These strong windstorms have been deadly in the past.
November is known to be somewhat of a wildcard in terms of weather, with chillier mornings that warm up by the afternoon. But while winter doesn’t officially arrive until Dec. 21, that doesn’t mean we’ll be without wintry weather until then. In fact, according to The Weather Channel, there may be a slew of inclement weather this month—including “witch storms.”
In a new report outlining November weather, meteorologists Chris Dolce and Jon Erdman predicted that “witch storms” may be on the horizon. As Dolce and Erdman note, the term refers to “intense Midwest windstorms that have had a notorious history in early November as well as late October.”
The Farmers’ Almanac explains that these strong gales occur when low pressure from cold arctic air from the north meets warmer fronts from the Gulf of Mexico. They are often powerful enough to be low-level hurricanes, generating gusts over 80 mph, the Almanac warns. The witchy weather can cause power outages, tree damage, and interruptions in shipping on the Great Lakes, The Weather Channel meteorologists add.
The “Witch of November” name was first mentioned in the song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” which was written by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot.The song was a tribute to the deadly shipwreck on Lake Superior that was caused by one of these notorious windstorms on Nov. 10, 1975. It wasn’t the first time this happened, either. The winds in November have been historically deadly, according to Farmers’ Almanac, as it is estimated that 25,000 mariners have died on the Great Lakes because of “the icy grip of the November Witch.”
Witchy weather isn’t the only thing on the docket this Month. According to The Weather Channel, the first snow accumulation will likely occur in the Midwest, Northeast, and lower elevations in the West. The meteorologists point out that this is typical of November.
There’s also a potential for severe weather in the form of tornadoes. Similar to the “witch storms,” tornado outbreaks can happen (most often in the Deep South) when warm air from the south intermingles with cold fronts and jet stream winds across the country, per The Weather Channel. In a separate report from The Weather Channel, meteorologist Robb Ellis also mentioned that we’ll see warmer temperatures nationwide this month. Excluding a section of the Southwestern, most temperatures will be above average.
However, while November may seem like a particularly troublesome month, The Weather Channel reports that we do get a bit of a reprieve with the end of the Atlantic hurricane season. With the deadly impacts of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton last month, this is welcome news for those on the East Coast.