November 2012 – Sunny and snowless

Riverfront Park in Moncton, 21 November 2012 (Dearing photo)

November can typically be a dull and chilly month in Southeast New Brunswick but this month it was a lot brighter thanks to more sunshine and less cloud than usual.

Daytime highs were quite warm and almost summer-like near mid-month but overnight lows were cold and especially frigid during the final few days of November.

Precipitation was below normal and what was remarkable was that there was no measurable snow in Greater Moncton during the month just a few flakes spotted here and there.

NOVEMBER 2012 ALMANAC (at the Greater Moncton International Airport)

Average HIGH  6.0 C

Average LOW  -2.3 C

AVERAGE  1.9 C  (about 0.5 degrees above the 30-year-average 1971-2000)

Extreme HIGH  18.1 C (on the 12th)

Extreme LOW  -13.0 C (on the 30th)

Rainfall  59.8 mm  (about 25% below normal)

Snowfall  Trace  (average November snowfall 21.7 cm)

(Data courtesy Environment Canada)

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TWN unveils winter outlook

Courtesy The Weather Network

After one of the mildest winters on record, Canadians are in for a more “typical” winter this year according to The Weather Network as it released its winter outlook for December, January and February.

In Atlantic Canada, temperatures are expected to be above normal for Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, southeastern New Brunswick and most of Newfoundland and near normal elsewhere.

Meantime, precipitation is expected to be above normal for Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, eastern New Brunswick and western Newfoundland and near normal elsewhere.

Snow falls in Nova Scotia

First snow of the season in Truro, NS, 25 November 2012 (Courtesy Facebook)

The weather turned much colder in the Maritimes today and in some areas it was even cold enough to snow.

Parts of northern Nova Scotia including my hometown of Truro and the Annapolis Valley picked up several centimetres of snow.

It was the first accumulation of the season for these areas.

Although it was cold and windy in Greater Moncton, not a single flake was spotted in my neighbourhood but Environment Canada says snow could fall this week.

Sunny November days

Riverfront Park in Moncton, 21 November 2012 (Dearing photo)

More often than not, November in New Brunswick is typically marked by cloudy, stark days.

Since the hours of daylight are already dwindling, it often seems dark for most of the day.

But lately a series of bright, sunny days (and so far no snow) with above normal temperatures have made November a bit more tolerable.

The thermometer reached 13.5 C yesterday in Moncton and 10.0 C the day before with the normal high being 4 C for late November.

Final few weeks of dwindling daylight

Courtesy Accuweather.com

The days will finally start getting longer again one month from today as astronomical winter begins.

The good news is that there is only a small amount of daylight loss between today and December 22 compared to the loss over the past two months.

Today’s length of day in Moncton is 9 hours and 10 minutes and on December 22 it will be 8 hours and 37 minutes.

More NB records fall

For the second day in a row, new record highs were set across New Brunswick thanks to warm air which pushed north from the Gulf of Mexico.

Greater Moncton was close but no cigar today with a high of 17.8 C and a record of 18.0 C from 1982.

Environment Canada reports many other communities did break records today:

Bouctouche 17.9 C (old record 16.4 C from 2010)

Fredericton 17.5 C (old record 17.2 C from 1982)

Caraquet 16.5 C (old record 10.5 C from 2010)

Record warmth in NB

My thermometer in NE Moncton reads 22 C, 12 Nov 2012 (Dearing photo)

It felt more like September than November in Greater Moncton today when the thermometer climbed to 18.1 C beating the old record of 17.3 from 1984.

The warmest spot in the province was Fredericton at 19.8 C eclipsing 17.9 C from 1995.

Environment Canada says other records fell in Bouctouche at 19.3 C and Point Lepreau at 15.7 C.

Some hit the beach (although the water was too cold for a swim) while others decided it was a good day to put up Christmas lights and decorations.

To put things in perspective, our friends in the West are shivering with a high in Regina, SK today of only -9.6 C!

Nor’easter brings rain, snow to NB

Snow this morning near Salisbury, NB, 08 Nov 2012 (courtesy Facebook)

Parts of New Brunswick saw snow for the first time this season today after a Nor’easter barrelled up the Eastern Seaboard.

Greater Moncton had wind and rain but escaped the snow although the white stuff was reported in areas to the south and west including Hillsborough and Salisbury.

Snow also fell in Fredericton but later changed to rain and some schools in western New Brunswick even had a snow day.

U.S. Northeast gets hammered again

Snow clearing in New York City, USA, 07 Nov 2012 (AP)

After being battered by Hurricane Sandy last week, the U.S. Northeast was hit again – this time by a Nor’easter bringing wind, rain and snow.

The heaviest snow fell in central New Jersey and eastern Connecticut where more than 30 cm was recorded.

New snowfall records were also set in some major cities:

Newark, NJ  15 cm

Bridgeport, CT  14 cm

Worcester, MA  13 cm

New York Central Park, NY 12 cm

Bangor, ME   8 cm

Atlantic City, NJ  6 cm

(Totals courtesy Accuweather.com)

Record morning lows in NB

A high pressure system parked over Quebec has been bringing cold, dry Arctic air south to New Brunswick over the past few days.

Daytime highs in Greater Moncton have only been around 3 C which is several degrees below normal for early November.

In addition, early morning lows have been very cold dipping to -7.8 C today, just shy of the record of  -10.1 C from 2002.

Environment Canada shows new records were set this morning in Bouctouche at -7.3 C, Point Lepreau at -5.8 C and Alma at -5.5 C.

However, the cold spot was Edmundston at a frigid -12.2 C!