The gales of November don't come crashing in central Indiana

While most of us likely have "Bleak Friday" fresh on the mind with its rain, wind and cold on Nov. 27, most of November 2015 will go down as warmer than normal across central Indiana.

Overall, average temperatures were generally three to six degrees above normal for November in central Indiana, the National Weather Service reported in its monthly summary.

After the chilly November experienced in 2014, average temperatures were 10 to 12 degrees warmer this November.

For the Indianapolis area, November 2015 was the eighth warmest on record and the warmest since November 2011.

Over the last month at Indianapolis, there were 21 days of above normal-average temperatures, eight days with below-normal average temperatures and one day with average temperatures.

November 2015 was the eighth warmest in the Indianapolis area since 1871.

One of the warmest starts to a November over central Indiana in recent memory came in on the wings of southerly winds and high pressure. Highs rose into the middle and upper 70s during the first few days of the month, resulting in the fifth-warmest first five days of November on record and the warmest since November 2003.

A spirited high of 76 on Nov. 4 and 5 produced the warmest November days Indianapolis has seen since Nov. 4, 2003 when the high temperature reached 78.

Passage of a cold front late on the fifth, however, prompted a return to more seasonable but still largely warmer-than-normal temperatures through the middle of the month as highs were largely in the 50s and lower 60s.

The passage of a strong low pressure through the Ohio Valley on the 18th brought in progressively cold weather as highs fell into the 40s. An upper level system tracking through the lower Great Lakes on the 21st brought the first accumulating snow to parts of central Indiana.

The snow had a big impact on temperatures on the 22nd, as morning lows started out in the single digits and teens under clear skies, followed by the coldest daytime high of the month ranging from the mid and upper 20s north to middle 30s south.

Temperatures recovered with central Indiana enjoying its warmest Thanksgiving Day since 2012 as highs rose into the 60s.

However, a colder airmass once again returned to the region in wake of a cold frontal passage late on the 27th. Highs remained in the upper 30s to middle 40s for the last few days of the month.

November monthly rainfall and melted precipitation measured from near 1.5 inches in northeast Indiana to more than six inches in south central Indiana. Much of the state received below normal to normal precipitation during November. Only portions of extreme western and southern Indiana saw above normal monthly totals.

Snowfall during November was confined to northern and central portions of Indiana. In central Indiana, monthly snowfall totals ranged 2 to 5 inches in areas west and north of Indianapolis with nearly 10 inches in extreme northern Indiana. Around an inch or less fell in the remainder of central Indiana.

All of the month's snowfall occurred from late on Nov. 21 through the 22nd.

The most extensive rainfall of the month fell in a four-day period from late on the 25th through early on the 29th. Rainfall of one-half inch in northern Indiana to more than two inches in west-central Indiana helped relieve dry conditions in much of the state.

Abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions decreased from nearly 90 percent coverage in the state to less than 30 percent during the month. November 2015 was tied for the 67th driest in the Indianapolis area since weather records began in 1871.

Meanwhile, the official outlook for December 2015 from the Climate Prediction Center indicates a much greater chance of above-normal temperatures for central Indiana.

At Indianapolis, the average December temperature is 31.6 degrees.

The outlook indicates an equal chance of below or near-normal precipitation for central Indiana. The average precipitation for December at Indianapolis is 3.17 inches, with 6.9 inches of snowfall.