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Northeast Regional Climate Center |
The Northeast averaged over 3 degrees above normal this month - the largest departure since February of 2002. All 12 states were well above normal. New England, especially the coastal regions, didn't depart as much from normal as the rest of the region. Still, all except Massachusetts were more than 2 degrees above normal. The mid-Atlantic states (NJ,DE,MD) were all at least 4 degrees above normal. November 2003 will go down in the books of all three states as the seventh warmest November on record. Compared to recent years, this November's temperature departure is not all that impressive. Of the past ten Novembers, 2003 is only the fourth warmest.
The region received 4.51 inches of rain this month, but the totals varied greatly from state to state. Four states were below normal, all in New England. Rhode Island measured only 38% of it's normal total of 3.55 inches. Massachusetts and Connecticut were each more than an inch below normal. The remaining eight states were generally between 1/2 and 1 1/2 inches above normal with the exception of West Virginia which exceeded its normal by 3.34 inches. West Virginia received rain from several mid-latitude systems which affected the state on a quasi-weekly basis. Measurements of over 3 inches were commonplace after a frontal system passed through on the 19th and 20th. The last storm of the month was responsible for dumping over a foot of snow in many locations in the state's midsection. When all was said and done 6.8 inches of rain and melted snow fell, the second wettest November on record. Only November of 1985 dropped more rain on West Virginia when the remnants of Hurricane Juan flooded the Appalachian Mountains. This was the wettest November in the Northeast since 1997.
Monthly Summary of State Temperature and Precipitation Averages.
