- 12/07/12

On the heels of a cloudier, cooler, and much wetter than average October, the month of November in West Michigan was much closer to bringing "typical" weather conditions.  However, there were a couple of exceptions.  The average high temperature for the month was 48.6, only a few tenths of a degree off the climatological average (30 years of data).  The average low for the month was 30.1, about two degrees cooler than the long-term average.  The monthly average temperature (average high + average low / 2) was slightly cooler than the climatological average.

The month was uncommonly sunny; we saw about 48% of available sunshine.  Typically, November is pretty cloudy, as we average only 35% of available sun.  As you might expect from the sun data, the month was also very dry.  In an average November, West Michigan measures a little more than two and a half inches of rain and about nine inches of snow.  Last month, we had just .31" of rain and just a trace of snowfall.  We had measurable rainfall on just two of the thirty days.  Fortunately, we got a good soaking in October, with more than twice the normal amount of rainfall.  But the lack of rain and snow so far this month is beginning to create some dry conditions around West Michigan. Hopefully, the precipitation expected this weekend will help us out a bit. However, forecast models suggest the rain/snow mix that's on the way will be on the lighter side.