Would you like an above normal month for temperatures just before the unofficial start of winter? Yes please!

 

So what is normal, here are the numbers. I had to include snowfall, just in case we see some. Just as a side not, the precipitation forecast by the CPC is created based on the amount of liquid that falls. Those precipitation totals are not only rain, but the liquid equivalent of that snow when it melts down. 

 

 

 

There’s nothing overly exciting there, except that the end of the month averages seem a lot colder than the start of the month is. 

 

So what’s going to cause our weather to be warmer? According to the CPC, the short range and medium ranged models that have the beginning of the month warmer than normal. There’s more of a zonal flow pattern, meaning there’s not much north or south movement in the air and therefore not as many fronts. No fronts also means less precipitation and less fluctuation in temperatures. We’ve also got to remember that there is an El Nino in the equatorial Pacific. As of the time this blog was put together, the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were running over a degree above normal.