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Northeast Regional Climate Center |
Temperatures in the Northeast were above normal for the third month in a row. The regional average of 40.8 degrees was 1.7 degrees above the long-term November average and 1.7 degrees cooler than November 2003. The warmest temperatures were found in the southern states; West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania averaged 3.7, 2.6 and 2.3 degrees above normal, respectively. While the northern states were cooler, only Maine (-0.1 degrees) and Rhode Island (-1.1 degrees) averaged below normal.
The Northeast average precipitation total of 3.71 inches was exactly normal this month. Both November 2003 and 2002 were wetter, but November 2001 was drier. Massachusetts and New York were the driest states, with 85% of normal rainfall. The wettest state was Delaware, with 147% of normal precipitation.
There were a few significant weather events that affected the region this month. Low pressure over the Ohio Valley on the 4th intensified and sped to a position over northern Maine on the 5th. Circulation around this system produced damaging winds that downed trees and power lines from Delaware to Maine. In addition, 2 to 6 inches of new snow fell on northern New York and northern Vermont, while observers in northern Maine reported 6-10 inches of heavy, wet snow.
A cold front that traversed the eastern U.S. from the 12th to the 13th brought heavy rain to Delaware and southern New Jersey that caused poor drainage flooding. As cold air flowed into the region behind the front, a wintry mix of snow and freezing rain slowed travel in eastern Pennsylvania, while eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island were covered in 2-8 inches of snow.
The next notable weather event occurred on the 25th, when a strong cold front generated thunderstorms and high winds in the Northeast. Wind gusts up to 60 mph were reported in eastern New York and up to 75 mph in northeast Pennsylvania where straight-line winds caused $200,000 in damages. Reports of downed trees and power lines, power outages and structural damage came in from Vermont, New Hampshire, western Massachusetts, New York and eastern Pennsylvania.
A slow moving weather system brought heavy rain to southern portions of the region and damaging winds to the northern states on the 28th. Poor drainage flooding was reported in New Castle County, DE; rivers went out of their banks in Bergen and Somerset County, NJ; central and eastern Pennsylvania saw over $200,000 in damages from 3-4 inches of rainfall; and flash flooding was reported in Broome, Delaware, Madison, Herkimer, Dutchess, Greene and Ulster Counties, NY. Wind damage reports came in from western Massachusetts, central and northern Vermont, central and northern New Hampshire and Maine.
Monthly Summary of State Temperature and Precipitation Averages.
The average temperature for the three months of Autumn (September, October and November) was 50.9 degrees. This was 1.4 degrees warmer than normal and only 0.4 degrees warmer than the same period last year. Temperature departures ranged from 0.1 degree below normal in Rhode Island to 2.4 degrees above normal in West Virginia.
Precipitation totals for Fall 2004 were 109% of normal. Vermont saw the least rainfall, 8.29 inches or 72% of normal, while West Virginia's 15.01 inch, 3-month total was 147% of normal.
Autumn Summary of State Temperature and Precipitation Averages.
