Midwest Weekly Highlights - November 17-23, 2014

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Continued Cold

The 3rd week of November was a cold week across the Midwest. Temperatures were 10°F to 15°F below normal for nearly all of the region (Figure 1). Closer to normal, but still well below normal, temperatures occurred in the northwest and southwest corners of the region. The coldest areas in comparison to normal were centrally located. Minimum temperatures into the low teens reached all the way to the southern parts of the region with single digit readings or colder in many places (Figure 2). Averaged for the week, minimum temperatures were under 30°F for the entire Midwest (Figure 3).
 

Low Precipitation Totals, but Lots of Snow

Precipitation totals were below normal (Figure 4) for the vast majority of the region with nearly all of the western half of the Midwest under 50% of normal and parts of Iowa and Minnesota completely dry for the week (Figure 5). However, due to the very cold conditions, much of the precipitation fell as snow and snowfall totals were above normal for about half of the region (Figure 6). The southern part of Missouri eastward up the Ohio River Valley into central Ohio reported snow on the 17th (much of which actually fell on the 16th). The totals ranged up to just a couple inches but that was many times normal for so early in the season. Further north, lake-effect snow fell mostly in Michigan on the down wind side of the Great Lakes. Although totals paled in comparison to the epic snow in Buffalo, New York, snow totals for the week exceeded two feet at numerous stations, and three feet at a few, in Michigan (Figure 7).
 

-MST-