1:00 PM | Global sea ice surges to above-normal levels seen rarely in recent years

[Yellow line represents southern hemisphere sea ice areal extent throughout 2014; courtesy University of Illinois "cryosphere"; NOAA/NCEP]

Discussion

Overall Summary Southern Hemisphere sea ice areal extent continues to run at or near all-time record high levels in the satellite data era (circled area above) for this particular time of year in records going back to 1979. The northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent continues to run at below normal levels; however, it is well above levels seen on this particular date during the past several years. Overall, the global sea ice areal extent has surged into “above-normal” territory (below) that has been seen rarely during the past several years.

[red line represents global sea ice areal extent relative-to-normal (zero line); courtesy University of Illinois "cryosphere"; NOAA/NCEP]

Southern Hemisphere Sea Ice The rather remarkable period of consistently higher-than-normal sea ice areal extent in this part of the world actually began a few years ago. Back in 2011, the southern hemisphere sea ice areal extent was still at below-normal levels, but it has surged in recent years to nearly 1.5 million square kilometers above the 1979-2008 mean (data courtesy University of Illinois "cryosphere" web site with data originating from NOAA/NCEP Snow and Ice Data Center).

Northern Hemisphere Sea Ice The northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent is still below normal (circled area below) relative to all years going back to 1979 although it is well above the lowest point set during 2012 and noticeably above levels seen earlier this year. The northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent is currently about 0.5 million square kilometers below normal using the base period of 1979-2008 for comparison (data courtesy University of Illinois "cryosphere" web site with data originating from NOAA/NCEP Snow and Ice Data Center).

The northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent has generally trended lower since the mid 1990’s reaching primarily below-normal levels after the turn of the century. In the past several years, however, there has been a leveling off of that downward trend in terms of sea ice areal extent at those below-normal levels. In the time period before the mid 1990’s, the sea ice areal extent was generally above-normal dating back to 1979. The directional shift in the sea ice areal extent trendline that developed during the mid 1990’s in the northern hemisphere correlates quite well with a northern Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperature cycle that is tracked by meteorologists through an index called the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Indeed, Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies play a critical role in the overall northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent. The AMO index flipped in phase during the mid 1990’s from negative (cold) to positive (warm) and the sea ice areal extent trendline changed direction at precisely that point in time. Once the northern Atlantic sea surface temperatures flip back to cooler-than-normal levels – perhaps in the next few years or so - the northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent should return to the normal or above-normal levels seen prior to the mid 1990’s.

[Yellow line represents northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent throughout 2014; courtesy University of Illinois "cryosphere"; NOAA/NCEP]

11:45 AM | An unfolding stratospheric warming event provides supporting evidence for cold weather ahead

[Polar view of current stratospheric (10-millibars) temperature pattern and the 10-day forecast using the GFS model; courtesy NOAA]

Discussion

One of the ways to monitor the potential for Arctic air outbreaks in the northern U.S. is to follow what is happening in the stratosphere over the polar region of the northern hemisphere. Sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events in the region of the North Pole have been found to set off a chain of events in the atmosphere that ultimately lead to Arctic air outbreaks from northern Canada into the central and eastern U.S. Indeed, there appears to be a significant stratospheric warming event in the offing over the next 10 days or so (above) centered near the North Pole that provides supporting evidence for cold weather conditions ahead in the central and eastern U.S.

During the winter months in the lower polar stratosphere, temperatures are typically lower than minus 70° Celsius (purple area above). The cold temperatures are combined with strong westerly winds that form the southern boundary of the stratospheric polar vortex. The polar vortex plays a major role in determining how much Arctic air spills southward toward the mid-latitudes. This dominant structure is sometimes disrupted in some winters or even reversed. Under these circumstances, the temperatures in the lower stratosphere can rise by more than 50° in just a few days. This sets off a reversal in the west-to-east winds and the collapse of the polar vortex. In response to the stratospheric warming at the high latitudes, the troposphere in turn cools down dramatically and this cold air displacement is then transported from the tropospheric high latitudes to the tropospheric middle latitudes. The entire process from the initial warming of the stratospheric at high latitudes to the cooling in the troposphere at middle latitudes can take weeks to unfold.

The plot (below) shows the stratospheric (10-millibar) temperature pattern for 2013 and 2014 in the high latitude region of 90°N to 65°N. Some stratospheric warming events in recent decades have, in fact, been followed by widespread very cold air outbreaks across southern Canada and the US some two to three weeks after the initial upper atmosphere warming. For example, such an event occurred during December 1984 and this led to an extremely cold January 1985 in much of the central and eastern US. Interestingly, last winter season featured a sharp spike in stratospheric temperatures at just about this same time of year (i.e., late December, left circled region below) and the following couple of months were indeed much colder-than-normal in the central and eastern US. This year saw a sharp, but temporary spike in stratospheric temperatures during the latter part of November and perhaps that atmospheric event contributed to the cold and snow of Thanksgiving week in this part of the country.

A detailed video discussion on “Stratospheric Warming” can be found on the “Meteorology 101” page of the weather web site.

[Stratospheric (10-millibars) temperature plot for 2013 and 2014 in high latitude region of 90N to 65N; courtesy NOAA]

11:30 AM | *Buckle up, it could be a wild ride*

Discussion

Overview This work week will be rather uneventful weather-wise with no big storms and nothing more than a warm frontal passage on Tuesday and a cold frontal passage on Wednesday. The upcoming weekend, however, will bring the threat for a coastal storm to the Mid-Atlantic region and there are numerous signs in the atmosphere and oceans around the world that this potential weekend event may be the beginning of an overall pattern change to “stormy and cold” – not only for the remainder of December, but perhaps right into the New Year as well.

500 mb pattern The overall wind flow in the upper part of the atmosphere around 500 millibars (~18,000 feet) during the next couple of days will be rather zonal (west-to-east) in the northeastern US and this will prevent any significant cold air outbreaks from Canada. Over the next 7-10 days, however, there will be a change to the upper-level wind flow with troughiness developing over the Aleutian Islands (blue area on forecast map below) and high pressure ridging forming along the west coast of the US and British Columbia (red area on forecast map below) [an increasingly +PNA and -EPO pattern]. This type of upper level pattern will increase the chances for Arctic air outbreaks to be able to drop from northern Canada into the northern US as we progress through the rest of December and into January.

[00Z GFS-Ensemble 500 mb height anomaly forecast for Christmas Eve (12/24); map courtesy "tropicaltidbits.com"]

High-latitude blocking In addition, upper-level high pressure ridging is likely to develop over eastern Canada, Greenland and the western Atlantic (circled area above) in the next 7-10 days and this generally leads to a “blocking” pattern in the higher-latitudes which often favors colder and stormier weather in the Northeast US. The change to a “blocking” type of pattern can be tracked by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Arctic Oscillation (AO) indices which - when negative - usually suggest some “blocking” in the atmosphere at higher latitudes is underway. Indeed, the NAO and AO are forecasted to drop sharply in the next 7-10 days or so into negative territory (red, circled areas on forecast maps below).

[North Atlantic Oscillation index and Arctic Oscillation index forecasts; courtesy NOAA]

An active southern jet Elsewhere, the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly pattern in the Pacific Ocean currently features colder-than-normal water (blue area) to the north of Hawaii and warmer-than-normal water (yellow, orange area) near Hawaii and this combined with the unfolding weak El Nino (circled area) in the central tropical Pacific Ocean will likely generate an active southern jet stream cutting from west-to-east across the Pacific Ocean (indicated by arrow) and right into the southern US. This type of pattern will likely keep multiple storms coming into California over the next several days and these disturbances will tend to move west-to-east across the country riding along the southern jet stream.

[Current sea surface temperature anomalies; courtesy NOAA]

Multiple storm threats There is the potential for storm development this weekend along the east coast from a system that will hit California on Tuesday, then head to Texas by mid-week, and then pull out of the southern states late in the week and make a move to the northeast. Computer forecast models are not in agreement with this potential threat – par for the course when several days out from any potential event – but the changes in the overall weather pattern as described above suggest that the threat is real. The air mass in place ahead of this potential weekend storm will be only marginally cold enough for snow in the Mid-Atlantic region so odds would probably favor rain at the coast and snow in interior higher-elevation locations with the I-95 corridor in the usual precipitation-type "battle zone" area. This storm may be the first of many over the next couple of weeks. A second storm is possible around the middle of next week and then another one a few days after that.

High-latitude “blocking”, a weak and centrally-based El Nino, and an active southern jet were all major factors in the 2014-2015 Vencore Weather Winter Outlook which favored a colder and snowier winter than normal: http://vencoreweather.com/2014-2015-winter-outlook/

Buckle up, it could be a wild ride.

12:30 PM | There is hope for a white Christmas

[12Z GFS-ENS Christmas Day forecast for 500 mb height anomalies with an upper level trough in the eastern US and impressive blocking high pressure in eastern Canada; map courtesy tropicaltidbits.com]

Discussion

There will be a break in the overall weather pattern over the next week or so in the Mid-Atlantic region from the recent “stormy and cold” conditions to generally dry, chilly and rather uneventful. However, looking ahead to Christmas week, it appears as though the overall pattern may return to “stormy and cold” and that type of weather pattern may just continue right into the New Year.

The stalled out significant Northeast US storm that has impacted the region for the past several days is finally relinquishing control of the weather to building high pressure in the Mid-Atlantic and this will lead to a decent weekend and the nicer weather should continue right into next week. In fact, it looks relatively dry for much of next week and temperatures will gradually climb from chilly levels this weekend to slightly above normal by Tuesday afternoon.

[Probabilities for a white Christmas across the US; courtesy NOAA]

Looking ahead to Christmas week, computer forecast models tend to agree on the re-establishment of a deep trough of low pressure in the eastern US and impressive blocking high pressure in eastern Canada and this will allow for more cold air intrusions from Canada into the US and it could lead to storminess near the east coast. The 12Z GFS-Ensemble 500 millibar height anomaly forecast map (above) shows the eastern US upper-level trough of low pressure (blue) for Christmas Day and the blocking high pressure to the north (orange) - all of which indeed raises some hope for a white Christmas in the Mid-Atlantic region. Stay tuned.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/ynxOm-p2i_A

1:00 PM | *Great Lakes snow machine is running at full force...Buffalo with 4 feet of snow and counting...coldest November day across the CONUS since 1976*

[Buffalo snow as of this morning]

[Looking south over Lake Erie with walls of snow headed towards Buffalo]

Discussion

Great Lakes snow machine Talk about a perfect setup…the combination of southwesterly winds in the lower atmosphere, brutal cold Arctic air for mid-November and relatively warm Lake Erie water temperatures is producing incredible snow amounts in areas just to the south of Buffalo with 4 feet on the ground and several more feet possible over the next day or two. This setup is perfect for Buffalo to get pounded with snow as southwest winds in the lower atmosphere allow the air to flow for the longest period of time over the longest possible path across Lake Erie which is oriented southwest-to-northeast. As this air flows over Lake Erie, it picks up tons of moisture and dumps it on southwestern New York. This same type of pattern is occurring downwind of Lake Ontario in upstate New York and several feet of snow is expected just to the south of Watertown, NY as well.

[Surface map showing southwest winds over Lake Erie which is perfect setup for Buffalo; courtesy NOAA]

Historic Arctic blast As a whole this morning, the continental US experienced its coldest average temperature in the month of November since 1976. According to Weather Bell Analytics (weatherbell.com), the average temperature across the CONUS bottomed out earlier today at 19.4°F when more than 85% of the surface area reached or fell below freezing. All 50-states saw at or below freezing temperatures on Tuesday and should again on Wednesday. Numerous cold temperature records are likely to be broken on Wednesday from the Northeast US to the Deep South as this Arctic blast becomes well-entrenched in that part of the country.

[Coldest November day across the nation since 1976; map and data courtesy Weather Bell Analytics]

Looking ahead Milder weather is in sight. It looks like it’ll turn milder on Sunday and Monday; however, that warm up is likely to be accompanied by some more rainfall.

12:00 PM | **Heavy rainfall today and then an historic cold blast with an amazing current nationwide snow cover extent**

[Current snow cover extent in the US is 50.4%; courtesy NOAA]

Discussion

Today's heavy rainfall The evening rush hour up and down the I-95 corridor from DC-to-Philly-to-NYC will likely be quite a mess with heavy rainfall likely through much of the afternoon and early evening hours in many of these locations. All of this rainfall comes ahead of an Arctic blast that’ll arrive in the overnight hours and it will turn out to be an historic cold blast in many areas of the eastern half of the nation over the next couple of days.

Historic Arctic blast In this part of the country, several records are in jeopardy during this upcoming cold snap that will feature the coldest air seen around here since February. What is coming our way? It is currently 12 degrees in Minneapolis, Minnesota with winds gusting to 26 mph - and its only mid-November. The most likely time for record-challenging cold around here is likely to come on Wednesday as temperatures should bottom out in the teens in the overnight hours leading into the early morning. The record low at Philly Airport (PHL), for example, on Wednesday, November 19th is 20 degrees set in 1936 and this one is in jeopardy. Dulles (IAD), VA has a chance to break the record for its coldest low and high temperature on both Tuesday and Wednesday. BWI Airport in Maryland has a good chance to have its coldest November 18 on record (Tuesday), as well as its coldest low and high temperature on November 19 (Wednesday). Amazingly, the high temperature expected tomorrow in DC (maybe only as high as freezing) is 10 degrees colder than the average high temperature in mid-January. State College, PA will be lucky to see their high temperature reach the lower 20's on Tuesday and their record low maximum is 27 degrees set in 1903.

This historic Arctic outbreak will not only affect the Mid-Atlantic region, but will extend from the northern Plains to the Deep South over the next few days. In fact, record lows will be challenged on multiple occasions through midweek from eastern Texas to the Carolinas with lows near freezing along much of the Gulf Coast. Parts of northern Florida may even have their first freeze of the season as lows dip down into the 20s in cities such as Jacksonville and Tallahassee.

Amazing current US snow cover Not surprisingly, the snow cover across the country has expanded significantly during the past 7 days or so. In fact, the current snow cover extent across the nation is around 50.4% which is the most we’ve seen (by a long shot) in the first half of November since 2003, when the National Snow Analysis archive begins. Only the year 2012 comes close to this year’s 50.4 percent coverage — on Nov. 12, 2012, 31.5 percent of the lower 48 was covered in snow. The normal snow cover extent nationwide at Christmas-time is around 33%. By the way, ice is already starting to appear on Lake Superior and it should expand significantly over the next few days. Last winter's relentless cold caused some record ice cover amounts in all five of the Great Lakes.

Looking ahead Milder weather is in sight for the eastern half of the nation. It looks like it’ll turn milder late this weekend and early next week; however, that warm up is likely to be accompanied by some more rainfall.

[Clouds associated with the Arctic front extend from the Gulf of Mexico to New England; courtesy NOAA]

1:00 PM | Superstorm about to impact the Bering Strait and it will have ramifications on our weather

[Depiction of the forecasted wind field associated with this superstorm near Alaska; courtesy earth.nullschool.net]

Discussion

One of the most intense storms ever is about to move over the Bering Sea and it will have an impact on our weather in the eastern US in coming days. The Bering Sea is one of the stormiest parts of our planet, but it has rarely seen a storm like this and there is a chance that it could feature atmospheric pressure not seen this low in many decades in this part of the world.

Computer forecast models have been signaling for days that the remains of Typhoon Nuri will undergo a transition over the next few days into an extratropical storm as it moves away from Japan. As it does, unusually strong upper-levels winds across the North Pacific will help to intensify the system in a dramatic fashion – perhaps from around 970 millibars today to 925 millibars by tomorrow night. In fact, if it bottoms out at 925 millibars tomorrow night then it would tie the record for the lowest pressure ever recorded in the Bering Sea. The current record holder is 925 millibars and was set in October 1977 (in Dutch Harbor, Alaska). Note- as a point of reference, the lowest pressure recorded with Hurricane Sandy was 940 millibars. The storm will bring howling winds of up to 80 mph or so to the Aleutian Island chain and to the western part of the Alaskan mainland. Seas are forecast to build to at least 50 feet in the southwest Aleutians and perhaps even higher than that in the Bering Strait.

As far as possible ramifications on our weather…many times we’ve talked about “teleconnections” here at "VecnoreWeather.com" in which an event on one part of the world has an effect on another part of the world several days later. Indeed, this deep trough of low pressure developing in the Northern Pacific will likely translate downstream into a deep trough across the central and eastern US in coming days. In fact, it appears the reincarnation of Typhoon Nuri and some other atmospheric factors will lead to multiple rounds of Arctic air outbreaks into the Midwest and eastern US during the remainder of the month of November. One such major cold air outbreak is destined to reach the Mid-Atlantic region around Wednesday of next week.

11:30 AM | *Major cold wave invades the nation next week as overall weather pattern looks increasingly winter-like*

[Arctic Oscillation index: actual (black), forecast (red); courtesy NOAA]

Discussion

A couple of weeks ago, Vencore Weather put out the 2014-2015 Winter Outlook calling for a cold and snowy winter in the Mid-Atlantic region with a quick start including some notable cold and snow in December - well that last part of the winter outlook may just have to be revised slightly as the unfolding weather pattern could actually bring the real start of winter to this month rather than waiting for December.

To begin with, the Arctic Oscillation (AO) index which was highlighted in the Winter Outlook discussion is about to tank once again into deep negative territory which is suggestive of “high-latitude blocking” in the upper atmosphere of the higher latitudes and this usually is followed by Arctic air outbreaks into the northern US. Indeed, blocking in the higher latitudes will force an Arctic air mass to plunge into the mid-section of the country by next Tuesday and that impressive major cold air outbreak will likely reach the Mid-Atlantic region at mid-week. Next week’s early season Arctic air outbreak will be backed up by a monster high pressure system of 1040 millibars or higher and has the potential to produce record-breaking cold in much of the eastern half of the nation.

In addition to the AO, another important factor for our potential winter weather is the snowpack across Eurasia and the entire northern hemisphere as we approach the winter season. Indeed, at the end of October, the snowpack levels were quite impressive in our usual cold air source regions. Statistics gathered by the Rutgers Snow Lab in New Jersey show that the end-of-October snowcover is the 3rd highest in the last 47 years for the northern hemisphere and 2nd highest across Eurasia in that same time period. All of this bodes well for cold and snow in the northeastern US during the upcoming winter as described in detail in the Winter Outlook discussion. The plot below displays the northern hemisphere snowcover as of November 2nd for 2014 (right) and 2007 (left) - notice the significantly higher amounts of snow throughout Eurasia (white area) and even on this side of the north pole at this crucial time of year heading into the winter season.

[Northern hemisphere snowcover comparison for 2007 and 2014; data courtesy University of Illinois "cryosphere"]

2014-2015 Winter Outlook: http://vencoreweather.com/2014/10/15/1200-pm-2014-2015-winter-outlook-by-vencore-weather-looks-cold-and-snowy-for-the-mid-atlantic-region/

10:00 AM | 2014 - another down year in the US for tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme heat, wildfires and drought

Discussion

Overview Whether you’re talking about tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme heat, wildfires or drought, there is good news this year in that similar to last year, these extreme weather-related events are down in the U.S. compared to normal and, in the case of land falling major hurricanes, to historically quiet levels.

Tornadoes To begin with, the number of tornadoes in the US this year is on pace to be one of the lowest totals in the last ten years and well below the 9-year average (2005-2013) of 1478. The table below lists the number of tornadoes in the US for this year (preliminary count through 11/03) and full-year totals going back to 2005 [Data source: NOAA, http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/online/monthly/newm.html; http://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/]

Hurricanes As far as hurricanes are concerned and keeping in mind that the Atlantic Basin tropical season isn't quite over yet, the 2014 hurricane season has generally been a quiet one for the continental U.S. and below normal for the Atlantic Basin as a whole. As of November 3rd, there have been eight named storms this year in the Atlantic Basin - Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo and Hanna. Six of these storms became hurricanes and two reached major hurricane status (category 3 or higher), but only Arthur impacted the continental US (Outer Banks of North Carolina). In terms of Accumulated Cyclone Energy, or ACE, this tropical season in the Atlantic Basin is only 67% of normal when using the 1981-2010 time period for comparison (Data source: Dr. Ryan Maue at Weather Bell Analytics; http://models.weatherbell.com/tropical.php). ACE is a commonly-used metric for activity because it is not dependent on exact numbers of named storms or hurricanes, but rather is based on both the intensity and longevity of all tropical storms and hurricanes (so a long-lived tropical storm could contribute as much ACE as a short-lived storm that reached hurricane intensity).

An interesting stat with respect to US hurricanes has to do with the fact that we are currently in the longest period since records began without a major hurricane strike in the US (i.e., category 3, 4 or 5). The last major hurricane to strike the US was Hurricane Wilma during late October of the record-breaking year of 2005 - let’s hope this historic stretch continues. October 24th marked the 9th anniversary of the last major hurricane hit in the US, the last one being Wilma in the southwestern part of Florida. Florida has, in fact, quite amazingly now gone through their longest stretch ever without a hurricane of any kind – nine years as of October 24th – with the next longest streak in records dating back to 1851 being just five seasons from 1980-1984. In 2004 and 2005 alone, seven hurricanes hit Florida (Charley, Frances, Jeanne, and Ivan in 2004; Dennis, Katrina, and Wilma in 2005).

By the way, just as another point of comparison, in 1954 the US was hit by 3 major hurricanes in less than 10 weeks.

[Running 9 year mean in Florida]

Extreme Heat In addition to tornadoes and hurricanes, extreme heat is also down across the US this year when looking at frequency of 90 degrees days at all of the US Historical Climate Network (HCN) stations going back to the late 1800’s and this continues a long-term downward trend since the 1930’s. In fact, the percentage of US HCN stations to reach 90 degrees so far this year (through 10/24) has been the smallest on record. The most widespread heat occurred in 1931, when more than 98% of stations reached 90 degrees.

(Data source: NOAA, USHCN reporting stations; Steve Goddard, http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2014/10/25/us-having-its-coolest-year-on-record/ )

This year also continues a downward trend in the frequency of 100 degree days since the 1930’s as seen in the chart below. The five summers with the highest number of 100 degree days across the US are as follows: 1936, 1934, 1954, 1980 and 1930.

(Data source: NOAA, US HCN reporting stations; Steve Goddard)

Wildfires As far as wildfires are concerned, the amount of acres burned across the US was the lowest in the last eleven years through October 10th and the number of wildfires was the second lowest in that same time period – both well below the 2004-2013 average (table below).

(Data source: National Interagency Fire Center; http://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm, http://www.nifc.gov/)

Drought Finally, despite the fact that much of California is suffering through severe drought, 63% of the country had no drought conditions as of October 28th and this is even higher than one year ago at this same time when about 48% of the country had no drought conditions (data source: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/TabularStatistics.aspx; Roger Pielke, Jr). This actually continues a longer-term trend which shows a rather benign look to the Palmer Drought Severity Index in the last several years across the contiguous US (values generally between +1 and -1 since around 2001). The most severe drought conditions in the contiguous US occurred during the middle 1930's and then again in the middle 1950's when the Palmer Drought Severity Index dropped below -3.

Paul Dorian/Meteorologist VencoreWeather.com on Facebook, Twitter and liveweatherblogs.com paul.b.dorian@vencore.com

9:30 AM | Some amazing early season snow and cold

[Record or near record lows from yesterday and this morning; data courtesy coolwx.com]

Discussion

Heavy snow fell this weekend throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which straddles the border region between Tennessee and North Carolina with up to nearly two feet reported in some of the highest elevation locations (e.g., 22 inches at Mt LeConte, TN). Heavy snow was also reported on sections of the Blue-Ridge Parkway connecting the Shenandoah National Park in southwestern Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Up to six inches of snow fell around Asheville, North Carolina while 3 inches were measured in Boone, North Carolina. Seven inches fell near Marshall, North Carolina (elevation 2280 feet) and up to 3 inches blanketed Bluefield, West Virginia.

Perhaps the most amazing feature about this weekend’s early season snow and cold was that accumulating snow fell in lower elevation locations across South Carolina and even was seen all the way to the coastline where Charleston saw its earliest snow on record. Columbia, South Carolina recorded its earliest snowfall ever (see picture below) with as much as 4.5 inches measured just southwest of the capital city. There have been only two other Novembers since the 1800s with snow accumulation in the city according to the National Weather Service. The previous benchmark for earliest snowfall in Columbia, SC was November 9, 1913.

[Snow-covered Columbia, South Carolina]

As the powerful storm that contributed to all of this early season snow and cold exited off to the northeast late yesterday, significant snow fell throughout much of Maine with a foot measured at Bangor and there was even some small snow accumulation in and around the Boston metro region. Bangor (12 inches) and Caribou (10.1 inches), Maine both set their record earliest double-digit snowfall days, besting records from Nov. 15, 1962 and Nov. 20, 1945, respectively, according to the National Weather Service office in Caribou.

In addition to the snow, cold was record-breaking in many southeastern US locations this weekend and into this morning. The plot above displays the widespread record or near record low temperature locations (blue circled regions) from yesterday morning and this morning (data courtesy coolwx.com). Some examples of record-setting cold on Sunday included Macon, Georgia at 29 degrees, Vero Beach, Florida at 41 degrees and Tampa, Florida recorded its lowest high temperature for the date at 67 degrees breaking a record held there since 1895. More record lows were set this morning in the Southeast US including Ocala, Florida at 37 degrees.