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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate-Watch, November 1999

National Climatic Data Center - November 10, 1999
(last update November 30, 1999)

Record November 1999 Warmth (Click on the image for a larger view) * Kennebec, SD hits 89 degrees on the 8th- a new state record November maximum temperature* (blue station on map)

Review Selected U.S. City/ State Extremes Additional Resources

Review

A warm westerly flow of air combined with abundant sunshine sent the mercury soaring from eastern Oregon eastward across the northern and central Plains during the November 6-8th period. The temperature reached 89 degrees at Kennebec, South Dakota (highlight in blue on map) on the 8th; this reading broke the all time record for the warmest maximum temperature ever recorded in South Dakota in November. The old state record was 88 degrees set in Bison, South Dakota on November 8th, 1931. Many locations also set all-time new November maximum temperatures records. Huron, South Dakota and Valentine, Nebraska both hit 86 degrees, setting a new record high temperature for the month. In Huron, the high of 86 broke their all time record high temperature for November of 78 degrees set back in 1990. This is in sharp contrast to the weather in this region during the first part of November 1998, when a good part of the area experienced several snowfalls. In fact, Rapid City, South Dakota was 83 degrees on the 6th of this year while last year on the 6th they received 8.0 inches of snow.

The warmth spread eastward across portions of the Great Lakes on the 9th of the month with many new maximum temperature records being tied or broken. Additional maximum temperature records across the central Plains, eastern Rockies, and even in the Pacific Northwest were also set or tied about mid-month. Since November 1st, more than 60 monthly records were set or tied nationwide. Many of these individual station monthly records can be found at Selected U.S. City and State Extremes.

As reported in our Oct 99 page, a supercyclone with winds in excess of 160 mph swept in from the Bay of Bengal to hit the eastern state of Orissa on Friday, October 29th, 1999. This was the second tropical system to affect that area in October. Media sources- reported that the cyclone, which primarily affected the state of Orissa, washed industrial chemicals into bathing ponds and, according to relief workers, thousands of people have suffered burns. The chemicals, in addition to saline, have helped to preserve the bodies of the some 10,000 reported fatalities caused by the cyclone and associated flooding. 8,119 of the fatalities are have reportedly come from the Jagatsinghpur district. OCHA reported that the cyclone had severely affected 1,977 villages in 10 districts. The Hindustan Times reported that flooding caused by the cyclone in India has left livestock experiencing food and water shortages. It also noted that losses of livestock and domestic animals included 8,238 buffaloes, 78,104 sheep, 78,728 goats, 10,381 calves, and nearly one million broiler chickens.

Elsewhere around the globe during November, flooding was reported across portions of Vietnam, Cambodia, southern France, greece, Honduras, Nigeria, New Zealand, Rwanda and Ethiopia. In contrast, drought conditions were observed on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius where water rationing is in effect, and across parts of Tanzania, Albania and Brazil. Snow caused some problems across portions of central Europe. In Poland, roads were blocked and electricity interrupted.

Hurricane Lenny, a very unusual west-to-east moving low latitude hurricane, battered portions of the Caribbean around mid-month. Hurricane Lenny as of November 17th, was a strong category 4 Saffir-Simpson storm with winds of 150 mph sustained and an estimated central pressure reading of 929 mb. Lenny was the second strongest storm of the Twentieth Century to hit the Virgin Islands, second only to Hurricane David in 1979 (924 mb and 150 mph sustained winds) and just a bit stronger than the San Felipe storm of 1928 (929 mb and 140 mph sustained winds). Lenny as of the 17th was slightly stronger than Hugo at landfall in South Carolina in 1989, but weakened a bit on the 18th. Hurricane Lenny was responsible for a total of 13 deaths on several Caribbean islands but spared the US Virgin Islands from a direct hit. The US Coast Guard rescued a St. Martin man who survived two days on a life raft, with 100 mph winds and 30-foot seas. Fortunately, the storm weakened prior to making a direct hit on any of the more populated islands, or the damages would have been much worse.

Satellite Images of Hurricane Lenny

Hurricane Lenny- Category 4 Infrared (IR) Image - November 17th, 1999 at 1545Z
Hurricane Lenny- Category 4 Visible Image - November 17th, 1999 at 1545Z
These images were taken at 1545 UTC when Lenny's pressure was 942mb with winds at 115kts.

Additional images of hurricanes, typhoons and tropical systems for 1999.

Other global highlights for November 1999 can be found at NOAA/OGP Special Global Summary for November 1999.

Selected U.S. City and State Extremes

The Selected U.S. City and State Extremes provides a list of new records that were set across the U.S. during November 1999.

Additional Resources

NCDC Climatic Extremes and Weather Events
NCDC Images/Movies of Hurricanes and Special Events (hundreds of satellite images)
NOAA National Hurricane Center Forecasts/Advisories WWW Site
USA Today Indian Cyclone and Hurricane Lenny Report
Hurricane Lenny Report - 11/17/99
NCDC Storm Event Database
Links to Numerous Natural Disaster Web Sites

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