November 2008 – Mild then cold

Snow melt in downtown Moncton

The first half of November was quite mild with double digit highs and even fairly warm nights but then near mid-month the bottom fell out and temperatures plummeted to as low as -15.5 C a near record low.

Precipitation was above normal thanks to a huge dump of snow, 32.7 cm on November 22nd, a new record for that date.

However, milder weather arrived at month end resulting in a gradual snow melt.

NOVEMBER 2008 Almanac

Average HIGH  6.2

Average LOW  -1.2

AVERAGE  2.4 (1.0 degree above normal)

Extreme HIGH  18.5

Extreme LOW  -15.5

Rainfall  72.4 mm (slightly below normal)

Snowfall 42.1 cm (double the normal amount)

First major snowstorm strikes Maritimes

Whiteout conditions in eastern NB

On the heels of the first snowfall of the season earlier this week, Greater Moncton had to brace for the first major snowstorm of the winter.

Snow began falling early this morning and winds helped create blowing and drifting snow.

Moncton actually logged a new snow record for the date with 32.7 cm breaking the old record of 11.7 cm set in 1971.

Bathurst had 24.2 cm, Saint John had 18.4 cm and Fredericton a mere 7 cm.

On PEI, Charlottetown recorded 27.4 cm with unconfirmed reports of 37 cm in Summerside.

In NS, Greenwood had 37.2 cm, the most snow recorded in the Maritimes, Halifax had 15 cm while Cape Breton had mostly rain and it climbed to as high as 14 C in Cheticamp. 

Cobequid Pass in NS was shut down for 12 hours as was the TCH in the blustery Tantramar Marsh area and the Confederation Bridge also closed for a time.

Stuck in Cobequid Pass

Traffic stuck on Cobequid Pass

A sudden and intense snowstorm stranded 1500 cars and trucks along a 10-kilometre stretch of Nova Scotia’s Cobequid Pass overnight.

Police say the ordeal began when two tractor trailers jack-knifed.

Other drivers made things worse by getting stuck trying to navigate around the rigs which made it impossible for plows to clear the road.

Some motorists were stuck in their vehicles for 15 hours but luckily no one was hurt.

First snow of the season

Greater Moncton received 8.6 cm of snow, the first accumulation of the season although much of it melted before it hit the ground.

Only eastern sections of New Brunswick had an accumulation since places like Fredericton and Saint John had nothing.

The highest amount that fell in the Maritimes was in Hammonds Plains, NS, just west of Halifax which had 20 cm’s of snow.

Winter arrives in Winnipeg

Winnipeg gets early snow

Although not unusual but still a bit early, it appears winter has arrived in Winnipeg and it is likely to stay.

About 20 cm’s of snow fell in and around the city creating slick streets and causing thousands of road accidents.

Forecasters say the snow could stay for awhile since temperatures are expected to remain below freezing in the long range outlook.

But the nearby Dakotas were probably hardest hit by this storm where more than 100 cm’s of snow fell in some areas.

Unusually mild

November is typically a grey, dismal and chilly month in New Brunswick so when mild weather rushes in it is certainly welcome.

Today’s high in Greater Moncton was 18.5 C – slightly higher than the high set for the entire month of October – how strange is that!

Record highs have also been set – Bathurst hit 22.6 C and it was also 21 C in Charlo and 20.8 C in Edmundston.