NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

NOVEMBER 2018

4-10: Periods of rain and snow extended from the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies. Northwestern winter wheat benefited from another slight boost in topsoil moisture, although more precipitation would be helpful to promote crop establishment.
Early in the week, heavy rain spread from the Midwest into the East, while windy weather affected the Northwest. On November 4, wind gusts to 55 mph were observed in Pendleton, OR, and Ellensburg, WA. Meanwhile, record-setting rainfall totals for the
4th included 1.77 inches in La Crosse, WI, and 1.17 inches in Moline, IL. It was the wettest November day in La Crosse since November 1, 1991, when 2.80 inches fell. Later, Eastern daily-record totals for November 5 reached 1.44 inches in Washington,
DC, and 1.22 inches in Richmond, VA. Through November 10, year-to-date precipitation in Baltimore, MD, totaled 60.65 inches (167 percent of normal), nearing the 2003 annual record of 62.66 inches. Philadelphia, PA, received rainfall totaling 2.20
inches on November 5-6, with a daily-record sum of 1.65 inches falling on the latter date. After mid-week, periods of snow developed across the nation’s midsection. Record-setting snowfall totals for November 8 included 3.6 inches in Grand Island, NE;
2.3 inches in Concordia, KS; and 1.5 inches in Columbia, MO. It was Grand Island’s greatest 1-day November snowfall since November 28, 2004, when 5.3 inches fell. By November 9, snow moved into the Midwest, where daily-record amounts in Illinois
totaled 1.8 inches in Rockford and 1.6 inches in Lincoln and Springfield. The last time Rockford received at least an inch of snow on a November day was November 3, 1992, when 1.6 inches fell. Downwind of the Great Lakes, Grand Rapids, MI, netted a
daily-record snowfall (3.8 inches) on November 10. Meanwhile, another round of heavy rain swept across the East, while high winds developed in California. On November 9, record-setting rainfall amounts totaled 1.61 inches in Atlantic City, NJ, and 1.25
inches in Islip, NY.
11-17: California’s wildfire situation gradually improved as winds diminished, although dry conditions persisted. The state’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire in modern history—the Camp Fire in Butte County—was about two thirds contained
by November 18 after burning more than 150,000 acres of vegetation, destroying nearly 13,000 homes, and resulting in at least 79 fatalities. Dry weather also covered most other areas west of the Rockies, as well as much of the upper Midwest. In contrast,
widespread precipitation—including rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow—maintained a sluggish fieldwork pace and caused extensive travel disruptions across the South, East, and lower Midwest. Weekly precipitation broadly totaled 2 to 4 inches or
more in the Southeast. On November 11-12, another early-season snowfall occurred across the nation’s mid-section, where totals reached 4.4 inches in Amarillo, TX, and 4.2 inches in Pueblo, CO. Daily-record snowfall totals for November 12 included 2.0
inches in Wichita, KS; 1.7 inches in Springfield, MO; 1.6 inches in Tulsa, OK; and 1.5 inches in Springfield, IL. Paducah, KY, and Evansville, IN, reported measurable snow each day from November 13-15, totaling 2.3 and 1.1 inches, respectively. On
November 14, the earliest measurable snowfall on record occurred in locations such as Monroe, LA (0.4 inch; previously, 0.1 inch on November 24, 1950), and El Dorado, AR (0.2 inch; previously, 0.7 inch on November 26, 1980). Meanwhile, heavy rain
drenched the South on November 12, when daily-record totals reached 3.91 inches in Anniston, AL; 3.72 inches in Shreveport, LA; 2.95 inches in Meridian, MS; and 2.71 inches in Danville, VA. In eastern North Carolina, record-setting rainfall totals for
November 13 included 4.17 inches on Cape Hatteras and 1.82 inches in New Bern. During the second half of the week, another wave of precipitation moved across the East, resulting in major snow and ice accumulations. Storm-total snowfall locally topped a
foot in the Northeast; official November 15-16 totals included 11.0 inches in Scranton, PA, and 10.9 inches in Syracuse, NY. New York’s Central Park received 6.4 inches on the 15th. In Maine, Caribou measured a daily-record snowfall (9.3 inches) for
November 16. Disruptive snow stretched as far west as the middle Mississippi Valley, where Saint Louis, MO, received 3.9 inches of snow on November 14-15. Springfield, IL, achieved its snowiest November on record (9.4 inches; previously; 9.2 inches in
1951), aided by a 5.3-inch total on the 15th. Late in the week, snow preceded a cold front crossing the northern Rockies, northern Plains, and Midwest. In Montana on November 16, Great Falls received a daily-record total of 4.2 inches of snow and
clocked a peak wind gust to 57 mph. The following day, Rockford, IL, netted a record-setting snowfall (2.1 inches) for November 17. Riverton, WY, reported 5.9 inches of snow on November 16-17. In the front’s wake, sub-zero temperatures were reported
on the morning of November 17 in Montana locations such as Great Falls (-1°F), Lewistown (-2°F), and Cut Bank (-3°F).

18-24: The first significant precipitation of the season overspread northern and central California, curbing the wildfire threat but hampering fire recovery efforts. Two rounds of precipitation, which also affected the Pacific Northwest, totaled 4
inches or more in parts of the Sierra Nevada and coastal northern California. Precipitation, including high elevation snow, also spread eastward across the Intermountain West and northern and central Rockies. For much of the week, periods of light
precipitation accompanied the cold wave. On November 18, for example, daily-record snowfall totals included 1.6 inches in Hastings, NE, and 1.0 inch in Brainerd, MN. Downwind of Lake Superior, weekly snowfall in Marquette, MI, totaled 14.2 inches,
aided by a daily record sum of 8.9 inches on November 19. In Maine, a heavy snow event on November 20 resulted in daily-record totals in locations such as Portland (7.1 inches) and Bangor (6.4 inches). At daybreak on November 22, Portland still had a 7-
inch snow depth, tying a Thanksgiving Day record originally set on November 27, 2014. During the mid- to late-week period, significant precipitation overspread parts of the West. In California, November 21-23 rainfall totaled 1.96 inches in Oakland and
2.19 inches in downtown San Francisco. Farther inland, 7.18 inches of rain soaked Blue Canyon, CA, from November 21-24. Northern California’s Camp Fire was fully contained by week’s end, after resulting in at least 85 fatalities, destroying nearly
14,000 homes, and scorching more than 153,000 acres of vegetation. At week’s end, separate storms produced heavy precipitation in the East and wind, rain, and snow in the West. In Utah, Salt Lake City noted a wind gust to 52 mph (and 1.7 inches of
snow) on November 24, while storm-total snowfall reached 17.2 inches in Alta. On the 24th, snow also developed across the central Plains, where North Platte, NE, netted a daily record precipitation total of 0.33 inch (and 1.2 inches of snow). Meanwhile,
record-setting Eastern precipitation totals for November 24 included 2.54 inches in Wilmington, DE, and 2.28 inches in North Myrtle Beach, SC.

25-30: For the second week in a row, significant precipitation fell from the Pacific Coast to the Cascades and Sierra Nevada. The stormy weather boosted high-elevation snowpack and extinguished any remaining fire activity, but led to debris flows in
some of California’s recently burned areas. Widespread precipitation also spread inland across the Great Basin and the Intermountain West. Farther east, however, an early season winter storm hampered post Thanksgiving travel from the central Plains
into the lower Great Lakes region and parts of the Northeast. Meanwhile, rain soaked portions of the Southeast. Late in the week, a new storm system delivered another round of snow across parts of the northern and central Plains and upper Midwest, while
showers and locally severe thunderstorms affected the lower Midwest and much of the East. Farther east, a band of heavy, wind-driven snow occurred early in the week from the central Plains into northern New England. November 25 featured a daily record
snowfall of 5.8 inches in Kansas City, MO, accompanied by a peak wind gust of 55 mph. In northern Illinois, November 25-26 snowfall totaled 11.7 inches in Rockford and 8.4 inches in Chicago, accompanied by wind gusts of 46 and 51 mph, respectively. In
fact, Rockford’s measurable snow all fell on the 25th, which became that city’s snowiest November day on record (previously, 6.6 inches on November 27, 1995). Elsewhere on the 25th, wind gusts were clocked to 60 mph in Dalhart, TX; 58 mph in Russell,
KS; and 55 mph in Guymon, OK. On November 26 in Michigan, snowfall totaled 6.6 inches in Lansing and 4.2 inches in Flint—records for the date in both cities. Similarly, Burlington, VT, received 8.2 inches on November 27-28, aided by a daily-record
total of 6.3 inches on the former date. Meanwhile, heavy precipitation overspread the Pacific Coast. In western Washington, record-setting rainfall amounts for November 26 included 4.04 inches in Quillayute and 2.52 inches in Hoquiam. Seattle, WA,
collected consecutive daily-record rainfall totals (1.42 and 1.84 inches, respectively) on November 26-27. By mid-week, precipitation returned across California, where record-setting rainfall totals for November 28 reached 1.08 inches in Paso Robles and
1.16 inches in Merced. Paso Robles also netted a daily-record total (0.87 inch) the following day, November 29. Other record-setting totals in California on the 29th included 2.85 inches on Palomar Mountain; 2.52 inches in Redding; and 2.32 inches in
Red Bluff. Farther inland, Laketown, UT, reported 13.5 inches of snow in a 48-hour period from November 28-30. At week’s end, heavy precipitation erupted across parts of the central Plains, Midwest, and Southeast. Illinois’ third largest tornado
outbreak occurred on December 1, when—based on preliminary reports—26 tornadoes were observed. Larger Illinois outbreaks occurred with 39 tornadoes on April 19, 1996, and 36 tornadoes on April 2, 2006, but the state’s largest December outbreak had
been 21 tornadoes on December 18-19, 1957. Springfield, IL, with a 75 mph wind, reported its highest December gust and highest gust at any time of year since November 29, 1975 (76 mph). Farther west, daily-record snowfall amounts for December 1 totaled
6.2 inches
in Rapid City, SD, and 4.4 inches in Concordia, KS. On the same date, daily precipitation records included 4.28 inches in Pensacola, FL; 1.84 inches in Cincinnati, OH; and 1.51 inches in Grand Island, NE.

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