Welcome to November. What a wild fall we’ve seen so far! We were pretty warm and dry for the month of September, and then the skies opened up in mid-October with record-breaking rains and barely-budging 50s for temperatures for days on end. Funny how nature always seems to balance itself out.
Now we’re into the heart of autumn. This is the time of year when climatological averages really start to fall off, and any day of the month can be cold. Once we get to the middle of the month, there are a lot of record low temperatures that are in the single digits and two are even left of zero. Record highs are modest at best, especially when compared to the balmy summer that we had in the Capital Region. Our average highs drop from 53 to 41, and the lows go from 35 to 26.
My favorite thing about November is the last Thursday in it…Thanksgiving Day. It truly is my favorite day of the year. And, on a personal note, this will be the first Thanksgiving since 1988 that I’ll be in my hometown. The last four Turkey Days I celebrated were in Texas, where central air conditioning was still a necessity in late November. Not quite the same feel as those chilly Thanksgiving’s I enjoyed growing up in Albany.
Just to give you a little background on the weather for Thanksgiving, it has seen its share of ups and downs. From a record high of 68 to a record low of 5, nature almost always provides a little supplemental refrigeration. Hopefully, it won’t go too far in that regard. It can, and has, snowed on Thanksgiving. The biggest storm dumped a whopping 21.8” back in 1971. Oddly enough, the second highest amount was a distant 8.8” (1898), followed by 8” (1886) and 6” (1985). So, if we use the past as any indication of what travel weather might be like on that day, chances are we’ll be okay.
As I mentioned in a few previous installments, we need to clarify this loosely used term—“Indian summer”. I’ve been guilty of misusing it, even during some newscasts. So, it’s time to set the record straight.
A true Indian Summer, according to many sources, is marked by a period of above average temperatures after a killing frost or freeze has occurred in the fall. The term is generally used in an area from the Mid-Atlantic States north to the Canadian border, and west to the Great Plains. In other words, places where it gets cold early, and a late warm spell brings a last glimpse of summer.
We’re now into the peak of Indian Summer possibilities, so maybe we’ll get a few warm days before the winter really digs in. In this part of the country, Indian Summers really aren’t all that uncommon.
There are many ideas as to the origin of the term, everything from the Indian harvest time, to Indians choosing to hunt in the fall just before the really cold weather sets in. There’s even a possibility that it has to do with the Indian Ocean, which is normally at its quietest this time of year. We’ll probably never know the true origin or origins, but after all that’s how a lot of expressions and imaginations grow.
One other nice thing about November, especially this one, is that it marks the end of hurricane season. This year was nothing short of brutal, with a host of destructive and unusual storms. As of this writing we’ve had 23 (with number 20, Vince, hitting Spain—the first tropical system to ever make landfall there) breaking the 1933’s record of 21 storms. Wilma is the last name on the 2005 list, and should another storm form it will be named Alpha, the first letter in the Greek alphabet, which serves as the supplemental list that we’ll use after all the names for the season have been used. This is unprecedented, and I’m sure that the folks at the World Meteorological Organization and the National Hurricane Center hoped we’d never have to use their storm-naming foresight. Let us hope 2006 is a bit more laid back.
Have a great November and enjoy the Thanksgiving Day leftovers. By the way, I have a great recipe for leftover turkey soup. If you’re interested, just shoot me an email.
Jason Gough is a meteorologist with NewsChannel 13. He can be reached at jgough@wnyt.com.
Until next time-
Your pal,
Jason