It was weird. Honestly, if you lived through it, you probably remember that strange, lingering warmth that felt less like "late autumn" and more like a delayed extension of September. We all spent most of the month waiting for that classic, bone-chilling frost to finally settle in, but for a huge chunk of the planet, it just didn't happen.
The weather forecast November 2024 became a bit of a moving target for meteorologists. One week we were talking about "anticyclonic gloom" in London, and the next, people in Louisiana were sweating through the warmest nighttime temperatures they’d ever seen in November. It wasn't just "a bit mild." It was historically lopsided.
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Why the weather forecast November 2024 broke the rules
If you look at the raw data from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), the numbers are staggering. The average temperature across the contiguous U.S. was 45.3°F. That might sound chilly on paper, but it’s actually 3.6°F above the long-term average. It ended up being the sixth-warmest November in 130 years of record-keeping.
But here’s the kicker: the warmth wasn't evenly spread. It was like the country was split down the middle by an invisible wall. While the eastern half of the U.S. was essentially baking in record-breaking heat—Maine, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana all had their warmest Novembers ever—the West was actually near or even below average.
The humidity and the "Sticky" nights
The real story wasn't just the afternoon highs. It was the nights. You probably noticed you weren't reaching for the heavy duvet as early as usual. Nighttime minimum temperatures were roughly 4.2°F above average. Nineteen states saw their warmest overnight lows on record. When the sun goes down and the heat doesn't leave, it changes everything from your heating bill to how plants prepare for winter dormancy.
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Global chaos: Beyond the U.S. borders
While Americans were debating whether or not to turn on the furnace, the rest of the world was dealing with a global temperature that reached 1.34°C (2.41°F) above the 20th-century average. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2024 officially became the first year to ever exceed the 1.5°C warming threshold compared to pre-industrial levels.
Europe’s tale of two halves
In Europe, the month was a mess. It started with what the British Met Office called "anticyclonic gloom"—high pressure that trapped gray, dull, but relatively mild air over the continent. Then, things flipped. By mid-month, an Arctic maritime airmass crashed down.
- Storm Bert: This was the big one. It hit the UK on November 23rd, dumping over 150mm of rain in parts of Wales.
- Storm Conall: Just as people were cleaning up from Bert, Conall brushed the southern coast of England with more heavy rain.
- Denmark: Even in the cold snaps, Denmark managed to record its warmest November night ever.
Asia actually had its warmest November on record. Think about that. An entire continent, the largest on Earth, hitting a record high for the month. Approximately 11% of the world's surface saw record-breaking November temperatures in 2024.
The hurricane season that wouldn't quit
Usually, by November, tropical meteorologists are starting to think about their holiday plans. Not in 2024. The Atlantic basin saw three tropical cyclones, which ties the record for the most named storms in November.
Hurricane Rafael was a beast. It peaked as a Category 3 and tore through western Cuba, causing over $1 billion in damage. It tied for the strongest November hurricane ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico. Shortly after, Tropical Storm Sara stalled out near Honduras, causing catastrophic flooding and mudslides before finally dissipating.
The sheer amount of energy in the ocean was the fuel. Even though we were technically moving toward a La Niña phase—which usually cools things down—the Atlantic was so warm it didn't seem to care.
The La Niña that stayed "Neutral"
All year, we heard the same thing: "La Niña is coming."
By the time November 2024 rolled around, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) was still classifying conditions as "ENSO-neutral." The cooling in the central Pacific was happening, but it was slow. It was like a car coasting toward a red light but refusing to actually stop.
This delay is a huge reason why the weather forecast November 2024 stayed so warm. Without the cooling influence of a strong La Niña to balance out the record-high greenhouse gas concentrations, the "heat-trapping" effect of the atmosphere just ran wild.
Actionable insights: What this means for you
We can't change what happened in November, but we can look at the patterns it left behind to prepare for the coming seasons.
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- Audit your cooling, not just heating: With "warm" Novembers becoming more frequent, ensure your HVAC system is serviced for late-season cooling needs. Humidity levels in 2024 were higher than usual, leading to mold risks in basements that are normally dry by late autumn.
- Planting cycles are shifting: If you're a gardener, those record-warm nights mean the "first frost" date is no longer a reliable metric. Look for "Hardiness Zone" updates, as many areas are effectively shifting one half-zone north.
- Infrastructure resilience: If you live in a region prone to late-season storms (like the Gulf Coast or the UK), the 2024 season proved that "seasonal boundaries" are blurring. Keep your emergency kits ready through the end of the year, not just through October.
- Water management: The U.S. saw a weird mix of record wetness in Oklahoma and Kansas, while the Northeast stayed bone-dry. If you're in a drought-prone area, November is no longer a guaranteed "recharge" month for groundwater.
The transition from autumn to winter is becoming more volatile. The 2024 data shows that we aren't just seeing "warmer" weather; we're seeing more energy trapped in the system, which leads to those wild swings between "anticyclonic gloom" and billion-dollar hurricanes.