Today is the date of the average first subzero temperature of the winter. What this means is that since 1881, half the winter seasons have had a subzero temperature on or before November 28 and half the years it has been on or after today.
The coldest temperature so far this season is 19 degrees set back on November 19 when there was still snow on the ground. November cold is almost directly related to the presence of snow. When the snow gets deep early, cold weather is far more likely than in seasons like this year when snow cover has been mostly non-existent.
Last winter, there was virtually no snow until November 30 and, likewise, there was no subzero weather in November. The deep snow cover over Minnesota from last week’s storm did cause a few lower temperatures, but the air that settled over that snow had to blow across snow-free ground to get there.
Both snowfall and much colder weather are likely to arrive next month.
