What Does November Have in Store?

Largest November Snow on Record for DC  (Source: DCStorms.com)

October 2015 was a quiet weather month in Washington, D.C., finishing slightly cooler than average and with near average rainfall.  October saw a variety of temperatures, with highs in the 70s on 14 days, in the 60s on 11 days and in the 50s on 6 days.  No measureable rain occurred on Halloween for the 18^th time in the last 20 years.  

Weather headlines last month were focused on the tropics.  The strongest Atlantic hurricane to form in more than five years – Joaquin – formed early in the month.  The strongest hurricane on record to occur in the Western Hemisphere – Patricia – developed in the Eastern Pacific Ocean a few weeks later.  Although significant hurricanes occasionally develop in November, hurricane season typically comes to a quiet close on November 30.  

November is the third and final month of meteorological fall.  The average high in the Nation’s Capital on November 1 is 63 degrees, but that falls to 52 degrees by November 30.  The coldest November temperature on record in the Nation’s Capital is 11 degrees which occurred on November 30, 1929.

November averages 0.5” of snow in Washington, D.C.  In fact, every month from November through March averages at least 0.5” of snow in the Nation’s Capital.  The largest November snowstorm on record in Washington, D.C. occurred on Veteran’s Day in 1987, when 11.5” was measured at National Airport.  Although weather records in Washington, D.C. go back to 1871, weather measurements have been made at National Airport since 1941.  However, the ten coldest November’s on record all occurred prior to 1941.

Washingtonians have enjoyed an average of 3.4 days in November with high temperatures in the 70s dating back to the early 1990s.  While November 1994 had ten days with temperatures in the 70s in the Nation’s Capital, there weren’t any 70 degree readings in November 2010. The warmest November temperature on record in the Nation’s Capital was 86 degrees on November 1, 1974.  Starting tomorrow, temperatures in the DC Metro Region are poised to be at least 70 degrees for the rest of the work week.