November freeze hits 50 states; weekend thaw ahead
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Welcome to the United (Frozen) States of America.
Yes, all 50 states hit the freezing mark Tuesday. In fact the average U.S. temperature for the lower 48 States hit 19.4 degrees Tuesday morning. That's the coldest November average in 38 years, since November 1976.
That conclusion is according to analysis from Jason Samenow at Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang.
Slate's Eric Holthuas points out sub-freezing temps in all 50 U.S. States this morning, a rarity for November.
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Ironically, the unseasonably and unreasonably cold early season outbreak is largely confined to the lower 48 states, as much of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere basks in November warmth.
The Northern Hemisphere as a whole is running +.62C, while the Arctic is running a whopping +2.21C vs. average.
Early season U.S. cold as "evidence against global warming?" That's like looking out your window and saying you can see what's happening on the streets of Paris right now.
Historic Buffalo lake-effect snow blast
What happens when you take still relatively warm waters in Lake Erie and blow a frigid January-like air mass over the top? Incredible lake-effect snowfall totals of up to 5 feet.
The Buffalo, New York, National Weather Service is pulling no punches in describing the severity of the situation just south of Buffalo. "Impact-based" graphic and descriptive warning text by NWS? You betcha.
Take a look at the incredible 30-plus inch snowfall totals for western New York. Five foot totals? Remind me not to complain next time we get a foot of snow in Minnesota.
Lake-effect in progress
You may have seen lake-effect snow before, but probably never like this. Check out this amazing time lapse form Buffalo as a lake-effect snow plume blasts inland dumping a narrow heavy snow band.
Meteorological Christmas?
Yes, it's beginning to look more like Christmas than pre-Thanksgiving across an unusually snowy U.S. landscape.
A full 52 percent of the lower 48 states are now covered in snow. That's considerably more than the 41.7 percent snow cover on Christmas Day last year, and way above the 12.1 percent on the ground one year ago today.
Weekend thaw ahead?
Winds turn southerly as we head toward the weekend. Extensive snow cover may serve to mute the warming trend, but a thaw looks increasingly likely this weekend.
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Forecast System still hint at a potential ice to rain to snow system sailing by Sunday into Monday.
The latest trends seem to favor a more easterly track...but at this point it's entirely too close for comfort. At this point anything from a light mixed precip event, to a heavy snow event is possible.
The rest of the U.S. climbs out of the deep freeze this weekend, as temperatures push above average again by Sunday and Monday.
The longer range GFS still seems to favor some above average temps. Temps in the upper 30s pushing 40 degrees from Thanksgiving weekend into early December?
Stay tuned. In the meantime, stay warm Minnesota!