Nov. 2019: Weather/Climate Review for the NWS Hastings Area (24 counties in NE, 6 in KS)

Full Narrative:

- Precipitation (rainfall+snow liquid):  The majority of our 30-county area received between 0.60-1.70" of liquid equivalent precipitation during November, which was in the "ballpark" of normal/average values for the month (which generally range between 1.00-1.45"). In terms of areal coverage, roughly 60% of the area saw above normal totals, with the vast majority of this wetter area concentrated northwest of a line from York-Red Cloud-Stockton KS (see map above). In contrast, it was a much drier story to the southeast of that line, with most local north central KS counties (along with the Thayer County area) measuring no more than 0.50" for the month (less than half of normal). The primary reason for this disparity was that roughly the southeastern 1/3 of the local area missed out an appreciable snow from the Nov. 26th winter storm (see Snowfall section below for more details). In addition to the snow on the 26th, a good chunk of November precipitation occurred during a rain event on the 20th, which totaled 0.25-0.75" for much of the area. Prior to the 20th, the first two-thirds of the month were actually quite dry area-wide, continuing a trend that began in October. 

Per dozens of NWS/CoCoRaHS observers, a few of the highest November totals featured: 2.03" near Genoa, 1.96" near Ayr, 1.94" at Dannebrog and 1.92" in far northeastern Polk County (near Columbus). On the much-drier side of things, a few of the lowest monthly totals (all in north central KS) included: 0.27 at Beloit, 0.31" near Hunter, 0.32" at Jewell and 0.35" in Osborne. On the Nebraska side of the state line, Hebron had one of the lowest totals with 0.50".


- Snowfall/Winter Weather: With little doubt (and for the 2nd straight year!), above-average snowfall was the overall-biggest story of November within most of our coverage area. However, unlike last November when the overall-highest totals fell within the southern half of the area, this time the highest amounts focused within roughly the northwestern two-thirds of the area (see map above). Generally speaking, most places northwest of an Osceola-Clay Center-Phillipsburg KS line received between 6-12" for the month, or at least twice-normal. Meanwhile, most places southeast of the aforementioned line measured no more than 1-5". However, an exception to these lower amounts occurred in mainly southern portions of Rooks/Osborne/Mitchell counties, where monthly totals of 6-9+" were noted. In the Nebraska Tri Cities, this was the 6th-snowiest Nov. on record in Hastings (8.1"), 7th-snowiest in Grand Island (10"), and 10th-snowiest at Kearney (9").  Per NWS/CoCoRaHS observers, a few of the highest November totals featured: 12.8" near Scotia, 12" at Wilsonville, 11.2" in Loup City and 11" in St. Paul. 

The majority of November snow within our 30-county area fell in two separate events during the latter one-third of the month:
- 1) Nov. 22: Although the majority of the Nebraska coverage area received little-to-no snow, it was a different story in especially far southern/southwest counties (particularly Furnas in NE and Phillips/Rooks/Osborne/Mitchell in KS). At least portions of these counties received at least 2-3", with isolated higher amounts including 4" near Webster State Park KS and also near Hunter KS. 
- 2) Nov. 26: This was BY FAR the "main event" of the snow season so far, as a powerful storm system dumped widespread totals of 6-10" across roughly the northwestern two-thirds of the area, accompanied by north winds gusting up to around 45 MPH (promoting near-blizzard conditions). Snow totals dropped off sharply to the south and east, with most places southeast of a Phillipsburg-Hebron line receiving no more than 1". See this story for a more detailed recap: 
 

- Flooding: There were NO KNOWN REPORTS of flooding within the NWS Hastings coverage area during November. 


- Temperatures: Although not "extremely cold" by any means, most of our coverage area averaged somewhere between 0-3º below normal for November. Using Hastings airport as a proxy for the area as a whole, it was a fairly "even split" of above versus below normal days, with 16 days above and 14 below. However, the magnitude of a few of the colder days were pretty notable. For the entire area, the coldest 24 hours of the month focused between the 11th-12th, with highs on the 11th only reaching the teens/20s and lows on the morning of the 12th plunging into the single digits above and below zero. In contrast, the overall-warmest stretch of the month was centered from the 15th-20th, during which highs in the 50s/60s were very common. However, this stretch did not include the outright-warmest day of the month, which actually occurred on the 9th when all areas soared well into the 70s to near 80. The month ended on a fairly chilly note (especially between the 26th-29th), due in part to fresh snow cover from the significant winter storm on the 26th.

As for monthly extremes, nearly all NWS observers/official automated stations recorded their warmest readings on the 9th, highlighted by: 84º at Cambridge, 82º at Beaver City and Webster Dam KS, and 80º near Plainville KS. On the opposite end of the thermometer, the coldest readings of November occurred on the morning of the 12th, featuring: -7º near Oxford, -6º at Greeley and -4º at Ord airport. 
 

- Severe Thunderstorms/Tornadoes/Severe Non-Thunderstorm Winds (for official severe storm reports refer to NCEI Storm Events Database):
- # of confirmed tornadoes during Nov. 2019:  Zero (same as 2018)
- Largest known hail stone diameter reported to NWS Hastings: none occurred 
- Strongest known measured thunderstorm wind gust: none occurred
- Strongest known measured NON-thunderstorm wind gust: 68 MPH at Ord and also near Fairmont (both unofficial weather stations)...the highest official gust was 64 MPH at Grand Island airport. More details: Between the afternoon of the 30th and the early AM of Dec. 1st, our entire coverage area was buffeted by northwesterly gusts of 50-65+ MPH as an intense low pressure system slowly tracked from central NE to northern IA. 
- Notable wind damage reported to NWS Hastings (ground-truth reports): Nothing of particular note. However, on the night of the 30th, sparking power lines caused by high winds were blamed for a fire that destroyed a storage building at Mac's Creek Winery near Lexington. 
- # of Severe Thunderstorm Warnings issued by NWS Hastings: Zero (same as 2018) 
- # of Tornado Warnings issued by NWS Hastings:  Zero (same as 2018) 

Grand Island & Hastings Details (Including 12-Month History):

Detailed November 2019 Information for Grand Island and Hastings	November 2019 Grand Island Temperature Departure From Normal	November 2019 Hastings Temperature Departure From Normal

Grand Island Precipitation Summary: The green line indicates cumulative observed precipitation for November 2019.The brown line indicates "normal" November precipitation based on 30-year data from 1981-2010. (click to enlarge)	Hastings Precipitation Summary: The green line indicates cumulative observed precipitation for November 2019. The brown line indicates "normal" November precipitation based on 30-year data from 1981-2010. (click to enlarge)

Kearney - 12 Month Climate History:

All data here is from the official NWS observer at Kearney airport, with 24-hour observations taken around 7 a.m. ** PLEASE NOTE: This official Kearney data often differs slightly from the unofficial data recorded by the automated airport system (KEAR) **

Ord - 12 Month Climate History:

All snowfall data is from the NWS Cooperative Observer in town. In addition, winter precipitation totals often include Cooperative Observer data given that the automated airport equipment is not designed to accurately melt snowfall liquid equivalent.

Smith Center, KS - 12 Month Climate History:

All data is from the official NWS observer, with 24-hour observations taken around 7 a.m. As a result, data may vary slightly from true "Calendar Day".

Temperature & Precipitation Departure From Normal Maps:

These images depict November 2019 monthly temperature departure from normal & precipitation percent-of-normal for both Nebraska & Kansas. Images are courtesy of the High Plains Regional Climate Center (HPRCC). Please note: These maps occasionally contain "bullseyes" of errant data. For precipitation, you can also generate departure from normal/percent-of-normal maps using the NWS AHPS page, or view local-area images generated each day by NWS Hastings. 

Departure from Normal Temperature - NE (left) & KS (right)		Percent of Normal Precipitation - NE (left) & KS (right)

Drought:

The following drought images, current as of Dec. 3, 2019, are courtesy of the U.S. Drought Monitor

Summary of changes during November 2019 across the NWS Hastings coverage area:
Over the course of the month, the only minor change was an expansion of Category D0 (Abnormally Dry) to now include the majority of Furnas County (instead of just western parts of the county). Otherwise, the vast majority of our coverage area remained void of all drought categories during Nov. 2019. However, it's worth noting that Category D0 continued creeping closer to Phillips/Rooks counties, but for now still remains slightly off to the west and south. 

Drought Monitor for Nebraska (left) & Kansas (right). Valid as of December 3, 2019 (click to enlarge)

November 2019 Extremes for the NWS Hastings Coverage Area:

...SOME OF THE WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURES DURING NOVEMBER 2019...
(all data from NWS cooperative observers or automated airport sites, with the date it actually occurred indicated in parentheses)
​84...Cambridge (9th)
82...Beaver City (9th) - Webster Dam KS (9th)
80...Plainville KS 4WNW (9th)
79...Edison (9th) - Oxford 6NNW (9th)
78...Smith Center KS (9th)

...SOME OF THE COLDEST LOW TEMPERATURES DURING NOVEMBER 2019...
(all data from NWS cooperative observers or automated airport sites, with the date it actually occurred indicated in parentheses)
-7...Oxford 6NNW (12th)
-6...Greeley (12th)
-4...Ord airport (12th)
-3...Ravenna (12th)
-2...Osceola (12th) - Cambridge (12th)
-1...Loup City (12th) - Lexington airport (12th)

...SOME OF THE HIGHEST MONTHLY PRECIPITAITON TOTALS DURING NOVEMBER 2019...
(all data from NWS cooperative observers and CoCoRaHS/NeRAIN observers unless indicated)
2.03"...Genoa 3WSW
2.02"...Grand Island 7NNE
1.96"...Ayr 4NE
1.94"...Dannebrog
1.92"...Columbus (6SW in Polk County)
1.91"...Grand Island (airport)
1.85"...Benedict 3W
1.84"...Cairo
1.81"...St. Paul - Wood River
1.74"...Kearney airport

...SOME OF THE LOWEST MONTHLY PRECIPITATION TOTALS DURING NOVEMBER 2019...
(all data from NWS cooperative observers and CoCoRaHS/NeRAIN observers unless indicated)
0.27"...Beloit KS
0.31"...Hunter KS 2NNW
0.34"...Jewell KS
0.35"...Osborne KS
0.36"...Ionia KS
0.37"...Webber KS 3ENE
0.38"...Lebanon KS - Beloit KS 10SSW
0.44"...Chester 3NE
0.45"...Covert KS
0.49"...Burr Oak KS

...SOME OF THE HIGHEST MONTHLY SNOWFALL TOTALS DURING NOVEMBER 2019...
(all data from NWS cooperative observers and CoCoRaHS/NeRAIN observers unless indicated)
13.5"...Lexington 6SW
12.8"...Scotia 4E
12.0"...Wilsonville
11.2"...Loup City
11.0"...St. Paul 
10.8"...Orleans 2W
10.6"...Spalding
10.5"...Beaver City 6S
10.3"...Elyria 5SW
10.2"...Cambridge 
10.0"...Grand Island (airport)