Don’t let December’s rain, gray skies or fields of standing water distract you into thinking it has rained a lot. November maintained 2023’s pattern of rainfall below the monthly century’s norms. While precipitation came down 22 days, half of those were under one-tenth inch.

It rained daily the first two weeks, Nov. 1-13, totaling 2.5 inches, 78% of the month’s 3.2 inches. Nov. 1-4 1.2 inches fell, which grew to 1.4 inches through Nov 8. That was the longest period of higher precipitation. Another inch fell Nov. 11-13. While there were another nine days of rainfall, only two were around 0.2 inches.

The month’s rainfall was 1.3 inches, 29.6%, below the century average. The 17.7 inches of rain in 2023 is 10.4 inches, 37% below normal for the year to date for this century.

Five years since 2015 November has had at least 5.6 inches of rain. Ten times since 2011 at least 4.7 inches came down.

Novembers are historically wet in the 21st century. At least 3.5 inches of rain has fallen 16 years. More than four inches of rain fell 12 times. In nine years, over five inches fell and six inches or more has fallen five times.

This year’s 3.2 inches of rain was the sixth driest November this century. In five years less than three inches of rain fell. Two of those years were 2019-2020.

The first week was the warmest stretch of the month, with highs of 63.9- and 60.1-degrees Nov. 4-5. The daily average temperatures were between 51.5- and 57-degrees Nov. 2-6. The average temperature did not again rise to 50 degrees nor did a daily high top 56.3 degrees.

The second half of the month was cold, with 12 mornings of frost starting Nov. 14. Ten of those lows were in the twenties, including the last eight mornings, going down to 23.9 degrees Nov. 28 and 24.7 degrees Nov. 29, when those days’ average temperature was below freezing. Nov. 23-30 the average temperature was below 39 degrees with the days becoming increasingly colder.

It was not as cold as November 2022, but the daily minimum of 35.2 degrees is 2.7 degrees below the century norm and the daily average of 42.7 degrees is 1.3 degrees lower for the 2000s. Still, the average daily maximum of 50.6 degrees was at the century’s norm.

No precipitation or temperature records were set.

There is no data for 2003.

Measurements and data are at Washington State University’s Mount Vernon weather station on Memorial Highway.