November 2013 Summary – Cool and Sunny

Blue Hill Observatory
November 2013 Summary:

The month was cooler and drier than average and the tenth sunniest November on record.  The 24-hour mean temperature for the month of 39.7F was about one degree cooler than the 120-year average for November and about two degrees cooler than the recent 30-year normal.  The maximum temperature for the month of 68F occurred on the 1st, and the coldest temperature of 14F on 25th was the coldest temperature that early in the season since 14F was observed on 24 November 2000.  The total precipitation for November of 3.59 inches was about three-quarters of an inch less than the 120-year average, and most of this total, 2.36 inches, was the greatest in 24 hours for the month on the 26-27th.  The calendar day rainfall of 2.23 inches on the 27th surpassed the previous record for the date of 1.92 inches in 1898.  The first measurable snowfall of the season, 0.2 inch, was recorded on 12th. The cold weather during most of the last week of the month was accompanied by a very high sea-level pressure reading of 30.79 inches on the 30th. This was one of the highest pressures ever observed in November, and it was the second highest in the last seventy years. The mean wind speed for November was 13.9 mph with a prevailing direction of WNW, and the peak wind gust of 63 mph from the SSE occurred during the rain storm on the 27th.  The month was very sunny, and bright sunshine totaled 59 percent, which was twelve percent above the long-term mean for the month of 47 percent, making this the tenth sunniest November on record.

The autumn season of September-November ended slightly warmer than the 120-year average and slightly cooler than the 30-year normal.  The fall precipitation total was 8.59 inches, which was much drier than average, and the autumn bright sunshine of 60 percent was the eighth highest on record.