November 1-7, 2000

The first week of November showed the beginning of a shift in weather patterns. The strong trough that brought heavy rain to the Great Plains in October moved over the western part of the Midwest, bringing heavy rains to Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Most of the rain arrived at the beginning and end of the period, when two very strong low pressure systems traveled from the southern Plains northward through Iowa and Minnesota into Canada. On November 1-2, the heaviest rain was limited to Minnesota, western Wisconsin, and parts of Iowa and Missouri (Figure 3). The eastern ridge held though the next few days, as severe flooding occurred in Texas. By the 6th, though, the eastern ridge slid further to the east, allowing a very strong low and frontal system to dump 1-3 inches of rain on all of the same states as the last system (Figure 4). East of Illinois, the upper air support lessened, and only moderate amounts of rain fell in the eastern Midwest. The total rainfall for the week put a significant dent in drought conditions in Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and Iowa. Most of the Midwest remained well above normal in temperature the first week of November (Figure 5).