Temperature

After several weeks of above-normal temperatures region-wide, most of the Midwest experienced near-or-below-normal temperatures. Most of Michigan was near normal, while much of the Ohio Valley was 1-3°F below normal (Figure 1). In western Minnesota, some spots were as much as 10°F below normal for the week.

Minimum temperatures were most below normal west of the Mississippi River (Figure 2). In western Minnesota, western Iowa, and western Missouri, they generally averaged 3-5°F below normal. While most of the rest of the region was near normal, most of Michigan, northern Wisconsin, and Minnesota’s Arrowhead region observed minimum temperatures 3-5°F above normal. Muskegon, Michigan recorded 3 consecutive days—November 23-25—of minimum temperatures at or above 40°f for the first time since 2011.

Maximum temperatures were below normal across the board, the result of a strong cold front that swept through on November 25. Most of the region was 4-7°F below normal, but western Minnesota observed average maximum temperatures that were over 10°F below normal (Figure 3). Georgetown, Minnesota recorded a maximum temperature less than or equal to 10°F for two consecutive days—November 29-30—for the first time in November since 1996 and 8th time since records began in 1962.

Precipitation/Drought

The cold weather was not accompanied by much precipitation. Most of Iowa, Missouri and southern Minnesota received little to no precipitation (Figure 4). Precipitation was more plentiful heading north to Michigan’s UP or east to northeast Ohio, where spots received over 200 percent of normal precipitation, mostly in the form of snow. Parts of Michigan’s UP received roughly one foot of snow. In northeast Ohio, 3-6 inches of snow was recorded to the east of Cleveland November 28-November 29 (Figure 5). As a result, road conditions along I-90 near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border were poor during the holiday weekend.

More precipitation meant there was more improvement in drought conditions. As of November 26, there was no longer any exceptional (D4) drought in southeast Ohio (Figure 6). Moderate drought (D1) was also removed from northwest Ohio and parts of Indiana and Illinois. There was little improvement in western and northern parts of the region where there was minimal precipitation, though Michigan’s UP did benefit from precipitation and subsequent removal of moderate drought there.