November 2024 Review

November was a busy month with frequent storms bringing heavy rain and snow to the Pacific Northwest, while the Sierra and the Southern Rockies (Colorado and New Mexico) also received heavy snow during some impressive early-season storm cycles. 

Precipitation was above normal from the Pacific Northwest through Central California, and also across Colorado and New Mexico. Conditions were drier in between these two regions from the Southwest to Wyoming, while Utah ended up near normal. 

Heading into early December, snowpack is above average across the Northwest, Sierra, Colorado, New Mexico, and right around average in Utah. This has been a great start to ski season in these areas! 

Wyoming, Southwest/Central Montana, and Arizona are below average as storms have been lighter and less frequent in these regions. 

Temperatures were also colder than normal across most of the West in November, except in the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest where temperatures ended up right around normal. 

December 2024 Outlook:

A dry spell took hold over Thanksgiving and will continue through at least the first week of December across most of the West. As we head into mid-December, longer-range models are projecting the persistent ridge of high pressure to weaken, opening up the door to more storms.

For the month as a whole, NOAA is projecting an above-normal precipitation signal across the Northern Rockies with "equal chances" for above or below-normal precipitation from the Cascades into the Central Rockies, which indicates growing confidence for a mid-month pattern change.

There is a stronger signal toward below-normal precipitation across California and the Southwest, however, as stubborn high pressure may take longer to break down in this region. 

The entire West is favored for above-normal temperatures in December, with the strongest signals over the Southwest. However, the warmest temperatures are expected earlier in the month, with colder temperatures possible mid to late month.

Thanks so much for reading! I will post the next monthly update in early January.

Alan Smith