November 2018
Monthly Overview - November 2018
Wet in Southeastern Midwest
Precipitation totals ranged from 150% to 200% of normal across a wide swath of Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio to less than 75% of normal in areas of the western states and near Lake Michigan
(Figure 1). Statewide precipitation in Ohio ranked as the 10th wettest in its history (1895-2018) with 4.95 inches, which was more than 50% above the normal of 3.24 inches. Minnesota statewide precipitation was 0.99 inches, which was 69% of normal. Fall (September to November) precipitation in the region ranked as the 5th wettest with Kentucky ranked 2nd, Iowa and Ohio ranked 3rd, and Wisconsin ranked 9th (Figure 2). Only Missouri had below normal precipitation in the fall at 98% of normal. The other eight states ranged from 115% of normal in Illinois to 183% of normal in Iowa. Year-to-date (January to November) totals were also very wet in the Midwest
(Figure 3), ranking as the 2nd wettest on record behind only 1993. Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin all ranked 2nd wettest in their respective histories while Indiana ranked 3rd, Kentucky ranked 4th, Michigan ranked 7th, and Illinois ranked 12th placing those seven states in the wettest 10% of their histories.
Cold Temperatures
November temperatures averaged 6.1° F below normal across the region, thus ranking as the 11th coolest November (Figure 4). Missouri had its 4th coolest November, Illinois its 9th coolest, and Iowa its 11th coolest. Statewide temperature departures ranged from -4.7° F in Ohio to -7.6° F in Missouri. November temperatures set new record lows at three dozen stations in six states with nearly two-thirds of the records in Missouri. Fall temperatures were an average of mostly warm conditions in the first 40 days of the season (September 1 to October 10) followed by cold conditions for the rest of the season. Fall averaged near normal in the southeastern third of the region and 2° to 5° F below normal in the rest of the region
(Figure 5). Temperatures in the southeastern two-thirds of the region were well above normal until about October 10th or 11th (Figure 6), a strong cold front swept across the region dropping temperatures 20° to 30° F in just a couple days
(Figure 7). The cold settled in and the rest of the fall averaged well below normal (Figure 8).
Severe Weather Limited but Deadly
Severe weather was limited to just three days in November affecting only two states (Missouri and Kentucky). On the 1st
(Figure 9), a single tornado report in Missouri was the only Midwest activity. The 5th (Figure 10) was busier with reports of thunderstorm wind damage and tornadoes in Kentucky. The busiest day was the 30th
(Figure 11) with dozens of reports of thunderstorm wind damage and a handful of tornado reports in Missouri. One fatality was associated with the EF-1 tornado near Aurora, Missouri
(Lawrence County).
The Absence of Drought
The fall rains and cool conditions in the latter half of fall finished off the last remaining areas of drought in the region. November began with just a fraction of a percent of the Midwest in drought (Figure 12) and by the US Drought Monitor valid on the 13th all drought was gone from the region
(Figure 13). The weeks of drought-free conditions in the Midwest were the first such weeks since May of 2017.
Delayed Harvest
Wet and cold conditions were not all good news however. Soybean harvest in the US was at its lowest level (1995-2018 period of record) as November came to a close according to the USDA. Wet soils delayed or prevented field work in many low lying fields and yields suffered as shattering led to losses.
Winter Storms
Two significant winter storms affected the region in November. Freezing rain on the 14th and into the 15th coated parts of the southeastern Midwest. Numerous automobile accidents, power outages, school closings, and damage to vegetation were blamed on the icy conditions. Arboretums reported widespread damage such as a report from the Boone County Arboretum (in northern Kentucky, across the river from Cincinnati) of damage to about 50 percent of their 3600 trees and shrubs with severe damage affecting up to 15 percent of the specimens. The second storm was a snow storm that brought blizzard conditions from Kansas City to Chicago on the 25th and 26th (Figure 14). The timing of the storm was particularly bad as it came at the end of the holiday weekend when so many people were travelling home. In addition to snow totals that topped a foot (30 cm), winds whipped to 30 to 40 miles per hour (48 to 64 km per hour) snarling travel on the ground along with aviation along its path. On the 25th, flight cancellations reached nearly 25 percent of scheduled flights at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and about 50 percent of flights at Kansas City’s airport. Many roads were closed from Kansas to Chicago due to dangerous road conditions. November snow totals were several times normal across Missouri, much of Illinois, and southeastern Iowa.
November Snow Totals
The heaviest snows in November stretched across the northern edge of the Midwest and from the Iowa-Missouri border to lower Michigan
(Figure 15). Totals along the southern shore of Lake Superior ranged from 2 to 3 feet. The other swath of heavy snow was largely from the Thanksgiving weekend blizzard, with some totals topping a foot of snow. Viewed as a percentage of normal, a large area including Missouri, much of Illinois, and southeastern Iowa had 2 to 7 times normal for the month (Figure 16). However, some areas further north received less than 50% of normal.
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