DC’s Warm and Wet November

 

November 2020 will finish as DC’s first warmer and wetter than average November since 2009.  Through November 28, there have been 21 warmer than average days so far this month with near average temperatures today and above average temperatures tomorrow.  This month’s average monthly temperature, combining daily high and low temperatures, is more than 4° above average. 

The month of November is the third and final month of meteorological fall that began on September 1.  It’s also the first of five consecutive months that DC averages measurable snowfall.  Accumulating November snowfall has become a rarity in the DC Metro Area, with only one such occurrence over the last two decades.  Also, below average November rainfall has become more common in recent years.  This month will be only the second wetter than average November in the Nation’s Capital over the last decade.

There has been 3.75” of rain since November 1 – more than half an inch above DC’s November average of 3.17”.  A developing area of low pressure will bring roughly an inch of rain tomorrow.  This month could finish as one of DC’s 10 wettest on record.  Most of DC’s monthly rainfall total of 3.75” occurred in just the two-day period of November 11-12 (2.91”).  That helps illustrate that while this has already been a wetter than average November, there have also been long stretches of dry weather.

This month has also been quite warm, with seven days of highs in the 70s – tied for DC’s sixth highest total of 70° November days on record.  DC’s record for most 70° November days is 12, which occurred in 1975.  Having such mild weather this month couldn’t be more dissimilar than last November, which finished as DC’s coldest since 1996.  November 2019 was also DC’s first since 2010 without any 70° temperatures.

With above average temperatures today and tomorrow, there’s a good chance November 2020 will finish as either DC’s third or fourth warmest on record.  Despite a colder than average start to December this week, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center expects the warmer average weather that’s dominated DC’s November weather headlines to continue.  However, as longtime Washingtonians know, the right ingredients only need to come together once to create a major winter storm in an otherwise mild winter. 

DC’s Warmest Novembers (Source: National Weather Service)

1.  54.8° (2001)
2.  54.4° (1979, 1975)
4.  54.3° (1985)
5.  54.0° (1931)
6.  53.7° (2015)
7.  53.3° (1994)
8.  53.1° (2003, 1999)
10.  52.6° (2016)
11.  52.4° (2011)
12.  52.2° (2009, 1978)
14.  52.0° (1990)
15.  51.8° (1982, 1977, 1946)

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DC’s Wettest November’s  (Source: National Weather Service)

1.  7.57”  (2018)
2.  7.18”  (1877)
3.  6.70”  (1963)
4.  6.43”  (1932)
5.  6.33”  (1952)
6.  6.05”  (1972)
7.  6.03”  (1889)
8.  6.00”  (1948)
9.  5.77”  (1970)
10.  5.33”  (1988)