November 2007 Climate Summary

Regional Summary

Dry conditions were present throughout the entire High Plains region for the month of November 2007. This is a continuation of dry contions for the western High Plains, but is in stark contrast to the wet early October for the eastern High Plains.

This comes as a result of west to northwest flow pattern persisting after the pattern shift that occured in late October. High pressure dominated the region for most of November. Some locations in the central High Plains recorded no measureable precipitation, with the majority of stations in the region recording less than 0.25 inches of measurable rainfall. While this is a major change for the eastern High Plains, this is a continuation of dry conditions for the western half of the region. Drought conditions were expanded in parts of Western South Dakota, Western Kansas and Southern Colorado to reflect the short to very-short soil moisture conditions that have persisted in this region throughout the months of October and November.

The temperature remained above normal for much of November, with most of the region showing between 2-4 degrees F above the 1971-2000 November Mean temperature normal. An extreme temperature swing (although not uncommon during November for the High Plains Region) occured in late November during the week of Nov 20th, signalling the beginning of Winter conditions for much of the eastern High Plains. Prior to this system’s passing, several daily record-high maximum and minimum temperatures were broken during the week of November 13th-20th, as locations in Kansas and Nebraska recorded high temperatures rising into the upper 70’s and low 80’s. Monthly mean temperatures would have been higher had this cold snap not occured, as it brought lows in the single digits to southern parts of the region, and below zero temperatures to parts of North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota.