Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rainfall Down In November

Raindrops fell on our collective heads during November, but not the normal amount.

According to John W. Teeter, local meteorologist, 4.82 inches of rain fell during the 11th month of the year, but the normal amount is 5.49 inches. This resulted in a deficit of 0.67 inch.

Davis Benton, the weatherman from Cale, said the south part of Nevada County received 5.41 inches of moisture during the month, making November the wettest month since April.

For the year, Teeter said, the area has received 49.60 inches of rain, while the normal amount is 51.23 inches. Because of this, the region has a shortfall of rain in the amount of 1.63 inches.

Rain fell nine days during November, Teeter said, with the largest single day amount being 1.45 inches on Nov. 5.

Benton said the Cale area had a killing frost on Nov. 16.

Teeter said there was only one watch or warning posted for the month, three less than normal.

The average temperature for November was 48.3 degrees, or 5.4 degrees below normal. Teeter said the average daily normal temperature is 53.7.

November, he said, saw six nights when the mercury fell below the freezing mark, with a low of 23 degrees recorded on Nov. 17 and 18. Benton said the temperature fell to 25 on Nov. 17 in Cale.

"November 1997 qualifies as a 'cold month'," Teeter said. "Our first hard freeze came 18 days earlier than usual."

However, this is not a record. According to Teeter, there have been killing frosts and freezes recorded in the area as early as mid-September.

During the weird weather year of 1930, there were reports of frost in Nevada County in August. But, temperatures were only recorded showing the to be in the low 40's, Teeter said.

The high temperature for November, he said, was 73 on Nov. 29. Benton said the thermometer reached into the 70's several days in the Cale region.

A weather record could have been set, Teeter said. It rained for 67.5 consecutive hours from Nov. 12-15. "We have never recorded this type of event," he said, "but will in the future."

Looking at the Christmas month, Teeter said the normal amount of rainfall is 5.28 inches, while the average daily temperature is 44.9 degrees. Normally, there are five watches or warnings posted during the month as well.

Teeter reminds everyone to pay attention to the watches and warnings posted during December as issued by the National Weather Service.

"Tornadoes can occur during December," he said. "One of the 13 tornadoes I've seen hit the Augusta-McCrory area the day before Christmas Eve in 1973.

"I followed this super cell from Jacksonville to Bald Knob and lost sight of it," he continued. "The storm apparently turned east as I began running into debris in the road a few miles east of Bald Knob. Then I heard radio reports for severe damage at both McCrory and Augusta.

"As I approached the area hit, a deputy sheriff flagged me down and asked if I would take some people to a shelter in a church a few miles west of town. I spent two hours shuttling people to shelter.

"By that time, the Red Cross, National Guard and Arkansas State Police arrived. I moved on to Jonesboro. It took nearly three hours to go east to the junction of U.S. Highway 49, a trip of normally 30 minutes."