| November 2009
climate report for Tucson |
| |
| November
2009 headlines |
Decade
of 2000s headlines |
| 3rd
warmest November on record |
Warmest
November decade on record |
| 33rd
driest November on record |
Driest
November decade on record |
| 2nd
warmest and 4th driest January-November period on
record. |
| Fall
2009: 9th
warmest and 11th driest on record. |
| Fall
decade of 2000s: WARMEST
and 2nd DRIEST on record. |
|
| |
| The
very warm and dry 2009 continued during most of November. The month
closed with a strong winter storm impacting the area with valley rain
and mountain snow. |
| |
| The
first twelve days of the month were very warm with highs in the 80s
to lower 90s and record high temperatures being set or tied on the
3rd (93°), 4th (91°) and 5th (92°). The average high temperature
through the 12th of 87.3 degree ranks as the 2nd warmest behind 1999
which recorded 87.9 degrees. |
| |
| A
strong low pressure system moved through the four corners region on
the 14th and 15th and brought much cooler temperatures and gusty winds
to the area. Highs on the 14th and 15th were in the mid to upper 60s.
Isolated showers moved through the area on the 14th which produced
scattered rainfall totals generally less than a tenth of an inch. |
| |
| Temperatures
quickly returned to the mid to upper 70s on the 16th and 17th and
stayed that way until the last two days of the month. |
| |
|
A strong winter storm system impacted the area during the last three
days of the month with scattered valley rain/isolated thunderstorms
with pea size hail and mountain snow showers. Rainfall totals across
the metro area during this event were generally less than a quarter
of an inch with a few spots recording up to a half of an inch. Mt.
Lemmon recorded up to 6 inches of snow with this event. |
| |
|
Temperature
extremes for the month ranged from a high of 93 degrees on the 3rd
to a low of 39 degrees on the 16th and 24th. The average monthly
temperature of 64.4 degrees ranks as the 3rd warmest on record,
behind 2007 (65.7°) and 1999 (65.4°).
|
| |
|
The majority
of the month was dry across the Tucson metro area. The exceptions
were isolated showers on the 14th and scattered shower activity
during the last several days of the month. Monthly rainfall totals,
taken from several sources across the metro area, were mostly less
than a third of an inch with isolated spots recording up to a half
an inch. Officially,
the International airport recorded just over a tenth of an inch
/0.13"/ of rain, which is slightly over a half an inch below
normal. This ranks as the 33rd driest November on record.
|
| |
| November
2009 stats |
Month
|
Normal
|
Departure
|
| Average
high temperature |
78.7°
|
72.3°
|
+
6.4°
|
| Average
low temperature |
50.1°
|
45.1°
|
+
5.0°
|
| Average
temperature |
64.4°
|
58.7°
|
+
5.7°
|
| Rainfall
(airport) |
0.13"
|
0.67"
|
-
0.54"
|
|
| |
| 2009
stats thru November |
Year
|
Normal
|
Departure
|
| Average
high temperature |
87.1°
|
84.2°
|
+
2.9°
|
| Average
low temperature |
59.1°
|
56.3°
|
+
2.8°
|
| Average
temperature |
73.1°
|
70.2°
|
+
2.9°
|
| Number
of 100+ degree highs |
74
|
55
|
+
19
|
| Rainfall
(airport) |
5.37"
|
11.14"
|
-
5.77"
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
2009 is still on track at threatening the warmest year on record.
The average yearly temperature through November 30th was 73.1 degrees
and is currently tied with the warmest year 1989, which ended up with
an average yearly temperature of 71.4 degrees. If you add the daily
December normal values to the data already collected in 2009, this
years average temperature would end up around 71.3 degrees, which
would rank it the 2nd warmest on record. Rainfall at the airport has
been well well below normal with a total of 5.37". This would
rank as the 4th driest on record on November 30th and if the airport
collect normal December rainfall, which is 1.03", 2009 would
go into the record books as the 5th driest on record, behind 1924
(5.07"), 1953 (5.34"), 1947 (5.53") and 1976 (6.28"). |
| |
November decade in review: the 2000s
|
|
The month of
November during the decade of the 2000s will go into the record
books as the WARMEST and DRIEST decade on record (dating
back to the mid-1890s). The decadal average temperature of 61.1
degrees is eight-tenths of an degree warmer
than the 1990s. The
average decadal precipitation, at the airport of 0.43", is
just under two-tenths of an inch drier than the 1990s.
|
| Decadal
average temperatures |
| 2000s |
1990s |
1980s |
1970s |
1960s |
1950s |
1940s |
1930s |
1920s |
1910s |
1900s |
| 61.1° |
60.3° |
59.2° |
58.2° |
59.3° |
58.9° |
58.3° |
57.8° |
57.3° |
57.2° |
58.4° |
| Decadal
average precipitation |
| 2000s |
1990s |
1980s |
1970s |
1960s |
1950s |
1940s |
1930s |
1920s |
1910s |
1900s |
| 0.43" |
0.61" |
0.68" |
0.60" |
0.72" |
0.53" |
0.61" |
0.96" |
0.71" |
0.95" |
1.10" |
|
| |
|
FIVE
of the top 10 warmest Novembers on record occurred during the decade
of the 2000s: 2007 (65.7°; 1st), 2009 (64.4°; 3rd),
2008 (63.0°; T-8th), 2006 (63.0°; T-8th) and 2001 (62.9°,
10th). Even with these very warm Novembers, 2000 was very cool (52.8°)
and ranks as the 2nd coldest November on record. Rainfall only averaged
0.43" at the airport, which would make the decade of the 2000s
the driest November decade on record.
|
| Year-by-year
statistical recap for Tucson International airport |
| Year |
Avg.
high |
Avg.
Low |
Avg.
Temp |
Precip. |
| 2000 |
65.3° |
40.3° |
52.8° |
1.37" |
| 2001 |
75.8° |
50.0° |
62.9° |
0.05" |
| 2002 |
75.7° |
47.0° |
61.3° |
0.23" |
| 2003 |
71.5° |
46.5° |
59.0° |
1.03" |
| 2004 |
67.7° |
44.7° |
56.2° |
0.44" |
| 2005 |
78.0° |
47.2° |
62.6° |
0.00" |
| 2006 |
78.8° |
47.2° |
63.0° |
Trace |
| 2007 |
79.9° |
51.5° |
65.7° |
0.80" |
| 2008 |
77.0° |
48.9° |
63.0° |
0.29" |
| 2009 |
78.7° |
50.1° |
64.4° |
0.13" |
| 2000s
avg. |
74.8° |
47.3° |
61.1° |
0.43" |
| 1971-2000
normal |
72.3° |
45.1° |
58.7° |
0.67" |
| Click
on a year for full climate report previously posted. |
|
| |
|
The first two
graphs below shows the daily departure from normal, or periods of
warm/cold, for each November day from 2000 through 2009. The third
graph is the departure from normal for the monthly average temperatures.
The fourth graph is the departure from normal for the monthly rainfall.
(all years compared against 1971-2000 normals except 2000/2001 which
were compared to 1961-1990 normals).
|
|
[Daily
highs] [Daily
lows] [November
average temperatures] [November
precipitation] |
| Move
your mouse over the locations to change graphics. Click link for larger
view. |
 |
| |
|
Temperature
extremes for the decade ranged from 93 degrees on November
3, 2009 to 27 degrees on November 30, 2004 and November 30,
2006. Twenty-three record temperatures were set/tied this past decade
(listing below is in chronological order). No record lows were set
during the 2000s.
|
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|
|
|
|
| Record
type |
Date |
Record |
Previous |
Year(s) |
| Low
Maximum |
November
7, 2000 |
54° |
56° |
1977 |
| Low
Maximum |
November
8, 2000 |
57° |
59° |
1948 |
| High |
November
4, 2001 |
91°
(tied) |
91° |
1909 |
| High
Minimum |
November
4, 2001 |
67° |
60° |
1939 |
| High
Minimum |
November
5, 2001 |
61°
(tied) |
61° |
1976/1960/1929 |
| High
Minimum |
November
9, 2001 |
63° |
59° |
1939/1913/1909 |
| High
Minimum |
November
10, 2001 |
63° |
62° |
1978 |
| High
Minimum |
November
30, 2002 |
53°
(tied) |
53° |
1949/1947 |
| High
Minimum |
November
6, 2004 |
65° |
64° |
1939 |
| High
Minimum |
November
7, 2004 |
62° |
59° |
1999/1937 |
| Low
Maximum |
November
29, 2004 |
49° |
51° |
1975 |
| High
Minimum |
November
20, 2006 |
61° |
56° |
1989 |
| High |
November
5, 2007 |
91°
(tied) |
91° |
1934 |
| High |
November
7, 2007 |
90° |
89° |
1999/1934 |
| High |
November
19, 2007 |
88° |
87° |
1897 |
| High
Minimum |
November
22, 2007 |
57° |
54° |
1993/1966/1919 |
| High
Minimum |
November
29, 2007 |
56° |
54° |
1963/1901 |
| High
Minimum |
November
30, 2007 |
57° |
53° |
2002/1949/1947 |
| High
Minimum |
November
21, 2008 |
55°
(tied) |
55° |
1936 |
| High
Minimum |
November
25, 2008 |
55° |
54° |
1990/1984 |
| High |
November
3, 2009 |
93° |
91° |
1931 |
| High |
November
4, 2009 |
91°
(tied) |
91° |
2001/1909 |
| High |
November
5, 2009 |
92° |
91° |
2007 |
|
| |
| Two
rainfall records were set during the 2000s |
| Date |
Record |
Previous
/ Year |
| November
4, 2000 |
0.41" |
0.07"
/ 1994 |
| November
12, 2003 |
1.00" |
0.76"
/ 1931 |
|
| |
Fall season decade in review: the 2000s
|
| The
fall season during the decade of the 2000s will go into the record
books as the WARMEST on record (dating back to the mid-1890s)
with well below normal rainfall. The decadal average temperature of
71.7 degrees is two-tenths of a degree warmer than the 1990s. The
average decadal precipitation of 2.01" was much DRIER
than the 1990s. |
| Decadal
average temperatures |
| 2000s |
1990s |
1980s |
1970s |
1960s |
1950s |
1940s |
1930s |
1920s |
1910s |
1900s |
| 71.7° |
71.5° |
69.9° |
69.0° |
69.7° |
71.1° |
69.8° |
69.0° |
68.4° |
68.5° |
68.5° |
| Decadal
average precipitation |
| 2000s |
1990s |
1980s |
1970s |
1960s |
1950s |
1940s |
1930s |
1920s |
1910s |
1900s |
| 2.01" |
2.72" |
3.70" |
3.46" |
2.99" |
1.83" |
2.84" |
2.40" |
2.95" |
2.68" |
2.54" |
|
|
| SIX
of the top 10 warmest falls on record have occurred during the decade
of the 2000s: 2007 (73.8°, 2nd); 2001 (73.5°, 3rd); 2005 (73.0°,
5th); 2008 (72.7°, T-6th), 2009 (72.6°, 9th) and 2003 (T-10th).
On the rainfall side, 2005 (0.36"), 2008 (0.53") and 2009
(0.92") are ranked as the 2nd, 6th and 11th driest falls
on record respectively. |
| Season-by-season
statistical recap for Tucson International airport |
| Year |
Avg.
high |
Avg.
Low |
Avg.
Temp |
Precip. |
| 2000 |
81.0° |
56.2° |
68.6° |
6.37" |
| 2001 |
87.1° |
59.9° |
73.5° |
1.07" |
| 2002 |
84.3° |
57.9° |
71.1° |
2.41" |
| 2003 |
85.4° |
59.4° |
72.4° |
3.57" |
| 2004 |
81.3° |
56.7° |
69.0° |
1.67" |
| 2005 |
86.8° |
59.1° |
73.0° |
0.36" |
| 2006 |
84.4° |
56.7° |
70.6° |
1.87" |
| 2007 |
87.5° |
60.1° |
73.8° |
1.27" |
| 2008 |
86.8° |
58.7° |
72.7° |
0.53" |
| 2009 |
86.3° |
58.9° |
72.6° |
0.92" |
| 2000s
avg. |
85.1° |
58.4° |
71.7° |
2.01" |
| 1971-2000
normal |
83.4° |
56.6° |
70.0° |
3.33" |
| Click
on a year for full climate report previously posted. |
|
| |
| |
| Looking
ahead into December |
| The
Climate Prediction Center
forecasts equal chances of above and below normal temperatures
and precipitation. |
| |
|
| Normal
high temperature |
64.3° |
| Normal
low temperature |
39.8° |
| Normal
monthly temperature |
52.0° |
| Record
high temperature |
85°
on December 29, 1921 |
| (last
of 4 occurrences) |
| Record
low temperature |
10°
on December 14, 1901 |
| Warmest
December (avg) |
58.1°
in 1980 |
| Coldest
December (avg) |
45.0°
in 1911 |
| Normal
rainfall |
1.07" |
| Wettest
December day |
2.15"
on December 6, 1906 |
| Wettest
December |
5.85"
in 1914 |
| Driest
December |
0.00"
in 1981 (last of 6 occurrences) |
| Record
December snowfall |
6.8"
in 1971 (8th) |
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|
|
The number
of daylight hours will decrease from 10 hours 12 minutes on
the 1st to 10 hours 4 minutes on the 31st, a loss of 8 minutes.
|
| |
| Looking
ahead into Winter 2009-2010 |
| The
current moderate El
Niño in the equatorial Pacific is expected to
peak during the later part of winter 2009-10 and continue into
the Spring months of 2010. The Climate
Prediction Center forecasts that the area will have slightly
enhanced probabilities for above normal precipitation and equal
chances of below and above normal temperatures. |
| |
|
| Normal
high temperature |
65.8° |
| Normal
low temperature |
39.9° |
| Normal
seasonal temperature |
52.9° |
| Warmest
Winter (avg) |
56.6°
in 1980-1981 |
| Coldest
Winter (avg) |
46.8°
in 1912-1913 |
| Normal
Winter rainfall |
2.90" |
| Wettest
Winter |
6.80"
in 1971-1972 |
| Driest
Winter |
0.01"
in 2005-2006 |
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|
|
Astronomical winter will begin on December 21st at 10:47
am MST when the sun reaches the southern most latitude part
of the earth (23.4 degrees south or the Tropic of Capricorn). |
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Glueck
|
www.weather.gov 
