DO I HAVE A WEEKEND FOR YOU!

There's an old saying that you have to experience the bad to appreciate the good. Well, for many of you here's the bad from the recent past. This is the October snowfall summary for the United States and how it compares to the average of the last 11 October's

Many places broke early-season and monthly snowfall records from the Rockies to the Northern Plains/Upper Midwest. A snowy and cold start to the winter ahead.

Then came November and in came the good, and boy are we appreciating it. Thursday was the 3rd consecutive day much of my area hit the 70 degree mark.

In many areas there are signs that the streak of 70 degree days could last into Monday making for a remarkable stretch of seven days at or above 70 degrees. This chart from the Iowa Mesonet shows the frequency of having such a stretch by day of the year in Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities. Experiencing a streak like this during November is "unprecedented" and would be nearly 2 weeks later than the previous latest stretch ending October 26th. The chart also shows the rapid drop in frequency during the month of September as cooler temperatures become more common with the arrival of fall.

Cedar Rapids

The Quad Cities

Another nice feature of Wednesday's weather was the lack of wind with afternoon speeds running in the 5-15 mph range. 70s in November are often accompanied by blustery conditions and wind gusts of 30 mph or more.