State of the Climate
National Overview
November 2004

November:

• November temperatures were much above average in the South with warmer than average temperatures also extending into the Midwest and Northwest. The Southwest was near average as was the southern Great Lakes region and Ohio Valley. For information on temperature records during the month, please go to NCDC's Extremes page
• The precipitation signal was mixed across the nation with the Mississippi Valley and Far West having much above average precipitation and the east coast having dry conditions for the month. For more information on drought during November, please visit the U.S. Drought page
• Indices used to determine the state of ENSO suggest that the Equatorial Pacific was in a weak warm phase (El Nino), with Sea Surface Temperatures continuing above normal across the central equatorial Pacific during November. To see the latest NOAA advisory and typical impacts of a La Nina or El Nino episode for the U.S., go to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

September-November (Fall):

• Fall temperatures were much above average in the South with warmer than average temperatures also extending into the Midwest and Northwest. The Southwest was near average as was the southern Great Lakes region and Ohio Valley. For information on temperature records during the month, please go to NCDC's Extremes page
• The precipitation signal was mixed across the nation during September-November with the Mississippi Valley and Far West having much above average precipitation and the east coast having dry conditions for the month. For more information on drought, please visit the U.S. Drought page
• For additional details, see the Monthly Highlights section. For details and graphics on weather events across the U.S. and the globe go to NCDC's Global Hazards page

National:

• November 2004 ranked as the 16th warmest November in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 56.3°F (13.5°C), which was 1.5°F (0.8°C) above the long-term mean.
• November 2004 had above average precipitation, nationally, ranking 8th wettest.
• September-November temperature was near average and ranked as the 38th warmest such period in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature for September-November was 64.6°F (18.1°C) which was 0.2°F (0.1°C) above the long-term mean.
• September-November had above average precipitation, ranking 6th wettest in the last 110 years.
• The December 2003-November 2004 temperature was above average and ranked as the 23rd warmest such period in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 53.4°F (11.9°C) which was 0.6°F (0.3°C) above the long-term mean.
• Precipitation was above average for December-November, ranking 14th wettest for the last 12 months based on a record of 109 such periods.
  
  Regional and Statewide:
  
  
• November 2004 temperatures ranked much above average for 7 southern states, including Louisiana, which had its 3rd warmest November on record. A further 18 states in the contiguous U.S. had above average temperature.
• Alaska temperatures were warmer than average for November with an anomaly of 5.5°F (3.1°C)
• November was much wetter than average for 11 states, including Nevada, which had its wettest November on record.
• The 3 month period, September-November, was cooler than average for 2 states and much warmer than average for Louisiana. A further 21 states were warmer than average for September-November 2004.
• September-November 2004 was wetter than average for much of the country, with 13 states having a much wetter-than-average 3 months. Only Michigan was significantly drier than average.
• The last 12 months were warmer than average for much of the nation. Only 11 states in the contiguous U.S. were near average for temperature and no state was significantly cooler than average over the last 12 months.
• The last 12 months were record wet for Pennsylvania, with West Virginia having its 3rd wettest November-November. Drier than average conditions existed in Montana, Wyoming and Maine.

  See NCDC's Monthly Extremes web-page for weather and climate records for the month of November.