National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Climatic Data Center
Asheville, North Carolina
13 December 2004

• November temperatures were much above average in the Mississippi Valley with warmer than average temperatures also extending into the remainder of the Midwest and along the east coast. States from Texas to Washington were near average. For information on temperature records during the month, please go to NCDC's Extremes page
• The precipitation signal was mainly wet across the nation with the Northwest and northern Plains remaining drier than average for the month. For more information on drought during November, please visit the U.S. Drought page
• Indices used to determine the state of ENSO suggest that the Equatorial Pacific was in a weak warm phase (El Nino), with Sea Surface Temperatures continuing above normal across the central equatorial Pacific during November. To see the latest NOAA advisory and typical impacts of a La Nina or El Nino episode for the U.S., go to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

• Fall temperatures were much above average in the center of the country with warmer than average temperatures also extending to the east coast and through the Midwest. No state was significantly cooler than average for the fall season.
• The Northwest and far Northeast were drier than average for September-November, but the primary national signal was much wetter than the long-term mean. For more information on drought, please visit the U.S. Drought page
• For additional details, see the Monthly Highlights section. For details and graphics on weather events across the U.S. and the globe go to NCDC's Global Hazards page

• November 2004 ranked as the 20th warmest November in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 44.4�F (6.9�C), which was 1.9�F (1.1�C) above the long-term mean.
• November 2004 had much above average precipitation, nationally, ranking 5th wettest.
• September-November temperature was above average and ranked as the 12th warmest such period in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature for September-November was 55.7�F (13.2�C) which was 1.4�F (0.8�C) above the long-term mean.
• September-November had much above average precipitation, ranking 3rd wettest in the last 110 years.
• The December 2003-November 2004 temperature was above average and ranked as the 22nd warmest such period in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 53.5�F (11.9�C) which was 0.7�F (0.4�C) above the long-term mean.
• Precipitation was above average for December-November, ranking 5th wettest for the last 12 months based on a record of 109 such periods.
  
  Regional and Statewide:
  
  
• November 2004 temperatures ranked much above average for 9 central states. A further 25 states in the contiguous U.S. had above average temperature.
• Alaska temperatures were above average for November with a positive anomaly of 6.8�F(3.8�C).
• November was much wetter than average for 14 states, including Texas, which had its wettest November on record.
• The 3 month period, September-November, was warmer than average for much of the nation. Only 10 states were near average and no state was significantly cooler than average for the fall season.
• September-November 2004 was wetter than average for much of the country, with 15 states having a much wetter-than-average fall.
• The last 12 months were warmer than average for much of the nation. Only 13 states in the contiguous U.S. were near average for temperature and no state was significantly cooler than average over the last 12 months.
• The last 12 months were record wet for Pennsylvania, with Texas having its 4th wettest December-November.

  See NCDC's Monthly Extremes web-page for weather and climate records for the month of November.