Meteorological Fall & Nov. 2018: After a Warm Start to Fall, One of the Coldest and Snowiest Novembers

Overview and Graphics


Fall 2018 had a very warm start in September through the first 10 days of October. This was followed by an abrupt pattern change to sharply colder weather that continued through November.	Fall 2018 snowfall was among the highest on record due to the record/near record snowy November.


November 2018 had well below normal temperatures and near to below normal precipitation.	November 2018 featured far above normal snowfall, punctuated by the major early season winter storm of November 25-26, which was the largest November snowstorm on record for Rockford and 5th largest for Chicago.


November 2018 was the snowiest November on record in Rockford and the 4th snowiest on record in Chicago.	November 2018 was tied for the 7th coldest November on record in Rockford and tied for the 13th coldest on record in Chicago.

Chicago and Rockford Seasonal Summary

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL
1332 PM CST SAT DEC 1 2018

...A Look Back at the Climate for Meteorological Fall (September,
October, November) 2018 for Chicago and Rockford...

At Chicago, the average high temperature for the fall season was
59.3 degrees, which is 2.5 degrees below the 1981 to 2010 average.
The average low temperature was 44.8 degrees, which is 1.6 degrees
above normal. The mean temperature for the season was 52.1 degrees,
which is 0.4 degrees below normal.

A total of 11.68 inches of precipitation was recorded during this
past fall, which is 2.17 inches above normal. There was a total of
12.7 inches of snow recorded at Chicago, which is 11.3 inches above
normal.

Records established or tied during the fall months:

September: Record daily high temperature of 93 degrees on the 20th.

October: Record daily precipitation of 1.56 inches on the 1st.

November: Record daily precipitation of 1.20 inches on the 26th.

At Rockford, the average high temperature was 58.1 degrees, which is
3.8 degrees below normal. The average low temperature was 40.8
degrees, which is 0.3 of a degree below normal. The mean temperature
for the season was 49.4 degrees, which is 2.1 degrees below normal.

A total of 13.02 inches of precipitation was recorded during this
past fall, which was 4.42 inches above normal. In addition, a total
of 15.8 inches of snow was recorded, which is 14 Inches above normal.

Records established or tied during the fall months:

September: None.

October: Record daily precipitation of 1.65 inches on the 1st.
Record daily low temperature of 22 degrees tied on the 22nd.
Record daily precipitation of 1.36 inches on the 30th.

November: Record daily snowfall of 1.8 inches on the 9th.
Record daily snowfall of 2.1 inches on the 17th.
Record daily snowfall of 11.7 inches on the 25th.

Record Snowfall of 15.8 inches for the fall season.

Latest Seasonal Climate Report: Chicago | Rockford

Chicago and Rockford Monthly Summary

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL
1230 PM CST SAT DEC 1 2018

..A Look Back at the Climate for the Month of November 2018
for Chicago and Rockford...

At Chicago, the average high temperature was 39.7 degrees, which is
8.5 degrees below normal. The average low temperature was 29.4
degrees, which is 3 degrees below normal. The average temperature
for the month was 34.6 degrees which is 5.7 degrees below normal.
During the month of November, 3.24 inches of precipitation were
recorded, which is 0.09 of an inch below normal. 12.7 inches of snow
were recorded, which is 11.5 inches above normal.

One record was set for Chicago for the month of November 2018:
* Record daily precipitation of 1.20 inches on the 25th.

One Top Ten Monthly Records:
**4th Snowiest November on record since 1874 with 12.7 inches.

At Rockford, the average high temperature was 38.4 degrees, which is
9.2 degrees below normal. The average low temperature was 26.3
degrees, which is 4 degrees below normal. The average temperature
for the month was 32.3 degrees, which is 6.6 degrees below normal.
During the month of November, 2.06 inches of precipitation were
recorded, which is 0.52 of an inch below normal. 15.8 inches of snow
were recorded, which is 14.1 inches above normal.

There were 3 records for Rockford for the month of November 2018:
* Record daily snowfall of 1.8 inches on the 9th.
* Record daily snowfall of 2.1 inches on the 17th.
* Record daily snowfall of 11.7 inches on the 25th.

Two Top Ten Monthly Records:
**Tied for 7th Coldest November on record since 1906 with 32.3
  degrees.
**Snowiest November on record since 1905 with 15.8 inches.

Latest Monthly Climate Report: Chicago | Rockford

Events

November 25-26, 2018: Major early season winter storm
November 15, 2018: Light snow event with a unique snow band
October 20, 2018: Damaging non-thunderstorm winds and snow and graupel squalls
September 25, 2018: Storms bring wind damage, with heavy tree damage in Huntley, IL in McHenry County
September 3, 2018: Storms bring flooding and isolated damage, including EF-0 tornado on west side of Chicago
August 31-September 3, 2018: Multiple rounds of storms bring 4+" of rain north of I-88 and flooding
NWS Chicago Past Events Page