The dry first three weeks of November kept everyone waiting and wondering if a record dry month might be at hand along with increasing drought concerns. To the rescue came two rain events on the 21st–22nd and 26th to bring the monthly average precipitation to a rather respectable total. The statewide average of 2.68” was 0.68” below normal, ranking 52nd driest of the past 129 Novembers. Unlike recent months, it was the coastal northern counties that were driest, while the central north was wettest. The northern division (Hunterdon-Somerset-Union counties northward) averaged 2.92” (-0.55”, 50th driest), the southern division (Mercer-Middlesex-Monmouth counties southward, except along the coast) 2.56” (-0.73”, 53rd driest), and the coastal division (roughly the Garden State Parkway to the coast) 2.24” (-1.10”, 42nd driest).

Snowflakes were seen in a few northern locations on the 1st, a dusting occurred at higher elevations at the start of the 21st–22nd rain event, and flurries and a few measurable dustings from squalls occurred on the 28th. Despite the scattered dustings, regionally and statewide records show an absence of accumulation. This is 0.5” below normal but has been seen in 52 of the previous 128 Novembers.

Click here to see the distribution of the top 5 NJ warm/cold and wet/dry months since 1895