November and December: Heading into Wintertime

By Russell Russ

It has been said that November, especially the latter part of the month, can be the predictor for the coming winter. This November had less precipitation than average, but temperatures were very average, so it is difficult to predict much from this November’s conditions. We all will just have to wait and see how this winter pans out. Many experts are saying it will be colder and snowier than we have experienced in recent years. That will not be hard because we have had some exceptionally soft winters in recent years. November was on the dry side, but nowhere near last year’s extremely dry autumn period. December was colder and snowier than average. We have not been able to say that in many years. Maybe December will be a predictor month for the coming winter? The smaller local ponds began icing over in late November. Tobey Pond and Wangum Lake took longer (as usual) and iced over for the season on Dec. 15 and 23, respectively. This is about average over the long term, but a little earlier than most recent years.

November’s average temperature of 37.4 degrees was just 0.3 degrees above normal. Temperatures ranged from a high of 59 to a low of 22 degrees. Norfolk’s warmest November was in 2006 with 43.2 degrees, the coldest was in 1933 with 30.7. Total precipitation for the month was 1.80 inches, 2.78 inches below normal. It was Norfolk’s sixth driest November on record. Norfolk’s driest November was in 2012 with just 0.84 inches and the wettest was in 1950, with 10.03 inches. November’s snowfall total of 0.6 inches was 6.0 inches below normal. The first snow flurries of the season came on Nov 10, and the first measurable snow (just 0.5 inches) came on Nov 11. Norfolk’s snowiest November was in 1968 with 24.7 inches.

December’s average temperature of 23.5 degrees was 2.3 degrees below normal. It was not high ranking for cold, but it was Norfolk’s coldest December since 2017. In fact, over the last 25 years, there have only been two colder Decembers than December 2025 (2017 and 2010). Temperatures this December ranged from a high of 54 to a low of -1 degree. Both were record temperatures. The -1 on Dec. 5 tied the record low from 1935 and the high of 54 on Dec. 19 surpassed the old record high of 52 from 1957. Norfolk’s warmest December was in 2015 with 39.5 degrees and the coldest was in 1989 with 11.5. With a monthly total precipitation amount of 4.13 inches, it was 0.44 inches below normal. The monthly snowfall total of 19.1 inches was 2.3 inches above normal. After Dec. 2, there was at least a trace of snow on the ground for the rest of the month. Perhaps not at every house in town, but with a snow cover of one inch at the weather station on Christmas morning, it was officially a white Christmas. The largest snowfall total for the month was 6.2 inches from the underachieving Dec. 26-27 snowstorm. It seemed like a snowy December this year, but snowfall is common in Norfolk in December. Over the last 25 years, there have been seven Decembers that came in with more snow than this December. Norfolk’s least snowy December was in 1943 with a monthly snowfall total of just 0.6 inches. The snowiest was in 1969 with 44.2 inches.

Weather observations are recorded by the Great Mountain Forest at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2SW.