I am not keen on statistics. Now, this could be because I was pretty poor at it at university! But, you seem to be able to use statistics to tell so many different stories, and I only like them when they tell a particularly good one. So, here goes:
Texas, in the US, has just experienced its wettest November on record, and the records go back to 1895. Major cities throughout the state accumulated November rainfall totals that ranged from three to nearly ten times normal amounts. For example, Austin recorded 350mm rain, which is 526% of normal.
This is actually the second month to receive unusual amounts of rain, as June 2004 was also the wettest June on record in Texas. Now it looks as though 2004 may also turn out to be the state’s wettest year on record.
These record rainfall totals have been achieved without the aid of tropical storms or hurricanes. In fact, none made landfall in Texas this year. A moist southeast flow from the Gulf of Mexico, combined with weather systems bringing in moisture from the Pacific, triggered the record precipitation.
Back home now, and our November was not a record breaking one, but it did have some highlights. Across England and Wales, it was much drier than normal, in fact ‘well below average’. 53mm rain fell during the month, which is 58% of the average. Despite being a mild month, there was a pretty nasty cold snap. Many saw snow, at least for a time, but black ice was the main hazard, causing widespread travel disruption.
Temperatures were higher than average across Scotland and Northern Ireland too, with the latter having an exceptionally mild month with temperatures 2 Celsius higher than normal.
