After enjoying a nice November, Mother Nature flexed her muscle with a swift reminder that we are at the end of the month and closing in on the first day of winter.
Many residents in the higher elevations had already been pushing their shovels but for the rest of us in the lower elevations we continued to enjoy a nice month until howling northwest winds and heavy snow squalls reduced visibilities and caused many problems around the area.
My phone activated with a series of tones and sure enough they were followed by a snow squall warning and then my weather radio activated with the same message. I looked out the window and thought to myself, “is this really happening?”
This winter, NOAA will implement a series of upgrades and improvements. In November, the experimental Probabilistic Winter Storm Severity Index became operational. The product will enhance communication with external partners, media and the general public by graphically depicting the likelihood of potential societal impacts due to expected winter hazards over a seven-day period.
This is complemented by a version of the Winer Storm Severity Index based on the official National Weather Service forecast of the most likely conditions over the next three days. NOAA’s Weather Prediction and Climate Prediction Centers will continue to use Winter Key Messages, which highlight the agency’s most essential information for upcoming winter weather, including extreme cold and heavy snow potential. These can be found under “Top Stories” on the Weather Prediction Center’s and Climate Prediction Center’s websites.
This winter, NOAA will complete its implementation of Impact–Based Warning Tags for Snow Squall Warning. Snow Squall Warnings are warnings issued for short duration intense bursts of snow and wind leading to whiteout visibility and possible flash freezes on roads, much like we saw on Tuesday.
To distinguish high-impact snow squalls, the NWS will issue impact based Snow Squall Warnings using the “Significant” tag for events that pose a substantial threat to safe travel. Wireless Emergency Alerts, emergency messages sent by authorized government alerting through wireless carriers, will be limited to only high-impact Snow Squall Warnings with the Snow Squall Impact Tag of “Significant.”
Nov. 30 closed the door on the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season and this season ranked fourth for most-named storms in a year. The above-normal season was characterized by record-warm Atlantic sea surface temperatures and a strong El Nino. The Atlantic basin saw 20 named storms in 2023, seven of which were hurricanes and three intensified into major hurricanes.
An average season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Hurricane Idalia was the only U.S. landfalling hurricane this year. It made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Aug. 30 near Keaton Beach, Florida, causing storm surge inundation of 7 to 12 feet and widespread flooding in Florida and throughout the Southeast. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the NWS, will issue its 2024 hurricane seasonal outlook in May 2024.
Here’s the latest forecast from the Climate Prediction Center. For December, temperatures are forecast to remain above normal while precipitation could average above, below or about average. The 90-day outlook for December, January and February also indicates above normal temperatures and precipitation could average above, below or about normal.
The first 17 days of November produced a mere .11 inches of rain and it looked as though the month was going to be a disaster, but all of the sudden on the 21st, 2.12 inches of rain doused the region preventing a more serious deficit from occurring.
The heavy rain raised rivers and streams very little but no problems were reported with the exception of a few fallen trees. Total precipitation for the month was 2.45 inches compared to an average of 2.58 inches of rain so we are still below average by just .13 of rain. That makes 10 of 11 months this year that we have finished below average.
The maximum temperature for November was a pleasant 74 degrees while the minimum temperature was a cold 14 degrees. The average maximum temperature for the month was 55.1 degrees and the average minimum temperature was 29.7 degrees. Heavy snow squalls blew across the region accompanied by the coldest air of the fall on the Nov. 28 driven by gusty winds. Here’s a look at the temperatures across the month of November. Two days climbed into the 70s, 10 days were in the 60s, eight days saw temps in the 50s, eight days also were in the 40-degree range and just two days remained in the 30s.
It’s very hard to believe but we have the month of December to get through and then it’s another brand new year. 2023 hasn’t been a great year for the Weatherwise crew but we continue to manage the best we can and look forward to the holidays.
This year I’m concentrating on not what’s under the tree but who is around the tree. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. Relax and enjoy. See you in 2024.