 60s (62°), making this the only November to have just one such day (in the 1950-2017 period).    

1967

Snow moved in during early afternoon and by midnight 3.2" had accumulated.  Before the snow began the temperature rose to 38° late in the morning, then dropped to freezing once the flakes began flying, and into the upper 20s by late afternoon.  This was the biggest November snowfall since 1938.

1976

November ended on a very cold note as the high/low of 27/17 was nineteen degrees colder than average.  The morning low was the coldest reported in November since 1955 (when a low of 16° was reported on Nov. 29).

1977

Off and on showers amounted to 0.38", bringing the month's total precipitation to 12.26".  However, this was 0.15" shy of the November record, set five years earlier.  Still, it was enough to make it the fifth wettest month on record (it's since fallen to tenth). 

 

1979

The mildest November on record (until 2001) ended on a cold note, with a high/low of 41/29, six degrees below average.  Skies were clear.

1991

Today's very balmy high of 70° was twenty-one degrees above average and a record for the date.  This came a year and a day after a record high of 69°.

2005

1.28" of rain fell in a three-hour period between 11PM last night and 2AM today.

2006

It was ironic that the last day of November was the mildest day of the month as today's high/low of 69/58 was more typical for early October - and 21 degrees above average.

 

2011

November was 4.2 degrees milder than average and was the eighth month in a row with above-average temperatures.  This followed nine consecutive months in 2010 with above average temps (March thru November).

2012

This November was the opposite of last year's as it was 3.8 degrees chillier than average, making it the coldest since 1996.  However, although nineteen mornings had lows in the 30s, only three were at freezing or colder (the coldest reading was 31°) - and they all occurred early in the month (11/6-8).

 

2015

The mildest November on record (passing Nov. 2001 by 0.1 degree) ended on a chilly note, three degrees below average (high/low of 47/33).  This would be the last day of the year with a colder than average mean temperature.

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Today in New York Weather History: November 29

 

1903

For the fifth day in a row the high was 32° or colder (average high in late November is in the mid-40s).

1955

With a high of only 28/16, this was one of the the coldest days in November this century - twenty degrees below average.

 

1974

For the third day in a row the high was 43°, five degrees below average.

1976

0.32" of the month's 0.34" of precipitation fell this morning (the only other day with rain was 11/10).  This became the driest November on record (breaking the 1930 record of 0.60") and the ninth driest month overall (now ranked tenth).  It was also the first time since November of two years ago that any month had less than an inch of precipitation.

Temperatures fell throughout the day, going from 48° to 26°.  This was the beginning of ten-week period (thru the first week of February) of unrelenting cold in which temperatures averaged eight degrees below average.

 

1985

It was a gray day with just two degrees separating the high (38°) and low (36°).

1995

2.9" of snow fell this morning, the first snowfall of what would be a record-setting 75.6" during the upcoming winter.  Today's snow was the last in November of one inch or more until 2012.

 

 

2016

It was a mild (high of 60°) and rainy day.  The 2.20" that fell, in the 12-hour between 9AM and 9PM, was a record for the date and came just two weeks after a 1.81" rainstorm.  No day in the last ten days of November has ever had this much rain.  Today's amount was the most in a 24-hour period since Dec. 9, 2014.  With today's two+ inches this became the wettest November in ten years (when 7.34" fell in 2006).

 

 

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