November hurricane surprises

 

Hurricane Paloma at peak intensity, November 2008 (Source: NOAA)

November is the final month of the Atlantic hurricane season when major hurricanes are quite rare.  However, there have been significant ones in recorded history.  A “major” hurricane is defined as a Category 3 or greater storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale with sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

Nicole (2022): While Nicole wasn’t a major hurricane, it gets a mention here because of its major impacts in the United States.  It was only the third November hurricane to make landfall in Florida.  Nicole came ashore near Vero Beach on November 10 as a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 75 mph.  Nicole did approximately $1 billion in damage, according to NOAA.

Iota (2020): Less than two weeks after Eta became a Category 4 Atlantic hurricane, Iota was an even stronger storm.  At peak strength in the Caribbean Sea, Iota nearly reached Category 5 intensity with sustained winds of 155 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 917 millibars (mb).  By comparison, standard sea level air pressure is approximately 1013 mb.  Iota caused widespread damage in Central America, not far from where Eta made landfall. 

Paloma (2008): Hurricane Paloma formed in the Caribbean Sea and reached peak intensity on November 8 as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 145 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 944 mb.  Paloma was also significant because it marked the first known instance when major hurricanes formed in the Atlantic Ocean Basin (that includes the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea) in five consecutive months (July through November).  

Kate (1985):  Kate reached peak intensity as a Category 3 in the Gulf of Mexico on November 20 with sustained winds of 120 mph.  Kate weakened slightly to Category 2 status before its November 21 landfall on the Florida peninsula.  That made it the latest landfalling hurricane on record in the contiguous United States.  Kate was also the fourth hurricane to impact the U.S. Gulf Coast during the 1985 season.

Cuba Hurricane of 1932: The strongest November hurricane occurred so long ago that it was before hurricanes were named.  Consequently, it’s referred to as the “1932 Cuba hurricane” and remains the Atlantic’s only Category 5 November hurricane on record.  It reached peak intensity on November 6, 1932, with maximum sustained winds of approximately 175 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 915 mb.  The devastating storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Cuba on November 9. 

Since hurricane hunter flights didn’t begin until the early 1940s, the most accurate way to measure the intensity of an offshore tropical storm or hurricane was by ships at sea.  Since these measurements weren’t made at the center of the storm, the air pressure could have been even lower.

Weather Quiz

 

November 2018 snowfall, Germantown, Maryland (Photo Credit: Susan Granzow)

True or False.

The nation’s capital has experienced accumulating November snowfall only three times in the last 30 years. 

DC’s November weather – A closer look

 

Fall foliage at its peak in suburban Washington, D.C.

November is the third and final month of meteorological fall and daily average temperatures and the amount of daylight both fall throughout the month.  Consequently, it begins to feel more like winter in the nation’s capital as November wears on.  That’s not to say there haven’t been fleeting moments of unusual November warmth, particularly early in the month.

This week is a good example with several days of above average temperatures that my colleagues and I on the WUSA9 Weather Team are forecasting with highs in the 70s both today and on Thursday.  DC’s warmest average daily high temperature this month occurs on November 1 (64°), so any 70° November warmth is above average. 

While highs in the 70s are above average, they aren’t uncommon in November.  The nation’s capital has averaged between three and four November days in the 70s over the last 30 years, according to NOAA.  That’s the same number of November days that Washington, D.C. has averaged with low temperatures at or below freezing. 

High temperatures in the 80s are less common in the nation’s capital in November with an average of only one every five years.  By coincidence, a record high of 81° occurred at all three DC Area airports one year ago today. 

It's also noteworthy that while six of the last 10 November’s have been cooler than average in the nation’s capital, only one record low has been observed in that time.  A record low of 26° occurred at National Airport on November 11, 2017.  By comparison, four record November highs have occurred in the nation’s capital over the last decade. 

The numbers are even more striking at Dulles Airport where weather records only go back to the 1960s, compared to the 1870s downtown.  Naturally, it was cooler in the nation’s capital the further back in history when there was less of an urban heat island effect.  Weather measurements were also made downtown before National Airport opened during World War II and away the moderating impacts of the Potomac River.

Despite the several cooler than average November’s in recent years, accumulating November snowfall has proven elusive in the nation’s capital.  There has been only one such occurrence since 2000 with a daily snowfall record of 1.4” on November 15, 2018. 

Remembering "Superstorm" Sandy

 

Sandy's track, October 2012 (Source: NOAA)

Earlier this week was the 11th anniversary of an historic storm that was both damaging and deadly for the United States.  Hurricane Sandy will never be forgotten.  Important lessons were learned in its aftermath.  Check out this story I wrote for the WUSA9 website for details.