November's weather numbers better than forecast

November's weather numbers trended better than predicted. -Rich Segal

AUSTIN (KXAN) — From a weather standpoint, November was a pretty good month. Central Texas had a little bit of everything temperature-wise with seven days of highs in the 80s to three days of highs in the 40s.

There were two transitions from spring to winter. The first was Nov. 11-12, and the second was Nov. 29-30. There was even a record-tying high of 84° on Nov. 29 with the record first set in 1991.

In all, there were 18 days where the high temperature was below normal in a month that was predicted to be above normal. Many locations in the region experienced their first freeze of the season. However, Austin-Camp Mabry was not one of them, as the coldest low was 35° on Nov. 13.

With an average temperature of 59.2° (1.8° below normal) this November goes down as the 28th warmest November since record-keeping began.

The weather news was even better when it comes to rain. Because of the ongoing La Niña, it was predicted to be another month of drier-than-normal conditions. That was not the case as, thanks to a couple of days with rain totals of 1", the month ended with 4.14", just shy of 1.25" above normal. In all, half of the month had .01" or more.

November was only the third month in 2022 when we had more rain than normal, joining February and August. Yes, August. November 2022 was the 45th driest November in history.

Numbers from Austin-Bergstrom show it to be the 18th coldest with an average temperature of 57.3°, 2° below normal. The airport had its first freeze on Nov. 13 with a low of 29°. Rain totaled 3.90", 1.22" above normal but still the 25th driest November.

So, what has the Climate Prediction Center forecast for the 12th month of the year? Yes, it's suggesting that same forecast that has been ongoing for the previous 11 months. It should come as no surprise this would be the forecast as we continue to be influenced by the La Niña weather pattern that has dominated for the last few years.

What is normal for December? "Normal" highs start in the middle-to-upper 60s before ending up on New Year's Eve in the upper 50s to low 60s. Morning minimums are in the 40s. Rainfall totals 2.72" for the 31 days.

Since it is December, thoughts may turn to snow. There have been a few days where there has been measured snow, topped by a record 4.5" in 1929.

Though a white Christmas would be pretty, the chances of it happening are quite low.