Amazing Stretch Of November Weather Ahead; 'Winter Is Going Back Into Hiding'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Looking for a pick-me-up on this post-election day? Look no further than the 7-day forecast! After a week of cold and record-breaking snowfall, winter is going back into hiding for a while. November may not be a favorite month for many (if you ask me, the only redeeming quality is the turkey), but despite the short days, we can still get some amazing stretches of weather.
Average high temperatures this time of year range from mid 50s to start the month and quickly drop into the upper 40s within a few weeks. Today (Wednesday) will be a fairly "typical" day by November standards. This will be the last "normal-feeling" day for quite some time however. The pattern that is about to emerge for the next few weeks (at least) is one that features a large ridge in the East and troughing in the West. This will allow for unseasonably mild air to flood the East Coast for the foreseeable future. Daily highs through the middle of next week here in Southern New England will range from 10-20 degrees above the averages (mid 60s to mid 70s). While records are not all that likely (most are between 74-78 degrees in Boston), we could get within a few degrees on a couple of occasions.
I know what you are thinking - we just had 3-6" of snow last week and now we are talking about near record breaking warmth? Well, that isn't all that unprecedented. You may remember "Snow-tober" back in 2011? The region was buried under a heavy, wet pre-Halloween snowfall. But, what you may not recall, was the warmth that followed in November of 2011. That month averaged nearly 6 degrees above average with a whopping 14 days in the 60s! November of 2020 may not end up quite THAT warm, but it will almost certainly finish as an above average month overall by the looks of things at this moment.
And what might this mean, if anything, for the upcoming winter? One of the factors we look at when putting together a winter forecast is something called "the November rule". . . simply put, that states, as November goes, so goes the winter. In other words, a mild November often leads to a mild winter and vice versa. But of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. . . just look at last year. We had a very cold November last year, leading many forecasters to predict a colder than average winter. That couldn't have been more wrong. However, if you take our prior example in 2011 of a very mild November, in that case it worked like a charm. The winter that followed was very mild and had a near record breaking low of 9.3" of snow! Could we be in for a repeat of 2011? Time will tell...
For now, dust off the golf clubs and put the snow shovels back in the shed, winter's early arrival is back on hold.
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