Climate and Hydrology Highlights for Nov. 2009

November 2009

Tulsa: November 2009 tied with 1915 as 8th warmest November (since 1905) and was 17th driest (since 1888).

Tulsa: 2nd latest occurrence of first freeze on Nov 26 (latest ever was Nov 28, 1990) (since 1906)

Tulsa: 21st coldest Autumn (since 1905) and 18th wettest Autumn (since 1888) despite a warmer and drier Nov.

Fayetteville: record warm minimum temperature of 52 tied on Nov. 9 (old record 1949)

No daily temperature records were set or tied at Tulsa, Fort Smith, or McAlester

Almost the entire area received only between 10% and 50% of the normal November precipitation

Our area typically sees a greater number of days with warmer minimum temperatures during El Nino episodes, which may be have played a role in the warm November and late first freeze this year.

According to CPC, output from several computer models for this December indicates “a negative Arctic Oscillation (AO), a negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and a positive Pacific-North American Oscillation (PNA) pattern. These features are associated with below normal temperatures throughout much of the central and eastern portions of the CONUS. This is expected to overwhelm the usual ENSO temperature teleconnection pattern favored in the early part of an El Nino winter.”

An El Nino Advisory is in affect. El Nino is still moderate intensity and expected to remain at least a moderate event later through the winter. Click here for the Winter Outlook.

According to the Drought Monitor, no drought conditions exist across eastern OK or northwest AR.