The first 10 days of November 2015 have seen record-breaking warmth for many locations in Florida and elsewhere in U.S. while all-time November monthly national heat records have so far been broken in the U.K., Ireland, France, Estonia, Slovenia, and Finland. All-time record heat (for any month) was also observed in parts of Australia and French Guiana. Here is a brief summary.
This ‘global’ view of the temperature anomaly for November 7th illustrates just how far above normal temperatures were in both the eastern U.S. and Western Europe simultaneously. It was perhaps the warmest November day on record for France. Image from the Climate Change Institute, University of Maine.
In the U.S. and Canada
It has been the warmest start to any November on record for most of Florida. Temperatures have averaged 5°-18° above normal for the first week of the month.
Historical ranking of mean temperatures across the Southeast for the period of November 1-8. Map and data from SERCC (Southeast Regional Climate Center).
This has resulted in some all-time monthly heat records (both maximum and minimum temperatures) at many locations in the state. All-time November monthly heat records were broken at:
Tallahassee 89° on November 2nd and 4th (old record 88° set on several previous occasions). The site also tied its warmest daily minimum temperature with a low of 75° on November 1st and 2nd. The first week of the month averaged 16.7° above normal!
Naples 92° on November 4th (tied former record also set on November 10, 1946)
Daytona Beach 90° on November 2nd (old record 89° on several previous occasions)
Gainesville 91° on November 3rd (old record 90° on several previous occasions)
Jacksonville 89° on November 1st and 3rd (old record 88° on several previous occasions).
Tampa 92° on November 4th (old record 90° on November 1, 2006. This was also the warmest temperature ever observed between the dates of October 17-March 25th. Even more remarkable were the record high minimums that occurred every night from November 1st to November 6th and again on November 8th and 9th.
The amazing streak of record high minimum temperatures observed at Tampa between November 1st and Nov. 9th. NOW data table from NWS-Tampa.
Key West Like Tampa, Key West has also seen a phenomenal stretch of record high minimum temperatures every night from October 31st through November 10th (aside from November 5th ) including all-time November monthly high minimums of 81° on November 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9. This streak is likely to continue for a few more days.
Record high minimum temperatures seem to have been especially pervasive this year as the map above illustrates. Almost one third of the entire country (including much of Florida) has seen this year so far (from January 1 to Oct. 31) result in the warmest average minimum temperatures on record since 1895. NOAA/NCDC map.
The hottest temperature measured in all of Florida so far this November was 93° at Inverness on November 4th and also at Punta Gorda on November 7th. These maximums fall short, however, of the Florida November state record of 96° measured at Oasis Ranger Station in November 1986. In southern Georgia, Waycross reached 92° (with a THI of 103°!) on November 2nd, just 2° shy of the Georgia state November heat record of 94° set at Moultrie in November 2003.
The heat briefly extended far to the north of Florida for a few days early in the month with Flint, Michigan also measuring an all-time November monthly high of 80° on November 4th (old record 79° on three previous occasions including on November 3rd this month). In Canada Windsor, Ontario saw a daily record 23.9°C (75.0°F) also on November 4th, and in North Bay, Ontario (46° 18’ N) the temperature made it up to 23.6°C (74.5°F) smashing the previous November monthly record of 20.0°C/68.0°F set on November 3, 1961. Ontario’s warmest November temperature ever measured was not threatened: 27.2°C (81.0°F) at St. Catherines and Vineland Station on November 3, 1961.
November 7th saw the warmth head east and, on November 7th, daily temperature records were broken or tied in New York City (74°), Boston (73°), Washington D.C. (80°), Baltimore (80°) Albany (73°), Providence (72°) and Hartford (76°). However, none of these were November monthly records.
Europe November Record Heat Wave
Amazing as the warmth in the U.S. may have been, it paled in comparison to the unprecedented warmth that has engulfed much of Europe since late October. All-time November national monthly heat records have been set in the United Kingdom with a 22.4°C (72.3°F) reading on November 1st at Trawsoed, Wales as well as in Ireland with a 20.1°C (68.2°F) temperature at Dooks, County Kerry also on November 1st. The previous November record for Ireland was 20.0°C (68.0•F) at Rathfarnham on November 4, 1946 and in the U.K. 21.7°C (71.1°F) at Prestatyn also on November 4, 1946. UPDATE: Apparently an all-time November high minimum temperature for the U.K. has just been set at Murlough, Northern Ireland the night of November 9-10 with a low of just 16.1°C (61.0°F). The previous November record high minimum was 15.9°C (59.4°F) at Eastbourne, East Sussex in November 2005.
In Finland a national monthly record was set on November 3rd at Kimitoon (Kemio) with 14.8°C (57.7°F) crushing the previous November national record of 13.0° (55.4°F) measured at Jomala on November 12, 1999.
Estonia saw its national monthly record broken on November 3rd with Sami measuring 14.9°C (58.8°F). Previous record was 13.7°C (56.7°F) at Tartu on November 3, 1967. The capital city, Tallinn, also set its monthly record with a 13.7°C (56.7°F) reading.
France has (so far) seen probably the most anomalous temperatures anywhere in Europe. A new November national monthly record (excluding Corsica) of 29.0°C (84.2°F) was measured on November 8th at Saint-Jean-de-Luz (Socoa Point) near the Spanish border in the extreme SW of the country. In northern Spain 30.0°C (86.0°F) was measured at Santadar the same day. The previous record for Socoa Point was 26.8°C (80.2°F) set just last November on the 24th of that month, the site’s POR dates back to 1921. These exceptional temperatures in southwest France and northern Spain were the result of down-sloping winds off the Basque and Pyrenees mountains.
Hundreds of towns and cities in France experienced their warmest November days on record including Paris with 21.6°C (70.9°F) on November 7th (old record was set just last November (again: see my blog last November about this) when a reading of 21.4°C (70.5°F) occurred on November 1st (2014). Chamonix in the Alps reached 21.1°C (70.0°F) and Bordeaux reached 26.7°C (80.1°F) on November 8th (old record 25.1°C/77.2°F on November 3, 1925). The town of Bicarrose beat its previous November record by a full 3.3°C (6.0°F) with 27.7°C (81.9°F) on November 8th (former record 24.4°C/75.9°F on November 1, 1999). The nights have been warm as well with Nancy setting a record November high/minimum of 15.3°C (59.5°F) on November 7th (former warmest November night was 13.7°C/56.7°F on November 8, 1939).
Temperature departures from normal for France on November 7th, the warmest November day (perhaps along with November 8th) ever experienced in modern times for the country. Map from Meteo France.
Slovenia reached 25.3°C (76.6°F) at Iskrba on November 10th, beating the previous national record of 25.2°C (77.4°F).
Other European countries that have come close to attaining their national monthly heat records this November include:
Switzerland 23.6°C(74.5°F) at Comprovasco on November 10th (national record is 24.6°C (76.3°F) at Lugano on November 18, 1964). The Comprovasco temperature was likely the 3rd warmest ever temperature yet measured in Switzerland during a November. Basel reached 21.9°C (71.4°F) on November 7th, its record high for November. Geneva reached 20.0°C (68.0°F) on November 9th.
Sweden 17.6°C (63.7°F) at Hudisvall on November 2nd (record is 18.4°C/65.1°F at Ugerup on November 2, 1968).
Norway 19.8°C (67.6°F) at Sunndalsora on November 1 (record is 21.8°C/71.2°F at Tafjord on November 6, 2003).
Germany the warmest measured so far has been 23.8°C (74.8°F) at Emmendingen on November 8th which is a long way from the record of 25.9°C (78.6°F) set at Rosenheim on November 6, 1997 but many stations including Freiburg, Frankfurt, and Dusseldorf, to name just three of at least 73 sites in the nation, did break their November monthly heat records. Germany’s highest mountain, Zugspitze (elevation 2962m/9,718’), reached 7.4°C (45.3° F), its warmest November reading and a POR dating back to 1900. The peak’s all-time maximum temperature (set on July 5, 1957) is just 17.9°C (64.2°F).
Italy Record November warmth also has been observed in Italy with many all-time November monthly high temperatures being observed, especially in the northern portion of the country (and at high elevations!). Aosta (at 600m/2,000’) reached 27.0°C (80.6°F) and Promiod (elevation around 1,500m/5,000’) making it up to 23.0°C (73.4°F). In fact, Maximiliano Herrera reports that on November 10th the thermal freezing line of 0°C (32°F) reached as high as 4,700m/15,500’ in the Southern Alps region, an unprecedented event for this time of the year. In fact, the weather station of Capanna Margherita located at 4550m/15,000' on the Italian side of Mt. Rose reached +0.9°C (33.6°F) on November 10th.
Croatia reached 27.2°C (81.0°F) on November 9th, just shy of the November national record of 27.6°C (81.7°F) set at Knin on an earlier date.
There are so many individual towns and cities across Europe that have broken their November monthly temperature records over the past 10 days that it is not possible to even begin to list them all . I am sure I have missed some important statistics in the above roundup.
Elsewhere in the World
Record November warmth has also been affecting northern Australia this month as well. An all-time (any month) record high of 41.6°C (106.7°F) was measured at Middle Point, about 65 km southeast of Darwin in the Northern Territory on November 8th and another all-time record high of 38.7°C (101.7°F) was observed at Pirlangimpi on Melville Island off the coast of northern Australia (however, Maximilano Herrera informs me that this site has not been reporting reliable temperatures for some time now). This just follows the warmest October on record by a margin (either cold or hot) greater than ever recorded on the continent. See this BOM site for details about Australia's most anomalously warmest month EVER on record for the continent in history.
Unusual warmth has also affected Japan this past week although I am not sure about the details so far as any new monthly records being set.
Not to neglect another continent, South America, French Guiana may have set its all-time national record high (for any month) on November 3rd when the temperature reached 37.9°C (100.2°C) at St. Laurent (other higher readings have been reported in the past but are of questionable quality).
KUDOS: Thanks to Michael Theusner of Klimahaus and Maximiliano Herrera for much of the European temperature data and Bob Henson for his always good advice.
Christopher C. Burt
Weather Historian
No comments:
Post a Comment