November temperatures were well below normal in every part of Georgia in 2018 with the exception of Brunswick, where they were slightly above normal. Rainfall in many parts of the state was 150 percent or more above normal. The driest areas were along the coastal plain and the wettest areas were in the northern third of the state. There were only two days with severe weather, both of which occurred early in the month.

In Atlanta, the monthly average temperature was 50.3 degrees F (3.7 degrees below normal), in Athens 49.4 degrees (4.4 degrees below normal), Columbus 54.0 (3.3 degrees below normal), Macon 53.1 (2.8 below normal), Savannah 58.7 (0.6 below normal), Brunswick 62.6 (0.8 above normal), Alma 58.7 (1.2 below normal), Augusta 53.8 (1.4 below normal), Albany 57.5 (1.2 below normal), Rome 48.0 (2.8 below normal), and Valdosta 58.2 F (1.8 degrees below normal). This was quite a change from October, when all of the state was at least two degrees warmer than normal.

Savannah reported a daily high temperature record of 86 F on November 6, breaking the old record of 85 F set in 2003. Brunswick reported a daily maximum temperature record of 82 F on November 13, surpassing the old record of 81 F set in 1972. Savannah also tied a record high minimum temperature of 68 F on November 9, equaling values set in several previous years.

Precipitation was much wetter than normal in most of Georgia in November 2018. The highest monthly total precipitation from National Weather Service reporting stations was 8.60 inches in Rome (3.75 inches above normal) and the lowest was in Alma with 2.86 inches (0.38 inches above normal). Atlanta received 7.27 inches (3.17 inches above normal), Athens received 7.35 inches (3.53 inches above normal), Columbus 6.17 inches (2.07 above normal), Macon 5.58 (2.26 above normal), Savannah 3.64 inches (1.27 above normal), Brunswick 4.99 inches (2.96 above normal), Augusta 5.98 inches (3.16 above normal), Albany 5.65 inches (2.46 above normal) and Valdosta 5.48 inches (2.92 inches above normal). It was the 8th wettest November on record for Atlanta with 141 years of record and also for Athens with 113 years of record.

Athens and Columbus reported record daily rainfalls on November 12. Athens received 2.07 inches, breaking the old record of 1.58 inches set in 1992, and Columbus received 1.90 inches, surpassing the old record of 1.24 inches set in 1940. Alma broke their daily record rainfall on November 13, receiving 0.96 inches to pass the old record of 0.80 inches set in 1997, and Brunswick set a daily rainfall record on November 23, with 2.79 inches breaking the old record of 1.48 inches set in 2014.

The highest daily rainfall total from CoCoRaHS observers in November was 4.59 inches observed near Donalsonville in Seminole County on November 8, followed by 4.17 inches measured 9 miles west of Gainesville in Forsyth County on November 13. The highest monthly amount was 11.27 inches measured by the Gainesville observer, followed by 11.05 inches measured by an observer near13 miles east of Elberton in Elbert County.

Rainfall during the month eliminated the abnormally dry area in northeastern Georgia, but a new area of moderate drought was introduced to the southeastern corner of the state during the month in an area bypassed by the larger rain events. At the end of the month 2.3 percent of the state was in moderate drought, mostly centered on areas near Savannah and Brunswick on the coast. Those areas are likely to be removed over the winter.

Severe weather occurred on only two days in November, with wind damage reported in northwestern Georgia on November 5 and in central Georgia on November 7. Heavy rain reports were also noted on November 7, 14, and 26.

The wet conditions caused problems for farmers throughout the month. Frequent rains and cloudy skies slowed maturity and made it hard for producers to get into the fields to harvest. The crops that remained out in the wet conditions lost quality and yield, especially pecans, cotton and peanuts. Because of the delay in harvest, farmers were also behind in planting of small grains and winter forages, forcing cattle producers to feed hay. Some pastures were in poor condition due to the saturated soils. However, small grains that were already planted were emerged and looked well established.

The outlook for December shows that above normal temperatures are likely to occur after colder than normal conditions at the beginning of the month, while precipitation is expected to be above normal, especially in southern Georgia.

For more information please see the “Climate and Agriculture” blog at https://site.extension.uga.edu/climate/. We are now also on Facebook at SEAgClimate and on Twitter at @SE_AgClimate.  Please feel free to email your weather and climate impacts on agriculture to share on the blog to pknox@uga.edu.

 

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