November continued an ongoing trend of above average, well above average, temperatures but unlike the several previous months, precipitation was well below average. In fact, November wasn´t just warm, it was near record warmth with the second highest all time November temperature.
The average daily high during November was 60.9, 7.1 degrees above normal. The average overnight low was 39.9, 7.9 degrees above normal. This gave us a monthly mean temperature of 50.4, 7.5 degrees above
normal. This makes November the second warmest November on record surpassed only by November 1999 and its 51.8 degree monthly average temperature. The average overnight low of 39.9 is also the highest average
low temperature for November on record. This continues a trend going back
for over a year of average overnight lows being above normal. The coldest
November on record was in 1985 with a chilly monthly mean temperature of
35.2, fifteen degrees colder than November this year! The high of 83 on the
16th broke the record high for that date. The old record was 76 set in 1958.
The reading of 83 ties the second highest November temperature ever.
November 8, 2002 had a reading of 84. November 6, 1980 also had a high of
83. It was the latest that we have ever had an 80 degree reading in the year.
The old record was November 13, 1999’s high of 82. The overnight low of 62
on the 1st broke the record high low temperature. The previous record was
60 set in 1990. The low of 62 on the 16th also broke the record high low for
that date. The old record was also 60 set in 1958. November also finally
brought us our first official killing freeze. After flirting with light frosts but once
in October, we finally had an overnight low of 32 or below on the 10th when
the morning low dipped to 30. This tied the latest that we have had our first
fall freeze. The record was originally set in 1998. Our long term average first
fall freeze is October 19th. Our last freeze in the spring (April 4th) was nearly
ten days earlier than average (April 15th). This meant that our growing
season for 2016 was 216 days long, almost a full month longer than our
average 188 day growing season!
What did change in November was rainfall. There was a noted change in
nationwide weather patterns and after four consecutive months of above
normal precipitation, the area fell well short of average. Average November
rainfall is 1.55 inches. Milford Lake received 0.25 inches and Junction City
received 0.40 inches. While it was dry, it was not record dry. The driest
November on record was in 1966 and again in 1989 when no precipitation
was recorded. The wettest November on record goes back to 1931 when
5.88 inches was recorded. Very little snow fell in November 1931 so that was
virtually all rain. Keep in mind also that while November was dry this year,
last year we had the Thanksgiving ice storm and we ended the month with
over 4 inches of precipitation! Normal year to date precipitation through
November is 32.13 inches. So far this year Milford Lake has received 38.19
inches and Junction City has received 38.95 inches. If we were to receive no
precipitation in December, we´d still be over five inches above normal for the
year! With the well above average temperatures it´s no surprise that there
was no snow recorded in November!
December brings us the official start of winter, our shortest day of the year
and truly the arrival of winter temperatures and often our first good snowfall.
Only the first two items are guaranteed in any December! Average daily
highs start the month at 46 and by the end of the month are down to 38.
Overnight lows should range from 25 on the 1st to 18 on New Year´s Eve.
December is our second driest month of the year. Long term average
December precipitation is 1.02 inches. Long term average snowfall for
December is 3.7 inches and the odds for a white Christmas are generally felt
to be under 20% probability.